Who is a Good Tester ?

Who is a Good Tester? / Tips for a Good Tester

If you are a beginner in testing, you will definitely think what should be key points which must be followed to become a good tester or what could be tips. Here are few listed:

Clear Understanding of FRS

A tester should have clear understanding of functional and non functional requirements of Project /Software. If you know requirements, you will be confident while testing and it will save time as well.

Don’t Rely Only on Final Output

Don’t think that you have to only match FRS with software build by developer. You are not supposed to only find error but you may suggest some new functionality as well if you think so.

Always have Destructive Approach

Whenever you test, always see it from destructive point of view. Try to fine as much bugs as possible

Discussions with Developers

Through out testing, have discussions with developers so you may have clear understanding of each function. Never test on self assumptions; it may create problems in end.

Don’t Totally Rely on Developers

Sometimes, tester discusses only with coders and don’t check FRS in some cases. This is wrong. Developers may sometime mislead to safe themselves. In case of interface designing, consult written design specifications.

Don’t Underestimate

It is often seen that developers criticize tester as result of bugs tester find in their code. Sometimes, it may happen due to time pressures. Secondly, sometimes developers may take bugs personally. This is not good approach. QA team seems destructive but in fact hey are also constructors as they assure quality and deliver bug free application. If developers take it professionally, they should consider it good if tester find bugs. In the end, client will be happy if you provide bug free code.

So,

A good coder is one who appreciates Bugs and
A good tester is one who find bugs free of any pressures

Convince with Logic
Always convince developers with logics. If you are wrong, admit it and don’t take it personally.

Learn to deal with Time Pressures
Don’t get tensed when you have to meet deadlines. If time is short, you should test main functionalities first.

Remind Developers about P1, P2 Bugs

If Developers are not working on bugs having highest priority, remind them again and again. Ask tem to first fix P1 and P2 bugs. Always set priority of bugs carefully.

Don’t build personal biasness

Don’t have personal biasness with any developer. Testing is a profession, take it in positive way. If you get biased, you may not discuss things clearly.
Always go for Written Work

If you find any bug, log it on bug tracking software. Discuss with developer, if you have ambiguity. Sometimes, developers ask testers not to log bug .They ask to tell them orally. This is wrong. Always have written prove of your work. If you don’t log bug, things would not be systematic and it will be difficult to manage changes.

QA Team collaboration

If you have enough time, test your application on different platform and by different testers. Let testers discuss their testing result among themselves. QA team lead should compare results by both testers. It may also help in evaluation of QA team by giving them same application.

If you are testing on different platforms, assign it to multiple testers. Ask them to discuss bugs among themselves. This help in finding whether a bug is platform issue or it is a bug in code.

Enhancement Bugs

If you have enhancements in software, ask same testers to test which test its previous release. One who had tested it in previous release may better test enhancements.

Written By:

Madeeha Rashid

Upcoming posts

Here I have listed upcoming posts. These are not the finalized topics but may be followed in this manner: You may suggest more.

Software Development life cycles

Current SDLCS

A look at Agile based SDLCS

CMMI

ISO Quality Standards

Microsoft SQA Framework

Google SQA Framework

Software Quality Attributes

Software Quality Models

Software Quality Metrics

Software Configuration Management

Software Project Management

Agile Software Project Management

Agile Project Management Tools

AGILE AND CMMI

Extreme Programing and Software Quality Assurance

SCRUM

SCRUM and SQA

RUP

CMMIL level 2

SQA is an umbrella activity

Software Requirements Engineering

SRS

FS

Inspections and Reviews

Software Design

Software Design Reviews and Inspections

Software Testing

Software Testing Life Cycle

Automated Software Testing Life Cycle

Testing Basics

Unit Testing

Unit Testing Framework

Unit Testing Tools

Functional Testing Tools

Regression testing

Performance Testing

Load Testing

Stress Testing

Usability Testing

User Acceptance Testing

System Testing

Beta Testing

Automated Testing

Automated Testing Tools

Open Source Testing Tools

Commercial Automated testing Tools

SQA Certifications

Automated Testing Tools Certifications

Project Management Certifications

System Analyst Certifications