Welcome to our blog post on software tester improvement.
As a software tester, making improvements in your testing skills is paramount to success.
The industry moves at a very fast pace and there is an influx of upgrades in processes and tools.
You must stay afloat and help your customers achieve their goals. Even more, helps in creating the best software products that meet user requirements at all times.
Check out the QUALITIES OF AN EXCELLENT SOFTWARE TESTER
In this blog post, we will be discussing some ways software tester improvements are possible or achievable.
If that sounds like what you would love to learn, read on with us.
Simple Innovative Ways of Improving Your Software Testing Skills
What are you into? Mobile app or website testing or do you do both? Perhaps, you are only looking for some reliable software testers. Right? Whatever the type of testing that you do, here are some simple software tester improvement techniques.
Prioritise Quality
Remember, software testing is not all about finding and fixing bugs and defects. It is a technical evaluation process that aims at improving software quality. This is a common software testing technique that many companies look for when hiring.
Know How to Prioritise
Software testing is a very well-thought-out, planned and organised process. This means that software testers are required to know how to prioritize their tests. Know what areas are more important than the others.
This will help in testing the most critical areas and giving feedback based on the scale of preference. Doing this helps the development teams to eliminate bugs as soon as possible.
Communication Skills
Every software tester with his/her testing techniques and tools must be able to communicate—communication cuts across teams, individuals, stakeholders and developers.
So, in this area, the software tester improvement technique requires both written and spoken communication skills intact.
When you write and when you speak, your listeners should be able to understand what you mean. This is the best way to get the best results.
Always Learn New Things
As a software tester, you are expected to grow in several areas including skills, knowledge and technical aspects. The best way to achieve this is to have a thirst for knowledge. This will allow you to always learn new things. It also means you will be able to learn from your mistakes and do better on every test.
Learning makes you conscious of your mistakes. It makes you recognise why certain errors or mistakes happen and how you can improve.
Being always ready to learn is a software tester improvement technique that improves your career.
Maintain Professionalism
As a software tester, making improvements requires you to have knowledge in different areas of testing. It is also important that you have a good understanding of how software architecture works.
Also, being a professional tester means that you will have no room for biases. This will help in improving your bug-finding skills as well as doing nice jobs because you will fit into different teams.
Be Innovative
Innovative thinking is a necessary skill. It is useful for a lot of reasons and software testers require the skills for success.
A software Testing blog on LinkedIn which is powered by AI and the LinkedIn community. The blog claims software tester improvement techniques are about using new ways to “explore, design, execute and report tests that can uncover hidden defects.
It also says innovative software testers use certain techniques to improve user experience as well as improve the values of the software product they are testing.
The community gives some groundbreaking elements of creativity and innovation in software testing;
- Creative and innovative software testers should be able to think like the users. This allows them to put themselves in the shoes of the users to detect errors, flaws and defects that are not obvious.
- Creative and Innovative testers use different techniques to cover more test cases and uncover hidden defects.
- Any software tester who is creative will know the importance of test automation and how best to apply the tools. However, we believe this should also include the importance of manual testing. Part of the software tester improvement techniques is learning to work with different testing tools. Including the manual and automation techniques.
- Such testers are always learning new technologies and improving their software testing skills.
- Lastly, the community adds that innovative and creative software testers know how to collaborate with others.
Ask Yourself Some Important Questions
As you look towards improving your software tester skills, once in a while, stop to think. Ask yourself some important and critical questions. According to Testbytes, the most important questions that you ask include the following;
- Does this work as planned?
- Does it support all devices?
- Does it work under every possible use case, every time?
They suggest that software testers must ask themselves these questions at virtually every level of their testing journey.
Be Passion Driven
Passion makes us happy with what we do. Passion is a strong drive that ensures we are committed to achieving a particular goal or reaching certain heights in life. In software testing, it is no different.
Clinton Hart says;
- The “passionate tester sticks out their nose into any situation” until they get results.
