Am I A Bad Software Tester? — Tobi Fagbohugbe
Am I A Bad Software Tester?
Is it possible to be a bad QA/tester and not know? My answer is Yes! As you read through this, you may come across some characters or habits of a bad QA/tester.
I know we all want to be good at our jobs, but without regular self-assessment or your organization’s appraisal, it is possible you are a bad tester and not know it.
Being aware of some of this these bad traits or habits that could ruin your career, will help you become a better person.
Am I A Bad Tester?
With my few years of experiences in Software Testing, I have come to realize that bad testers are those who lack — positive attitude, deep domain knowledge, poor communication and stagnant skill set etc.
Given below are few characteristics that make you a “bad tester”:
- Poor Communication
As a tester, at every stage of SDLC, you have nothing or less to contribute with stakeholders involved shows you lack effective communication skills. Effective communication can be verbal or through email with the client, development team or any other team. Communication is key from the start to the finish of a project and beyond.
Some few points to note that you are not communicating effectively:
- When you lack technical knowledge and domain of the business.
- You always have nothing or less to contribute during any discussion or meeting.
- You are scared of rejection.
- Cultural diversity.
- You lack proper preparation before any meetup.
2. How you Report a Bug
One of the key duties of a tester is to find and report bugs. Once you notice a bug it is important you try to replicate the bug at least twice and do a thorough analysis before reporting it.
A developer should be able to understand your bug report by just reading the summary. Your description gives the developer further information as pertaining to the bug.
When developers come to you more often as for further explanation or clarity on a bug you reported, then just know you have to work on your reporting skills.
3. Testing Performed based on “Assumption”
One of my top rules in testing is never to assume. When you don’t have enough clarity on what to do, always ask questions without wasting time. When you have difficulties or challenge walking up to your PM’s or developer on how to go about testing a requirement that is not clear to you, rather, you prefer to assume, then you have a bad tester habit you must kill now. Yes, assumptions can be right, but wrong assumptions can be more costly.
To avoid testing any application based on assumptions, get a clear requirement from the business analyst or the developers.
4. Not following Quality Processes
Every organization has different QA quality processes which help them to implement project faster and successfully. Your performance is usually measured by following these processes. Your Job may be at risk when you don’t follow such processes which may result in business or customer dissatisfaction.
5. You lack the “Test to Break” Attitude
Your primary purpose for testing is to find out a bug in the system. When your testing stops were a given requirements or acceptance criteria stops, just know you lack “Test to Break” Attitude. A good tester should develop such an attitude when testing any application.
The following factors affect the “Test to Break” attitude:
- You don’t have negative thoughts about the system under test and its workflow.
- You don’t do exploratory testing or ad-hoc testing.
- You lack a clear understanding of the application under test.
- Your test is focused on testing only normal path flow.
6. The same Testing Skills
The software industry is transforming every day and new tools and technologies that can be used during software testing are emerging. It is every tester’s responsibility to get updated knowledge and skill development. Bad testers find it difficult to grow them selfs.
A nongrowing tester is good at completing his/her task and does no more learning about new tools, technology, a language on improving themselves. They do not learn new things, nor look for new information that will improve their skills in the software industry.
7. Lack of Customer Insight
It is easier to test an application as per the requirement, but not thinking “out of the box” from the end users point of view can be a problem for the business and end users. Bad testers don’t think beyond the given requirements.
A bad tester does not understand the customer and their needs. A good tester should always hesitate to sit in the customer’s shoes and use the application from the end users perspective.
How to Get Rid of Bad Characteristics
There are so many characters or habits that will make you a “bad tester”. I only mention a few.
First, you need to know some of these characteristics that are in you or the qualities that make a good tester that you lack. Once you identify them, you now begin to consciously get rid of them through positive attitude, dedication, detailed study and constantly practicing what you want. Also, getting certified in software testing will help you to gain more knowledge.
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Conclusion
We all need to go beyond our limits and learn new technology, tools and gather more domain knowledge, etc. Don’t stop at learning, go further by implementing what you have learned in your organization or project you are working on.
If you have to make a successful testing career then you need to get rid of these bad characteristics as quickly as possible.
Originally published at tobifagbohungbe.com.
