Building Testing Skills

In the over 25 years I have been in the QA discipline, I have come across two types of discussions about testing skills.

1 – It is an art, and it is a trait within an individual that one cannot learn.

2 – It is a mindset that can be taught and flourished to get the right outcomes and succeed.

I stand with option 2. Anyone can be taught anything and have those willing to learn to understand what it is to have the right mindset. Much like developing code or writing requirements, it is all about how much you enjoy doing it and the ease it is to understand the work effort.

I have come across individuals that just couldn’t get how to test software. They understood the processes, and what was needed, they couldn’t understand how to get the tasks done effectively. Does that mean they were terrible testers? No, from my view is that the framing is in such a way for them not to get it completely.

One of the things that I have a hard time with is the multitude of courses out there regarding QA and testing. Some of them are good and provide an understanding of actual QA and how testing is a small component of a huge thing. Others just focus on testing and work on just the execution, not providing the reason as to why they are doing what they are doing.

I have even come across some colleges that provide courses in QA. The descriptions I have read on a couple don’t give the real indications of what QA means and solely focuses on testing. When I researched this course, it was a few years ago. A couple of them now have been discontinued those schools. I can see why, partly because they never really gave the value this discipline has.

I have stated before I would love to see an entire program on QA within a college. Why not? They have them for engineering and development. It only makes sense.

In the meantime, here are some guidelines to build the skills of anyone that wants to do QA.

1 – Get them to ask questions? They don’t have to get into the full details of what is going on, yet they should ensure they are getting enough details to get the job done effectively. Understand how the code works. When I first started QA and Testing, I went overboard on writing cases and doing work. Since I didn’t understand the flow, it got out of hand and a lot of duplication of work.

2 – Think efficiently. Too many times, I have seen inefficient was of testing work that took too long to get done. Line up the cases in flow, be smart about recording results, don’t write complex test cases, if you can avoid it.

3 – Review, review, review. This function is one of the most important things I stress. Everyone within the delivery team should all agree to what the expected outcome a test is or that there is enough detail in requirements/stories to get moving on development.

The exciting thing here is what I just talked about is nothing new. There is plenty of literature out there that says the same thing. So if that is the case, why is it challenging to build the skill set? Who knows, maybe management lack of understanding, conflicting views of what it means within the discipline, or no time to get that knowledge.

I fell if, at the very least, the three base methods I provided will give guidance to search out that knowledge. Get what is needed to improve professionally and the organization as well.

I am trying to draw out plans for a proper college program for QA, and I mean real QA. There will be some components of how to test, where I want to focus is on Quality Assurance with Software. I want to build the community and help show the value.