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By
Randall W. Rice
As I
have led and trained test teams over the years, there are some things
that I routinely make sure I convey to new testers. Whether you are new
to testing, or a seasoned professional, these are helpful things to
remember.
1. You are
an inspector - You can't guarantee quality.
Many
testers get sidetracked by not understanding that they assess things,
not control them. There is a huge difference between the two! For
example, a team may work weeks on a test and find many defects, only to
see management decide to release the product with known serious
defects. The team often feels demoralized and asks why they even do
testing.
I ask
the team members if they got paid, and most of the time the answer is
"yes." I ask if they did their jobs to the best of their ability, and
once again, most of the time they answer "yes." I then tell
them, "You did your job. You tested to the best of your ability, found
defects and reported them. Now, go home and relax. In fact, the only
way you can fail as a tester is to fail to report a discovered defect
or to fail to perform a specified test."
This may
not improve morale much, but it does help keep things in perspective,
especially in having the ability to not take the daily frustrations of
work home every night.
Many
testers, me included, when we first start out in testing, seem to feel
personally responsible for the quality of the application or system we
are testing. While the work ethic is admirable, we testers really have
little control of the product quality. It is for this reason that
testers do not ensure quality. The problem is that management doesn't
always see that distinction. This is seen when management asks
questions like, "Aren't we paying these people to have good software?"
2. Defects
are valuable.
Each
defect is an opportunity to learn and improve. We may only get one
opportunity to observe a defect, so I always tell testers to be
observant and not fall prey to the boredom of testing.
Defect
information is perhaps one of the most telling sources of project data
available. However, that depends on how well we capture and convey
accurate information about the defects we find.
Each
defect costs the organization money. If we don't learn from them, we
are wasting a lot of time and money. The leverage happens when we
convert a mistake to a learning opportunity. Let's face it-some lessons
are only learned by experience.
It
doesn't do any good to place blame over a defect. All blame does is
lower morale and shut down communication. It's like beating the
proverbial dead horse, hoping it will come back to life!
I wrote
an article called "Defects
are Good" which explores in more depth about the positive
side of defects.
3.
Everything is fine until you report the first problem.
This is
where the reality of being a tester sinks in. You can plan the test,
get all of the needed resources in place and it seems everyone is on
your side. However, things tend to get tenser when you report that
first problem.
The
reason for the sudden change in attitude is that now you are
criticizing someone's work. There is a pride of ownership that causes
egos to be bruised and relationships to be strained. Some of this is to
be expected, just be aware that attitudes may change when you start
finding problems.
One
thing I always suggest to testers is to read some of your past defect
reports as if you were the recipient. You may find that you need to be
more diplomatic. (See how gently I said that?) It may not be as much
fun to write a defect report without sarcasm, but it will help maintain
good relationships.
4. You
can only test what you can observe.
You may
want to test that really creative case, but if you don't have a way to
observe the results, what's the point? Although some applications allow
you to observe a lot, there are still things you may not have access
to, such as structural views, hidden objects, background processing,
etc.
5.
Never forget how you get someplace.
I'm not
speaking about knowing why you walked into a room, but of the steps you
took in testing something. It's common for beginning testers to find a
significant defect, only to fail to recreate it for resolution. Then,
you're left with the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing if you truly
found a defect, or just used the application incorrectly.
Some
ways you can trace your steps include test scripts, a test log,
keystroke loggers such as Spector (http://www.spectorsoft.com/)
and screen video capture tools such as Windows Media Encoder (http://www.microsoft.com)
6. Standards
and processes are your friend.
Although
the idea of standards and processes may seem confining to some, they
give you valuable guidance in doing your job. Don't reject standards
because they may be detailed and lengthy. Instead, use them as a guide
to do your job faster and more consistently.
7. There's
never enough time for testing.
Almost
every tester complains there is not enough time for testing, but the
reality is there is never enough time to test anything to a degree of
completeness. This is especially true when you consider software
attributes, such as usability, security, compatibility,
interoperability, etc.
