This article explores a Humorous account of looking at the softskills required by a software automation testing individual from a different angle – when displayed in extreme.
The foundation of this article started within me from a sceptic remark from one of my team mates in development. Although that remark was made in a good will gesture but my started rolling towards what other aspects of a personality trait that other think is negative, but is helpful for a Software Automation Tester, hence the result is this article and I would like to remind people that they should also take it as a good banter and should laugh at the quirky way on looking at the traits of a good Software Automation Tester.
What we are exploring here is the opportunity of what will be negative trait for other people, but I will prove here how that negative trait can prove great for you if used properly. Some of the identified traits are as under :
BEING SKEPTICAL
If you are sceptical about everything and don’t believe people easily, that’s great for you if you are an automation tester, because a tester should not take a developer’s verbal “Here is the new build and its totally running and bug free”. Just don’t relax at this comment, There is no harm in questioning everything, accept it only once you have checked it and found it defect free. Don’t get pressurised by there designation or clout that they possess, just try to find errors till your last breath, since that is what you are supposed to do.
YOU QUESTION TOO MUCH
If people get unnerved by your too much questioning, you are welcome to the field of software testing, because a good Software testing requires asking lot of exploratory questions, “What will happen if _______, “Why it doesn’t work like this?”, “Will it still work if _________?”. The power of questioning is that it inspires new test cases and different ways of approaching the tests. If you have a powerful questioner in your team involved from the beginning itself, you will be able to introduce quality in the project from the start itself. So, remember a good software tester always asks questions.
YOU TRUST NO ONE
Its good to trust people but blindly trusting anyone does lead to misfortune. In the life of a software tester, its given that he or she need to verify each and every step before giving its acknowledgement on the products working. Assuming a developer has fixed his build and its responsibility of a tester to check if that build has taken care of the previously highlighted problems and also if the new fixes have created new problems or have stopped the previous working functionalities. You don’t need to trust anyone since they might have not checked the previous working functionalities thinking that it was already working before.
YOU ARE AGGRESSIVE
I have seen this more in the instance when, while testing, a software tester establishes a defect as critical, the first things which I have observed happens in the team of developer is getting the guard up as they want to meet the deadline of delivery and they would rather like to downplay the criticality of the bug or to call a meeting for deciding if it is critical or not. At such point of time, its important for a Tester to showcase its aggressiveness in putting up their thoughts, because a little time saved here might become a big time waste and embarrassment in future.
BEING PARANOID
To keep other hackers away from hacking your app, you have to think and work like a hacker, so it pays to be paranoid about something going wrong and check anything 4 or maybe 10 times in different ways to make apps, that you are responsible for, hacker proof.
As, I am writing, I can still think of many other traits that can be an asset to become a great Software Testing professional, so its not wrong to say that you shall definitely ride on a dark side of your personality if it is helping you in becoming good in your work. And remember this is just a humorous way to see the world from someone’s eyes and although it might not be true for everyone, but you will appreciate that maybe we have been wrong in judging many a people in our life.