Software Testing: Myths vs Reality

“testing started when the human race began”!

the whole analytical brain of the human mind is about doing verification and validation before concluding anything and software testing is no exception to this.

market outlook and future for software testing

• a survey by global software testing services market (2016-2020) research analyst predicts the global software testing services market to grow at a cagr of close to 11% during the forecast period.

• according to a recent report by fortune magazine- software testing is listed among the top 10 in-demand careers of 2015

so aiming to pursue a career as a tester or quality assurance looks like a good plan. let’s take a look through some myths and realities of being a software test professional:

myths vs reality about software testing

myth-1: testing is boring

reality: testing is not boring or a repetitive task. it is like a detective’s job! testing is a process of investigation, exploration, discovery, and learning. the key is to try new things. in reality, testing presents new and exciting challenges every day.

myth-2: testers do not write code

reality: some people may say that software test engineers do not write code. testers usually require entirely different skill set which could be a mix of java, c, ruby, and python. that is not all you need to be a successful tester. a tester needs to have a good knowledge of the software manuals and automation tools. depending on the complexity of a project, a software testing engineer may write more complex code than the developer.

myth-3: testers job is only to find bugs

reality: the job of a software test engineer is not restricted to find bugs. a tester should be more customer focused, understands how the system works as a whole to accomplish customer goals, and have good understanding of how the product will be used by the end-user. a tester has to understand the complete product architecture, how it interacts with the environment, how the application works in a given situation, and how the application integrate with all the components and work seamlessly.

myth-4: software testers are paid less than the developers

reality: these days quality of the product directly effects the products’ or the brands’ reputation. so no organizations are ready to compromise on quality. organizations are always looking forward to work with energetic testers. an efficient software tester can draw more salary than the developer of similar experience.

6 tips for software test engineers starting their career

1. development and testing are moving closer to the business units and you will need to communicate and work closely as a team.
2. to find bugs, you will need to be creative. a software test engineer needs to come up with new ideas which would help in finding bugs. work smart as well as hard! always find better and simpler ways to do the assigned tasks, own tasks proactively and innovate.
3. a good tester is the one who knows the application in and out. the tester should be aware of all the components in a product and the business logic behind it. good knowledge of the product helps to understand the importance of a feature from a business perspective so become the expert!
4. always want to learn more!
5. try to hone some skill sets such as good negotiation skills, thinking out of the box, and multi-platform skills
6. you will need to be persuasive and explain to the stakeholders which bugs have been found and how they are likely to impact on end-users and the business.
7. you must be a perfectionist and resilient to pressure as testing is the typically the last gate before the product reaches into the hands of customer.

corporations cannot hire customers, so they hire software test engineers who put products through their paces on the potential customers behalf. so, to represent customers within a corporatation, what kind of a hat would you wear ? a purple hat, a yellow, a blue, or a white?

customers have different approaches to use a product. if you consider each approach as a colored hat, a test engineer needs to wear a wide variety of hats of different colors and shapes.

testing is a career which is built with innovative thinking – be passionate about it and be strong enough to make your own choices work!