Tester – is a specialist who is engaged in software testing. His task is to check with the developer what he has done, to identify errors and vulnerabilities for their subsequent correction.
In testing, there are such positions as tester, QC and QA. In fact, this is not the same tester or QA, as is commonly believed. Everyone has their own role, but lately the boundaries have been blurred. A tester is looking for bugs. QC (quality control) – checks that the product meets the declared quality. QA is a set of measures aimed at the quality of product creation, the quality of processes and the elimination of defects. The concept of QA essentially includes QC and testing. In some companies, testers are QA engineers.
First of all, a tester must understand the business logic of the project and have an understanding of what the end user of the project wants.
What does a tester do?
• Creates a test case;
• conducts tests according to a given algorithm;
• communicates with the team;
• comes up with non-standard ways to “break the program”;
• finds and records program errors;
• helps developers fix bugs;
• double-checks fixed bugs;
• documents all their tests.
Approximate sequence of work:
1. Studying the program specification.
2. Development of an inspection plan.
3. Conducting an inspection.
4. Documenting all inspections.
5. Conclusions based on the results of the test.
This is the sequence of work of a “manual technician” who does manual testing. Autotesters write code based on ready-made tests that will check everything the same as manual testers do manually.
Pros and cons of being a tester:
Pros:
• Low entry threshold, does not require extensive knowledge like developers.
• Demand, always high demand in the labor market.
• Good prospects for growth.
Disadvantages:
• Routineness. Long and monotonous work.
• High competition, due to the low entry threshold, there are a lot of novice testers.
• Developers do not like testers because they point out their mistakes.
Profession of a tester Suitable for people who do not yet have deep knowledge and want to enter the IT field. You can develop vertically and first become a junior specialist and test everything using ready-made test cases. Over time, if you prove yourself well and have a zeal for development, you can become middle (1-3 years of experience) and develop test tasks yourself, communicate with the customer, participate in rallies, etc. After this, you can apply for senior status, develop a testing strategy, establish testing processes, manage a team of testers.
If you choose horizontal development, you can become, for example:
• An expert in various subject areas and move from testing one technology to another.
• Security tester – check the security of the program.
• Performance tester – test how it behaves under increasing load.
• Usability tester – check how well it is convenient to work with.
If we consider development vertically, then testers most often go into development, as well as into project managers, product managers and other professions.
In the process of working on a product, a tester plays as important a role as other team members. Good testers are always in demand on the labor market and have many development paths.