Who is a tester and what does he do?

Contents:

• What a tester does
• Soft and hard skills
• Types of QA testing
• What tools does he use in his work?
• From a manual tester to creating your own projects. We talk about the prospects.

What does a tester do?

A software tester is a specialist who participates in the creation of a product and ensures its comfortable and error-free operation in every sense. QA testing is about the usability of the interface, the functionality’s compliance with the project’s specifications, the application’s performance, etc.

Within the profession, there may be gradations based on the testing method or division of testers into narrow areas. In the first case, these may be manual testers (edited:who reproduce the actions of real users manually) and automation engineers (edited:QA engineers who write codes to perform the same or more complex tasks). In the second, the tester's work is divided into searching for visual errors, behavioral or navigational checks, load testing, etc.

Let's take a closer look at the stages of a tester's work:

• Test planning.The tester creates a document in which he describes in detail the functions to be tested and prescribes the necessary actions. Distributes roles and tasks if several specialists are participating in the tests, and this is almost always the case. And prescribes a deadline so that the work has a clear deadline.
• Development of test scenarios.The tester creates a list of processes and tasks that need to be monitored. They depend on the actions that future users of the product will perform. The tester must become a typical user and understand how people who do not know its internal structure will interact with the product.
  In addition, there is a scriptless testing methodology. It has the advantages of having no boundaries for the tester and the disadvantages of the difficulty of logging and repeating tests without a strict system of actions.
• Testing execution. Manually or automatically. There are test tasks that are performed primarily manually. For example, visual inspection of the interface quality, correct navigation, and the correct sending of emails after registration are performed manually. But there are those that can be successfully automated.
  Manual testing is considered an expensive debugging method in the IT industry, because a specialist's productivity is limited by their physical capabilities. However, the result of this work is difficult to overestimate – after all, the result is a high-quality, stable product that fully meets the customer's wishes and the requirements of the technical specifications.
• Analysis of results and reporting. The tester identifies and, where possible, visualizes the bugs found.

Soft and hard skills

When the mass and even spontaneous demand for quality assurance specialists was just beginning to appear on the market, and this was in the early 2010s, the recruitment ads sounded almost like an invitation to work in network marketing. Education is not important, experience is not needed, we will teach you everything and show you everything. Today the situation has changed significantly, and it is no longer possible to just come into the profession off the street. It is necessary to possess not only certain personal qualities, but also a specific baggage of theoretical knowledge. Namely:

• Understanding the life cycle in software development and knowledge of the basic features of its support.
• Knowledge of the basic methodology of compiling and conducting tests. That is, without understanding the material, you won’t get a job right away.
• English is equally important. Most require at least an intermediate level. This is necessary for constantly reading new publications from the industry and for the work itself.

If we talk about soft skills, then a future testing engineer needs to develop:

• Perseverance and stress resistance. And these are not just words. Not everyone is naturally able to sit for hours and do monotonous work: testing web applications, programs, etc. And then analyze it all, visualize and summarize in reports.
• An analytical mindset. Without it, it will be difficult to analyze and draw conclusions, but this can be developed over time - if you have the desire and determination.
• Communication skills. Introverts and people who are poor at expressing their thoughts orally and in writing will have a harder time working in quality assurance.

Skills can always be learned and developed. But if your personality type is initially suited to the specifics of the job, this will be a big advantage in mastering the intricacies of your future profession and further growth.

Types of QA testing

Now let's figure out what types of testing there are. Globally, it is divided into functional and non-functional. The first is responsible for checking the declared functionality for completeness and compliance with the technical specifications. The second is an analysis of how it works.

But besides these, there are other types of QA testing. Namely:

• Performance testing. A multi-component type of testing that includes load, stress, volume and other types of tests - there are at least ten of them in total.
• Usability tests. They are used to evaluate the ease of use of an application and its interface, navigation and other elements.
• Installation testing. Allows you to track down errors that may be made during the installation of an application. Be it a smartphone game, a CRM for a personal computer, or a website content management system (CMS).
• Automated testing.An advanced method of conducting research, for which the tester creates special algorithms that greatly speed up the process and obtain results.
  Concerns that automation could completely displace manual workers are unfounded at this stage of technological development. Code can only provide a "works/doesn't work" answer strictly within the scope of the task. It doesn't convey that invaluable quality called UX, or user experience. Code won't say, "This icon looks crooked" or "There's a subtle bug here that needs to be fixed."

What tools does a tester use in his work?

Even for those specialists who are still far from writing automation codes, testing work these days cannot be done solely on the fingers. Today, there are many convenient and simple tools that can simplify the performance of routine tasks, help manage a team and distribute tasks. Let's dwell on some of these assistants:

• Programs for simplifying work with screenshots — the most important means of visualizing application errors. We are not talking about a banal screenshot, but about recording video and audio, converting to gif and many other options. Among the most popular products in this segment: Snagit, Recordit API, GreenShot, etc.
• Data generators — convenient assistants for performing testing using a large amount of typical data. Popular ones here are: Mockaroo.com and Bugmagnet.
• Test Management — tools that help manage a team of testers. Here you can note: Jira, Redmine, TestRail.

We should also mention the utility for unit testing software called JUnit, which is useful when developing test concepts. A suite of programs called Selenium is actively used for testing web applications. For API error detection, many specialists prefer a service called Postman.

From manual tester to creating your own projects. We talk about the prospects

The profession of quality assurance engineer is one of the most accessible options for entering the IT market without knowing any programming language. However, you need to understand that this apparent simplicity is only in comparison with other, even more complex options.

But if you have a goal and sufficient internal motivation, then you can master the profession of a tester without an education in mathematics, programming, or analytics. It's important to keep in mind that the entry barrier for junior developers is constantly rising. Therefore, when choosing training, it's important to pay attention to the relevance of the programs and choose courses that are highly sought after on the job market.

After mastering the basic level of manual testing, you can retrain as an automation tester, where you will be closely exposed to practical programming. After that, the choice of further career development will depend on your goals and desires. You can try to become a QA architect or a QA lead - the leader of a team of testers. The knowledge gained at this stage can be useful in the future for moving into project management, business analysis, and even top management. And also become a basis for realizing your own ideas in a successful startup.