I read and hear zealots advocating various tools and techniques, plying their trade. Consultancies all have their own 'new', bespoke way of doing things. It's special and better than the rest - but it isn't cheap.
I sometimes wonder, does it all need to be this complicated? Do I need to learn these techniques to know what to do and how to behave?
I don't think so - there I have said it - what do you think?
I think there are a handful of things a tester needs to have at the forefront of their mind when testing:
- what are the business (or otherwise) goals of the software?
- what problem is the software trying to solve?
- what risks are there - how likely are they and how serious are they?
- have empathy with the customer/user - get inside their heads - behave like them
So, do testers need the latest new-fangled jargon and terminology? Well, I think you know where I stand. I think testers need:
- To be intelligent
- To have business acumen (when testing business software)
- Common sense
- Good communication skills
- People skills
- Attention to detail
- (you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear no matter what framework you use)
Testers should free themselves from the processes sometimes imposed on them to focus the mind on the problem at hand - the software and the business goals of that software.
Not sure what you're trying to say here ? Cant you say the same about most professions, there is a standard set of skills and the consultants and tool people come in and add buzzwords and make it complicated ?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is complicated - what exactly do you mean by 'people skills', 'good communication skills' and 'attention to detail' ? How do you determine if people have them ? How do you improve them ? Or is all that 'common sense' and you know if someone has them or not ?
Just giving you some feedback, maybe you could go into more detail as to why your itch needs scratching
Thanks for taking the time to comment Phil. I think all I'm trying to say is to get some balance between the importance of process and people in software testing (and other professions as you say). All I am saying is, get the people bit right and don't impose a process on them - let them come up with their own way of working - empower them - this is motivating for people and is the way we will get the most out of them. If consultants come in and make it more complicated, I don't see this as a good thing. Now, how do we find the right people? Well that's another massive subject in its own right - it takes experience and judgement - there probably isn't a magic bullet process for that either.
ReplyDeleteThese are great insights on software testing. Thank you for sharing a very relevant and informative article.
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