- They are receptacles to new things and changes
- Passionate testers are always willing to offer software testing assistance
When you are passionate about testing, you do all it takes to be ahead of your pairs. You invest in your skills as well as your career growth.
Developing a passion for testing is an integral part of software tester improvement techniques.
Why Software Testers Should Learn Test Automation Techniques
If you are a software tester, your software tester improvement techniques should cover critical testing skills. You should also know how to use test automation techniques to enhance your testing.
Here are some important reasons every software tester needs test automation techniques.
Test Automation Techniques Make Testing Faster and More Efficient
All that slow testing that comes with manual testing is absent in test automation. The technique speeds up the whole process, allowing testers to achieve a lot within a short time.
Qassert IT Solutions says; that with test automation techniques, software testers are able to run their tests more “frequently and thoroughly”. Also, the tools are good at “ensuring that all potential issues are identified and addressed.”
Test automation techniques are important for efficiency too because they adequately help in identifying and fixing bugs.
The tool offers a lot of convenience for testers as well as it enhances their time management. Imagine the joy of planning your tests and using the right tools to perform and finish those tests within the time frame.
Test Automation Techniques Produce High Quality Software
One good thing about automation in testing is consistency. What is even more interesting about this is that it leads to higher software quality. With automated testing tools, software testers perform enhanced checks for bugs, errors and defects.
They also check for performance issues and even identify potential issues. All of these are geared towards ensuring that the final product meets set regulations, standards and user requirements.
According to Amit Dabil of Digital Thoughts, with automation testing techniques, software testers increase the quality of software.
The tool gives them an edge with “several factors like the improved test coverage, increased efficiency of testing, and higher levels of accuracy”. All of which helps in ensuring that the end product meets the highest quality standards.
Test Automation Techniques Help to Save Money
One of the benefits of using test automation techniques is cost efficiency. Using this tool software testers, have a very different approach to managing resources. Although the initial investment for set up will always look expensive, in the long run, it saves money.
With test automation techniques, software testers perform their tests repeatedly. This helps them in reducing or in some cases, eliminating the need for manual testing. So here, there is a cut down on the budget for using manual testing which is time-consuming and may attract more money.
In another way, Digital Solutions tells us that since test automation tools help in the early detection of bugs and defects, they help us to save costs. Let us explain this.
In software testing, it is very true that the earlier you catch the bugs, the easier and cheaper it will cost you to fix them.
However, bugs and defects which are seen at later stages of the software launch, will attract heavy costs to fix. So, “Automating your test process makes you save on money and time, which translates to increased ROI in the long run.”
Test Automation Techniques Leads to Quick Time to Market
With all the speed in testing, reusable test case features and early detection and fixes, test automation tools are excellent.
They are excellent in ensuring that software development lifecycles meet up with deadlines. Even more, they are excellent in ensuring that while the release is within the deadline, there is no compromise on quality.
Carlos Blanco, the Lead QA Engineer at Accedo says it best;
In the software development life cycle, there is always the need for a “balance between reducing time to market and ensuring product quality.”. Fantastically, test automation offers a viable solution to this need.
“Test automation assesses the stability and quality of the product or service earlier than manual testing,” allowing software products to “get to market quicker, ahead of competitors, without compromising on quality.”
Test Automation Techniques Lead to Increased Test Coverage
If you want to test larger areas of your software products, use test automation tools. No wonder this is a must-have list of software tester improvement techniques.
Sourojit Das of BrowserStack Technologies, a tech company and expert in using test automation techniques make this claim. “Software test automation has proven itself to be a reliable and efficient process to achieve faster test coverage and provide greater accuracy at the same time”
Test automation runs fast, faster than manual testing. It is also more frequent than manual testing and this allows software testers and developers to cover more test areas.
In other words, it allows developers and testers to evaluate more areas which leads to identifying more bugs and defects at an early stage of the product development.
Also, use test automation techniques if you want to test multiple software configurations and/or in different environments. This is in no way possible with the manual testing type of testing.
