ALT-3 How to become a Software Qa Expert
So you want to test software
The trade is full of Quality Engineers now, some have come into the business from dedicated college and industry training, and some have gravitated to the field from every other walk of life imaginable. The constant attribute that designates a great tester of any kind is a bulldog determination to understand a requirement and hold the developer's feet to the fire to make the end result reflect the need of the customer.
In order to get good in this trade, you must understand the history that led to the need for software testers. The fact is, the software industry exploded on to the scene in the eighties and nineties to create thousands of twenty five year old millionaires and a cloud of really crappy software. End users were trained from the very beginning to put up with freezing applications, useless error messages, functions that simply wouldn't work as advertised and the ultimate pain and frustration from hours of sitting on hold while some fresh-out-of-college rookie read from a script to help us solve our problems.
Although life has changed some in the last decade, anyone reading this will agree, there is a long way to go.
Now we come to the tester. Industry as a whole is hip deep in trying to repair all this electronic carnage and one of the most sought after employees now, is a "good" software tester, or if they have a need for a title, A Quality Engineer, or better yet, a Quality Assurance Engineer.
To be one of the chosen in this field, you must embody as many of the bullet points below as possible. The highest score can bring the highest wage and the most security in a trade that lives and dies on its expendable contractor workforce.
The list follows:
- Guts - You must have an entrepreneurial spirit to be able to handle the years spent as a contractor, not quite knowing where or when your next gig is. Don't worry, if you are good, the next gig will be there and the pay will be good.- A type personality - You need to be able to get in the faces of a developer manager who is bound by law to make sure everyone knows your mother wears army boots.- Unemotional dedication to the facts - You need to be able to stare them down with - Fact, not emotion. (Note: this is possible the most important requirement.)- Leadership - You must be able to take the load off your lead or manager in a way that lets them trust you do be dedicated to the truth and the success of the project. (They have all those dang meetings to go to.)- Attention to detail - Every step of every test must be run precisely and recorded. You must lay down proof that a tests passes or fails. You will have to back it up at some point.- Empathy with the end user - You are the aspirin that has been charged with the task of removing their headache. They are your ultimate boss. As you ease their pain, you build your job security.- Understanding of the requirements, both business and functional. If you are not supplied a tight and concise set of requirements, you have no foundation to build your test plan on and your scope is going to fluctuate like a dieter's belt. Lock down the requirements before you start. It is your reputation as a QAE at stake.- Document - Document everything throughout your complete test plan, save emails, write white papers on your process. Report every detail, but with an executive summary at the top so every stakeholder knows every day, just where the test process stands.- Tools - Get trained on the tools of the trade, Currently Mercury Quality Center is the front runner, but most big companies have their own in house test control applications as well. At least with home grown, you can write defects on the test platform too. MQC isn't quite as receptive about its bugs.- Be prepared for a lot of overtime, separated with chunks of boredom as the projects are either full on or ramping up. There seems to be no in-between.
If all this seems reasonable to you, find some training and get busy.
