Carreer counseling for testers

Carreer counseling for testers

As a field, software design is still very much a work in progress. Testers often lack guidance about what it looks like to grow in their careers. Testing software isn’t just a job. It’s technically demanding, creative important work. If you don’t think so, I hope you are working for my competitors. When you start testing it can seem like you are entering the woods unarmed. If you are really new to test you are in a phase we call “Drinking from the fire hose” at Microsoft. Even if you have a project or two under your belt it can help to have an idea of where you are headed. Here is a little roadmap to being a professional software tester.

Evolution of a tester

There might seem to be nothing but trees in front of you right now. It won’t be long until your feet are on one of the well trod paths. There are some forks in the path. Some lead into other disciplines like management, support, sales or even development. When you come to a fork, think carefully. There is a path for testers to stay on. It starts easy and can get thorny later on. Still there is a path there and here are the signposts along that path. For some it’s a path filled with programming, for others it’s all hands on testing. Most testers use some mix of both. All testers grow in very similar ways.

Testers find bugs.

As a new tester you need to figure out how to find bugs. When you find them you need to be able to identify the species and make a note for the exterminator where you found it. At this stage in your career you will be learning a lot of new techniques. There are several categories of testing you should be comfortable with. Some important areas are functional, negative, boundary, error, localization, globalization, performance and stress. You don’t need to be an expert in all of them, but you should be able to discuss them and come up with a plan for finding them in the product you are working on. Learn the tactics of finding bugs. Just remember there is a strategy element too. If you want to continue down this path you will need to get better and better at strategy. Your focus will be limited to just a feature or two. At this point you will start finding flaws everywhere. This is good, but don’t let it invade your life. You will start to see flaws in the process. These can be good to point out, but don’t dwell on them. You can get work done under any process.

Good testers measure quality.

You will get good at finding bugs. You might choose to specialize in one area or be a jack of all trades. In any case the next stop on the path is learning to measure quality. There is a subtle difference between finding bugs and measuring quality. Applying the scientific method to your testing and troubleshooting is vital. Propose hypothesis for the problems you find. Create tests to disprove your hypothesis. You can poke at problems with a stick and sometime get lucky. Other times you have a tough to reproduce issue. Good testers have ways to get to the bottom of these issues. When someone asks how “how good is this feature” a good tester can say with certainty. You won’t just be reporting your gut feelings. You will have evidence to back up whatever you say. You will also have expanded your scope. You may be a “go to” person for the project, or have influence on the design of features and components. Good testers always seem to be involved in a lot more than just their assigned features. There is an occupational hazard among testers that can take you off the path. It causes us to sometimes dwell on the negative and become a prophet of doom. Watch out for this. You don’t want to wander in the fog of perpetual gloom.

Excellent testers prove and improve quality.

When you become a master of the arts and crafts of testing you will be able to prove quality. You will have a gage on the quality of the feature at all the points of the product lifecycle. You will be able to report the relative quality of the product with certainty. If someone challenges your assessment you will be able to say “I can prove it.” You will then be able to do so in a factual way that no one can refute with logical arguments (not to say they won’t try with illogical arguments). Not only this, but you will understand how to push quality back into the product. In order to get to this state you will have to do more than just test the feature. You will need to be an active participant in the design of the product. You will understand the product lifecycle, and where it often goes wrong. You will know how to head problems off at the pass. This isn’t the last stop on your career path but getting here is a major victory. While you are moving along this path keep an eye out for the things that will make you an excellent tester. When you reach this stage you will have transcended the habit of finding flaws in everything. Instead you will start to see everything as an opportunity to improve things. You will get a good sense of what can be fixed cost effectively and what is best left alone and when. You should be a positive light to the testers around you. Try to rescue the good testers from the fog of perpetual gloom. They need your guidance or they may become burnt out husks.

Approach code with skepticism and the product with optimism

When you are new to test it can seem like there is a monster under every rock. Remember that it’s a journey. Becoming cynical is an occupational hazard for testers so be on guard. Develop an eye for solutions that work as you are finding flaws in the software and process.