QA Software Tester - Anyone do this?
- Thread starter -Mike-
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From my personal experience it can be ok (I'm a developer so have never been a tester but obviously work with a few).
The exact details of the job would vary quite a bit company to company but at the basic level you will be going through test-plans designed to expose any flaws in the software. If you find anything wrong, you need to work out how to reproduce the issue and then communicate the problem and how to repro it clearly to the devs. You need to be methodical, and communicate clearly.
There's scope for moving into management, producer or (in the games industry at least) designer roles.
The exact details of the job would vary quite a bit company to company but at the basic level you will be going through test-plans designed to expose any flaws in the software. If you find anything wrong, you need to work out how to reproduce the issue and then communicate the problem and how to repro it clearly to the devs. You need to be methodical, and communicate clearly.
There's scope for moving into management, producer or (in the games industry at least) designer roles.
I'm a software tester and enjoy my job. I think it depends very much on the company/area you work in.
I work for a small company (only 4 testers) and we're given almost free reign on how we test the software (essentially a GUI interface). As long as it doesn't come back with a bunch of issues everyones happy. I do design test cases and the associated documentation, but sometimes that just goes out the window and I just give it a bash.
If you work for a defence company or mission critical systems etc I can imagine testing will be a lot more boring with a monster paper trail with much more repetitive tasks - which is what I think some of the posters above are getting at.
The fact that you need no prior experience according to the job spec means one of the following imo:
1) It's a very low level job with no skill required - likely to be boring and monotonous
2) The company is happy to give full training
If it's the latter, and the company is in an area that interests you, I'd definitely go for it. Saying that, you might not know this until after a few interviews!
I work for a small company (only 4 testers) and we're given almost free reign on how we test the software (essentially a GUI interface). As long as it doesn't come back with a bunch of issues everyones happy. I do design test cases and the associated documentation, but sometimes that just goes out the window and I just give it a bash.
If you work for a defence company or mission critical systems etc I can imagine testing will be a lot more boring with a monster paper trail with much more repetitive tasks - which is what I think some of the posters above are getting at.
The fact that you need no prior experience according to the job spec means one of the following imo:
1) It's a very low level job with no skill required - likely to be boring and monotonous
2) The company is happy to give full training
If it's the latter, and the company is in an area that interests you, I'd definitely go for it. Saying that, you might not know this until after a few interviews!
Soldato
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It's not glamour, cover girls and champagne, and can get quite busy and stressful comes submission times, even weekend shifts (although very rare for junior testers). Internal Q.A. is invaluable to us though.
Seems a bit boring though, a lot of repetition, sometimes at the beck and call of the development team. There is a learning curve associated.
Bug reports, bug reproduction steps, verifying fixes, being patient with buggy builds (always is during development, and beyond!), internal testing procedures, console manufacturer specifications (TRC, TCR, or whatever Microsoft or Sony calls it), multiplayer testing sessions...
Despite sometimes their 1,000 yard stare, they seem a pretty happy bunch, and have the kitchen and vending machines at arms length.
Seems a bit boring though, a lot of repetition, sometimes at the beck and call of the development team. There is a learning curve associated.
Bug reports, bug reproduction steps, verifying fixes, being patient with buggy builds (always is during development, and beyond!), internal testing procedures, console manufacturer specifications (TRC, TCR, or whatever Microsoft or Sony calls it), multiplayer testing sessions...
Despite sometimes their 1,000 yard stare, they seem a pretty happy bunch, and have the kitchen and vending machines at arms length.
![[DOD]Asprilla](/styles/overclockers/avatars/8.png){kind=avatar}
Soldato
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What's the environment?
If its an agile development team and they are using BDD or TDD then QA can be pretty rewarding and fun. Generally you have BA, a dev and a tester starting on a user story and defining the spec, writing the behaviours and defining what is going to bem tested and where. My preference is not to allow devs to code until all the tests are written and cross checked by all three. It can be very collaborative.