Instead
of complaining about the lack of time, learn to prioritize based on
risk and focus on the application objectives important to senior
management. Sometimes we test more than we need to because our
objectives are out of line with what the sponsors value.
8. You
can't find all of the defects.
Don't
get discouraged if a defect is found later in something you tested. You
may do a very complete job and achieve a high level of defect removal,
but 100% is an elusive goal.
9. Maintain
a sense of humor and perspective
Being
able to laugh and keep a healthy sense of balance may be your best
survival mechanism. If you are in a bad situation, remember, this too
will pass.
10. Strive
for excellence instead of perfection
New
testers often get caught up in the quest for perfection with the
attitude that 100% correctness is the standard. I was a victim of this
as well, but in my defense, I was influenced heavily by the TQM posters
of the late 80's and articles such as "99.9% Isn't Good Enough."
The
problem with perfectionism is that it will make your progress slower,
introduce fear into everything you do, cause you to become more
critical of others, and generally, drive even your friends and family
to the point of despair.
Of
course, no one wants mistakes, but they happen regardless. To think
otherwise is to deny reality. Excellence is a habit that is shown in
your attitude and dedication to the work you do. If you are committed
to be the best, you will go the extra mile.
My
observation is that most people are forgiving when they see a mistake
or experience a lapse in service. The thing people pay the most
attention to is your response to the problem.
11. Developers
are not the enemy
It takes
the entire project team to deliver a quality project. While it may seem
at times that the developers don't care about quality, there may be
more issues than meet the eye. You will make more progress by working
with developers instead of against them. Remember that good
communication is a major key to successful projects (and testing). When
you take an adversarial position, the communication stops and so does
much of your information needed for testing.
12. Build
and maintain a personal network
Your
personal and professional relationships are a great asset. They are a
support system that can help when you have a job and when you don't.
Find a mentor and when you learn enough lessons, become a mentor to
someone else.
13. Keep
building your skills
Your
skills are what distinguish you from others. Always keep learning by
attending professional meetings, obtaining certifications, and reading
in the profession. I make it a goal to read at least one book a week on
topics related to by personal and professional growth (testing,
leadership, business, IT, etc.).
One
personal development guru noted that if you read 30 minutes a day on
any given topic, in five years you'll be an expert on the topic. It
worked for me-try it for yourself!
Another
great way to stay sharp and to build a network is to stay active in
some of the QA and testing forums. Some of my favorites are at www.stickyminds.com,
www.qaforums.com.
14. When
the going gets tough, the lazy get creative
I made a
sign with this saying on it and hung it on my desk when I first became
a test team leader. It reminded me to let creativity be my point of
leverage in problem solving.
Learn to
see problems in a new and creative way. You may have a good test plan,
but how will you deal with changes? Flexibility is a key attribute of
good problem-solving leaders.
15. Simple
is not always easy.
Much of
what we do in testing seems simple. However, the challenge is in the
consistency required to maintain the effort.
Some
solutions to problems may seem too simple at first, but don't discard
an idea just because is it simple and obvious. Also, don't
underestimate the effort needed to implement a simple idea!
Some
readers of the book I co-wrote with William E. Perry, Surviving
the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing, have
commented that the challenges are simple and easy to solve. That makes
me wonder why people still raise the same "people problems" year after
year. I think it is easier to obtain the head knowledge than to
actually implement the solutions at work.
Conclusion
Before
knowledge, comes wisdom. You may learn a lot of testing techniques, but
your ability to apply them will be limited if you don't have the wisdom
to know when to apply them and the context to understand them. One of
the problems you have in starting out in just about anything is that
"you don't know what you don't know." Wisdom helps you understand what
you need to know to be successful.
The
things I have listed are things I wish I had fully realized when I
first started testing. I hope they serve you well.
As
always, I would like to hear your comments about things you would have
liked to known as a rookie tester. Just e-mail me from the contact page.
All materials on this site
copyright 1996 - 2008, Rice Consulting Services, Inc.
Rice
Consulting Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 892003
Oklahoma City, OK 73189
405-691-8075
"Leaders
are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort,
which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is
worthwhile." -- Vince Lombardi
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