Software testing is an indispensable part of the process of developing an application. As a software tester, it is very important to have certain skills, which helps to better carry out the testing work.
It is still difficult for some companies to find suitable software testers. Part of the reason is that many testers lack the necessary professional qualities and skills.
ZhuoMa Evaluation has compiled 9 essential skills for an effective software tester. These skills are indispensable for an excellent software tester.
1. Good logical thinking ability
Testing is not as easy as people think, it is of great significance to the software development process. For any software tester, it is necessary to have the ability to analyze and logically apply concepts. When testing software, you must analyze the given situation and formulate corresponding solutions. A good thinking process and a correct way of thinking will help analyze and solve the problems encountered in the testing process.
2. Good teamwork ability
With the advent of developers and agile testing, the workflow has become more collaborative, and developers and testers can work together on the same page. Sometimes problems may arise due to the lack of communication and understanding between two individuals. A very simple solution is to build trust between team members and increase understanding. This will help the tester to empathize and gain insight, which may make the testing process easier.
Teamwork and team building exercises are necessary, but teamwork and interpersonal skills are different. An occasional lunch or cup of coffee with the developers is enough to build a good relationship. This is not only a must-have software testing skill for testers, but in the long run it will also help to improve your leadership quality.
3. Good communication skills
Testing can be a long and tiring process, sometimes requiring testers to sit down and spend several hours to analyze a specific situation. However, after spending this time, it is crucial to send the correct information to the superior. This leads to the right decision in terms of release and timetable. A good report and effective communication are essential to establish a health transparency mechanism and trust for all stakeholders, because it accurately conveys all actions taken by the team, bugs found, bugs resolved, and any encountered other problems.
4. Have cross-browser testing skills
Due to the rich usability of browsers and the differences in different device cultures and different screen sizes of mobile devices, the need for browser compatibility testing is greater than ever.
It allows testers to test their applications on different browsers running on different operating systems on different devices. Cross-browser testing is the key to ensuring smooth operation after release.
5. Have a thorough understanding and planning of the business situation
An application or software is released under a well-structured business model. When testers look for technical aspects after development, one of the most important software testing skills is the ability to simulate real-time business situations. This process of mentally mapping business scenarios is very important because it supports the visualization of complex issues.
Each project has an implemented user scenario that describes the type of interaction with the system and the results delivered by the system. The results of these interactions must be consistent, and testers need to identify scenarios that may break consistency.
This makes it necessary for testers to understand the boundaries of the system and verify whether the effects of various processes on the system have produced the desired results.
6. Have project management capabilities
Software testing skills are a combination of technical and professional aspects. In order to manage both, it is extremely important for any individual to obtain ownership of the project. As a software tester, being able to manage the project means delivering the project after completing the test. Project management is an important skill, not only because it can lead to better management and delivery of results, but also because it promotes the responsibility of testers.
7. Possess continuous learning ability
Learning is a continuous process and an important factor in career development. However, excellent software testers should not be limited to a specific industry, technology or environment, but should learn and use newer technologies to improve themselves. If his job requires it, this can improve their adaptability and ability to switch between different environments.
Although every upcoming technology has courses and certifications, most of them are not aimed at testers. In addition, it will be a very expensive thing. On the contrary, it is more important to learn to actually use the new technology. Self-driven learning individuals will become leaders in this industry and have great development.
8. Familiar with the automation process
As a software tester, although it is important to have expertise in manual testing, knowledge of automation is still very beneficial. In the life cycle of the project, a given module has undergone many changes in its implementation. Each release cycle requires a rigorous testing phase to ensure the stability of the system. As a best practice, regression testing is required even for minor changes. This means that for each new implementation, the same tests need to be run.
This is an example of a recurring process and a classic example of how automation can adapt. For repeated situations, automated testing saves testers a lot of time to focus on more complex test scenarios.
9. Master test tools and techniques
As a tester, in order to optimize the test process, you need to have sufficient understanding of the existing test tools and technologies related to project requirements in the market. However, testing tools are seldom affected by industries and fields, and more depend on the purpose of testing. For testers, there are many options for different testing processes, such as bug tracking tools, automation tools, GUI testing, and so on.
In addition, cross-browser testing is critical in every field, and it is becoming more prominent due to the many platforms available. These tools and their device arrays help testers efficiently debug and find errors in one place.
The above are 9 essential skills for efficient software testers summarized by Zhuomai evaluation. For more testing dynamics, please pay attention to Zhuomai evaluation!
Zhuoma Software Testing is a third-party software testing service organization that specializes in software testing [with CMA and CNAS dual qualifications]. It can provide various software testing services according to your needs and issue qualified and effective software testing reports. If you have test requirements, you can find Zhuoma Software for evaluation