We will conclude this section with the words of QASSERT, who in their software testing wisdom agree that; “The benefits of test automation are many, and it is clear that it will continue to play an increasingly important role in the software development process”.
Software Tester Improvement for Test Planning and Execution
One of the best skills of every software tester is test planning and execution. If they cannot efficiently handle this stage of the project, then they are bound to fail. Test planning and execution skills are therefore, a vital requirement for software tester improvement techniques
What is Test Planning?
It is a well-thought-out, very detailed document containing important aspects of the testing project. A good test plan includes test strategies, test objectives, timelines and schedules, and deliverables.
A test plan also includes all the needed resources including the number of testers, type of tests and testing tools/techniques.
For the software tester, the stakeholders and all other important investors, test planning and execution help them to understand every part and importance of the processes.
In the words of Thomas Hamilton, test planning and execution serve as a blueprint to conduct software testing activities. They are defined processes, which are “minutely monitored and controlled by the test manager.”
Importance of Test Planning and Execution Documents
Firstly, engaging in writing test planning and execution documents is like building the foundation of your software testing project.
This is a software testing skill that every tester should master. Mostly because how good your test plans and execution documents are, determines how solid your test will be.
These are two essential software tester improvement techniques that must be very clear and properly communicated among all teams. Everyone must understand what is in the document and their roles in achieving this.
Test planning and execution enforces the need for teamwork and collaboration among all teams and stakeholders. So, it doesn’t matter whether you are building a mobile app or a website, you will always need a good test planning and execution strategy to deliver the best product.
The Role of Test Planning and Execution in Risk Assessments, and Resource Management
Kate Passby, through his blog post “How to Create a Test Plan for Software Testing”, says; that when you have high-quality test planning and execution skills as a software tester, you can design a document that helps in identifying important risk areas of the project.
Also, he claims that the document will help in determining “the order of testing activities, and allocate resources efficiently.”
Having a test planning and execution document is like having a reliable guide for your test. It is also an important tool for every software tester improvement. Throughout the software development life cycle, the testers can always refer back to documents.
The Power of Continuous Learning in Testing
As a software development company, I have been in the industry for many years. This is what happens when we think of software testers.
We are visualizing an individual or a group of people should never stop learning. Moreso, we are looking at people who make conscious efforts to make improvements in their testing skills.
Testers learn new things on a regular basis and try to implement them in their work. Remember their job is majorly to improve the overall quality of a software product. So, learning new things is imperative.
Tessa McDaniel sees continuous learning as an “ongoing process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and expertise throughout one’s life and career.”
He further says that it has to do with being “proactive and deliberate” towards expanding…one’s understanding. It also involves learning processes that expand “one’s capabilities beyond formal education.”
Continuous learning is a software tester improvement technique. Testers are expected to enrol in testing courses, webinars, and seminars. They should also consider learning, and improving their technical skills and their soft skills.
Whatever methods they decide to adopt for their continuous learning, software testers should have a goal and vision. These two will help in shaping their zeal and channeling their energy towards relentless continuous learning.
How Can Continuous Learning Help Testers?
Continuous learning in testing is important, especially in improving the skills and experience of the tester.
They play important roles in both personal and professional growth and in the success of the tester’s career progression.
Continuous learning helps testers to;
- Stay up to date with testing trends, updates, tools, and techniques for testing
- It improves their skills in using different frameworks for different projects
- Continuous learning in testing is an effective tool that fosters deep understanding and implementation of best practices in testing.
- It is a tool for helping testers to embrace and utilize more use of test automation tools.
- Software testers who continuously learn will find it easier to help in creating software products that meet standards. They will also be able to play pivotal roles in bug and defect identification and ultimately, creating the best products.
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Software Tester Improvement: Here Is Our Conclusion
We do hope you enjoy reading our blog post on the topic, of software tester improvement. We have taken our time to touch on some important aspects of the topic to give you the best content on the internet.
As you embark on a journey to improve your software tester skills, we wish you all the best.
Meanwhile, if you need to hire the best software testers, or you just want to create an offshore team, we can help you.
Reach out to us now.