Would you agree with this statement or not? What is the importance of testers and their role in the software world? I learned some of the answers as a developer testing software.
My first student job was working as a software developer on small waterfall project. It was fun, I learned a lot and I thought this was the path I want take in my career. Then the project got bigger and bigger and suddenly we needed a full-time tester. Because until then, only developers tested some parts of the application and that was it.
Developer Testing
Also during my work as a developer I heard a lot of statements such as: “Developers are elite”, “No one wants to test, because it’s not ‘cool’ enough”, “Testing is easy, anyone can do it”, “Without developers, there is no software. Developers are more important than testers”, “You are born to be a tester, learning doesn’t help”, “Testing means only clicking randomly” and much more.
So who will test the application? The student, of course 😉
I had no real experience in this field, I only knew how to develop computer programs and prove that they work, but suddenly I must prove that programs don’t work and my perspective completely changed. I was left to “sink or swim” and with all these negative assumptions I started to be a tester.
Despite all the stress, the job was challenging, so I decided not to allow the assumptions to interfere with my work. It was hard; developers and managers sometimes wouldn’t listen, customers wouldn’t as well, and I started to wonder why is it like that? Who is to blame? Why didn’t I hear about testing as a very important part of software development in college? Why managers don’t see the importance of having testers and testing?
Importance of Testing
Once I have told my colleagues what I think about all this I found out I’m not alone. Our company started a new department called QuEST community. People who initiated its founding understood the importance of testing. This community helped me a lot. Now I have always somebody to seek for advice, we can exchange our experience, how to deal with problems, we encourage ourselves to learn and educate in testing field and together we have achieved in our company the better recognition of testers in the software world.
Looking back, I see how far I have come. From student tester on a waterfall project to test lead on an agile project. During my path I discovered the passion for automated testing, because it combines programming skills and proper knowledge of a tester.
Now, I disagree with the title and I’m saying: We need testers! We need people devoted only to testing, because the mindset of a tester and a developer is completely different! Testing is not just clicking randomly! You need to think and analyze the application you’ll test, you need to design test process relating on a type of project: it is different for waterfall and for agile project! And as a tester, you have to represent the customer, the end user who’ll use this application! You are responsible for not only the usability of the application, but also for quality! So we, testers, have an important role in the software world.
Recognition of Testers
Based on my experience, my advice on how to achieve the recognition of testers in your company is:
- First get to know other testers in your company,
- Start to hang out on regular basis,
- Start to learn from each other, and talk to each other: what the problems are and how to solve them,
- Start to talk and write a blog about what are you really good at, so that others in the company (project managers, developers..) will see why they need you,
- Be positive and when you hear a joke like: “Testing means only clicking randomly.” share your experience what is your job really like with your colleges,
- Be proactive, start sharing and showing to your team what you’re doing and maybe even organize a contest for all PMs and developers to compete in testing. The options are unlimited 😉
For conclusion I would like to say: stay tuned with your heart, be passionate about your work, never stop learning and listening, be open, positive, and never forget the Testers Code of Ethics! Now go, and find a bug or two! 😉
