A Tester's Job Description

[Kim]

We recent;y introduced testing at my company. At the time we wrote a vague job description but it quickly became clear that certain test activities may need a dedicated resource such as security or performance testing.

I am looking for constructive ideas and also funny ones if you are so inclined. 🙂

So if you could write your job description, what would it say?

I will start some responsibilities may be:
Work closely with Agile scrum teams to integrate manual exploratory testing in their work-flow (where necessary).
Work closely with the Product Owners on each project to agree acceptance criteria and understand User Stories to be able to write acceptance test.
Actively participate in daily stand-ups, sprint planning, reviews and retrospectives.
Develop and implement software test policies, procedures and practices.
Advise and assist development teams with A/B and user testing.
Maintain knowledge of industry ‘best practice’ and advise Development team accordingly.

[Kasper]

@Kim All the points you raise can be valid in your organization but they are all about the process – not about actually testing.
I normally stress the importance of the following:
Solve problems encountered during test, nobody wants a tester who needs either an admin or developer to solve trivial problems
Perform analysis on raised issues, as tester you need to be able to point to where thinks go wrong – not only that they go wrong
Use lateral thinking to come up with surprising but still valid test cases – trivial cases can and will be handled by both developers and consulted users
Write scripts (shell script, Python, Ruby, etc.) to quickly get things done, manually comparing files when a diff function can do it in seconds is a waste of valuable time
Work with (automated) test tooling, being able to quickly set up an automated regression test.
Of course I don’t know how valid my points are in your organization.

[Kim]

Thank you @Kasper

Those are very valid. Especially about lateral thinking and using tools such as scripts and automation to work efficiently.
And I like the one about solving problems! I am still learning a lot about our organisation but solving problems is always appropriate!

Thank you i will feed back when we have the review of our job descriptions!

[Daragh]

Hey Kim & Kasper,

You both raise some great points regarding the role of a tester. I’m curious though, are there any factors which interfere with testers adhering to these responsibilities?

[Kasper]

Hi Daragh,

Concerning the points I raised most of the factors that interfere with adhering to them lie with training, ability and interests of the testers.
Not all testers are interested in writing scripts or test automation, and most are not trained in either.
Since I expect these skills to become only more important I find the lack of training most interfering with adhering to the points I raised.
Another interfering factor is management commitment to let the testers do more than just validate their requirements.

[Kim]

I think a supportive and enabling work culture needs to be in place for testers to be effective.

I find that admin responsibilities can get in the way of myself using quiet times to learn more skills.
And like Kasper mentions, interest in your job. Some people just see their work as a job, not as a career or profession, so I would say mindset is a big factor.

[Author]

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