What has been your biggest software testing challenge so far?

[Paul]

Whether you have been in testing for a short time or have a long career, I’m sure that everyone has had testing challenges of varying levels of difficulty.

So what has been the challenge of your testing career? It might be setting up a new testing team, developing your own testing theory, presenting at a conference for the first time.

So what was your biggest challenge? How did you approach it and what have you learned from it?

[JerryWeinberg]

Without doubt, my greatest challenge over more than half a century is dealing with people (managers, developers, customers, users) who think testing software is a trivial task.

I’ve tried to deal with it in many ways. If possible, I give them a chance to test some sample software I’ve constructed. That’s person-to-person, or in a workshop. In the world generally, I’ve designed and presented many educational experiences, including writings such as my books, Perfect Software and Other Illusions about Testing, and Errors: Bugs, Boo-Boos, and Blunders

[Paul]

Thanks @jerryweinberg, do people still trivialise software testing or do you think the profession has moved beyond that?

[JerryWeinberg]

Unfortunately, Paul, the profession may have moved beyond that, but many managers, developers, and customers have not. I’m afraid we have a long road ahead, both to be professional and to be regarded as professional by many others. It’s possible, though, because it has happened here and there, so keep working at it.

[Archana]

For me the biggest challenge so far has been API testing. Before this project I was used to testing applications that have a front end. So this was particularly difficult until I got a hold of it.

[Author]

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