If its an agile development team and they are using BDD or TDD then QA can be pretty rewarding and fun. Generally you have BA, a dev and a tester starting on a user story and defining the spec, writing the behaviours and defining what is going to bem tested and where. My preference is not to allow devs to code until all the tests are written and cross checked by all three. It can be very collaborative.
Soldato
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* Sni gger *[DOD]Asprilla;23459560 said:
Gotta love Agile with all it's buzzwords and post-it notes!
Soldato
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* Sni gger *
Gotta love Agile with all it's buzzwords and post-it notes!
Strip out what you don't need and keep the rest. I need few devs / testers who can write gherkin I'm a happy Prod Owner. I don't like spending time planning and card counting is enough for me. There are too many folks out there who say they 'do agile' but really haven't got a clue and hide behind the terminology.
Of course test writing is working; it's better than bug fixing.
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I keep meaning to go have a sit with the testers on the project I'm on to get a better idea of what it is they do.
One of the chaps I socialise with from work is in performance testing and he seems to like it, said it's not as dull as some of the other types of testing and sounded quite good when he was explaining it to me.
One of the chaps I socialise with from work is in performance testing and he seems to like it, said it's not as dull as some of the other types of testing and sounded quite good when he was explaining it to me.
Soldato
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Honestly I like the sound of it on paper, but yeah I feel some of it is a waste of time.[DOD]Asprilla;23460111 said:
Sounds like you have it organised in such a way it is paying dividends though?
Soldato
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Sometimes.
I focus on delivering the product and supporting the devs / testers. That means I tend to ignore a lot of the stuff that management people like; finance stuff, delivery plans, etc.
As far as I'm concerned these are things that either they should be calculating for themselves (finance) or you may as well pull a figure out of thin air (delivery plans).
Agile is fairly straight forward; work out what you want to do and the relative value of each feature. Then estimate whether the development involved is large, medium or small. You should now be able to order what you want to do.
You've got to be aware that the estimates are going to very wildly in their accuracy but will average out over the course of the project. Try to apply any science to the estimates and you'll get pretty much the same result because people are terrible at estimating, no-one ever has enough information and the environment will have changed within a month of you estimating. You'll also have bored everyone senseless and wasted a load of time.
Unfortunately most 'business' people don't get that and feel comforted by having estimates.
On the BDD side, it's better than writing massive spec / requirement docs that no-one reads. You all sit down write the behaviours in gherkin and talk about what the scenarios / outcomes are. When you are finished everyone understands what's going on. I know one betting firm that spent two weeks with all their devs off the floor writing their various odds algorithms as behaviours and at the end they were left with several hundred simple code sections that could be unit tested individually. Hell of a lot easier than handing over an algorithm, attempting to code it, attempting 100% test coverage and then fixing the bugs.
It looks like you aren't working because you aren't cutting code, but if you can get into it then it's massive step forward.
Soldato
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Agile is supposed to mean that you waste less time by only doing what will provide value to the business.
It can work, but takes a lot of discipline and determination to change from working in a traditional way.
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I've been considering a move in to software dev and we've some testing jobs going internally but they are in London 
Need to find somewhere around stoke that takes on noobs as it's been 11 years since I worked for a dev company
Need to find somewhere around stoke that takes on noobs as it's been 11 years since I worked for a dev company 
I'm a software tester, but I do automation. So just coding C# frameworks for developers to use to run suites of tests
I started off 4 years ago doing manual testing, and it is mind numbing-ly boring, it really is. Automation is pretty good though if you enjoy coding, but you'd need experience for that
I started off 4 years ago doing manual testing, and it is mind numbing-ly boring, it really is. Automation is pretty good though if you enjoy coding, but you'd need experience for that
It depends on the working environment. If it's anything like where I'm working, you'll be sat with the development team and helping them to understand the requirements and acceptance criteria for the work, alongside helping the product owners and stakeholders (i.e. the people that want the software) come up with meaningful and concise requirements in the first place.
It's far from boring/monotonous and is actually very challenging. The amount of testing they do is actually very little, due to automated testing and because they are more there to help people interact with each other than they are to test software. You'll help establish a language for the business domain which should ensure that when a BA or other non-techy guy says "When I order a book" that it means the same thing when a developer says "When I order a book" and that nothing is misunderstood nor omitted.
In short, it can be awesome.
It's far from boring/monotonous and is actually very challenging. The amount of testing they do is actually very little, due to automated testing and because they are more there to help people interact with each other than they are to test software. You'll help establish a language for the business domain which should ensure that when a BA or other non-techy guy says "When I order a book" that it means the same thing when a developer says "When I order a book" and that nothing is misunderstood nor omitted.
In short, it can be awesome.
Job description is :
Example Duties:
Undertake training in Quality Assurance in software testing through the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library http://www.itilofficialsite.com/Qualifications/ITILQualificationScheme.aspx ) training programme
Conduct all customer software support (full training will be given)
Undertake software testing and ensure it complies with standards outlined in the ITIL standards
Nature of work undertaken:
This role requires someone with great communication skills, attention to detail and a methodical approach who can act as an intermediary between software users and the software developers.
You will work with the clients to understand the issues that they are having with their software system, identify ways in which it can be improved or developed to resolve these issues, communicate these developments back to the technical development team who do the coding in the software, and then when the alterations have been made, test the systems to ensure that they work as they were intended..
We believe in bringing in the right people with the right aptitudes to undertake a job and in training them to excel in their area of expertise. Therefore, for these roles, We are far more interested in graduates who have a logical, methodical and organised approach to their work and in training them up rather than any particular experience or IT background.
So if that sounds like you, make sure you apply as this growing business could offer plenty of opportunity for professional growth and career progression. These roles will act as a bridge between the business and the development group.
Example Duties:
Undertake training in Quality Assurance in software testing through the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library http://www.itilofficialsite.com/Qualifications/ITILQualificationScheme.aspx ) training programme
Conduct all customer software support (full training will be given)
Undertake software testing and ensure it complies with standards outlined in the ITIL standards
Nature of work undertaken:
This role requires someone with great communication skills, attention to detail and a methodical approach who can act as an intermediary between software users and the software developers.
You will work with the clients to understand the issues that they are having with their software system, identify ways in which it can be improved or developed to resolve these issues, communicate these developments back to the technical development team who do the coding in the software, and then when the alterations have been made, test the systems to ensure that they work as they were intended..
We believe in bringing in the right people with the right aptitudes to undertake a job and in training them to excel in their area of expertise. Therefore, for these roles, We are far more interested in graduates who have a logical, methodical and organised approach to their work and in training them up rather than any particular experience or IT background.
So if that sounds like you, make sure you apply as this growing business could offer plenty of opportunity for professional growth and career progression. These roles will act as a bridge between the business and the development group.
* Sni gger *
Gotta love Agile with all it's buzzwords and post-it notes!
That pic is the complete anti of Agile. It actually couldn't be any closer to the polar opposite of Agile.
For someone with experience and the capability to introduce new working practices and coaching, that could be seen as a challenge and potentially rewarding career move.
For someone new to the industry, It'd probably pan out to be a complete bore and frustrating job. However, they state they are big on training, so ask them about that. A lot. If they have people like the experience guy I mention in this post already, it could be a great job with lots of useful stuff to be learnt.
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i have Qaulfication in Software Testing ISTEB/ISQEB
Its not fun. dont think it is.
take one simple function & repeat.
Luckly I work with computers so i make the apps & create software to Stress Our Software & get the Testers run certain tests using my apps & other apps.
I also now manage all of the Maintaince. I couldnt live be a tester 24/7 boring.
Its not fun. dont think it is.
take one simple function & repeat.
Luckly I work with computers so i make the apps & create software to Stress Our Software & get the Testers run certain tests using my apps & other apps.
I also now manage all of the Maintaince. I couldnt live be a tester 24/7 boring.