Somewhere i read "It's always darkest before the dawn". Metaphorically, i believe in this saying.
Its been several years i am trying to be a good tester! I started my journey as a software QA engineer with a very little knowledge of what it is. Necessarily, i was soon assigned to test a software and i was the one and only quality assurance guy in the company. With a very small knowledge of what should i plan and what should i do, i started to test the system with all of my efforts. With the intention of being a good QA engineer, i jumped into my work. I tried to be familiar with the system i was testing, i was searching what and how to do, i was playing with the system, i was showing my knack of poking the system with some random activities and now i know i was doing nothing but exploring the system.
Fortunately, i discovered some bugs within a very short time. Then i had to do one of the most important jobs of mine, that is, reporting the bugs! I started learning.
Soon i discovered I was surrounded by some devils who were always asking me lots of questions, Is the product up to its quality ? Is my testing done ? Did i test everything ? Did i find all the bugs ? Am i sure there is no more bug ? Am i sure client won't find any bug ?
I was a scared; like i'm all alone in the dark. I felt like being the sole responsible for whatever bad thing gonna happen. I discovered my scariest days which often used to came, when the latest build of the software was taken to the customer end. Unfortunately, i was failed to make sure the software was bug free, and client found bugs!
The next day, i was called by the project manager to justify why it happened. I had no answer that time. I could not reply in favor of myself, i had no justification and thus i was guilty. No one questioned the people who collected the requirements, designed the specs, built the architecture, developed the system, managed the project, lead the team, and so on. Everyone was looking at me like i was an alien. It was me who was the sole responsible person.
I took all the blames on me and started thinking to improve more. Gradually, i realized my necessity of involving myself throughout the whole development process. I did the followings and years after i realized what i actually did are:
Few months later i came to know i was mostly a tester than a quality assurance guy and i was a part of the whole quality assurance process. And i discovered, i already started liking myself of being a tester!
Its been several years i am trying to be a good tester! I started my journey as a software QA engineer with a very little knowledge of what it is. Necessarily, i was soon assigned to test a software and i was the one and only quality assurance guy in the company. With a very small knowledge of what should i plan and what should i do, i started to test the system with all of my efforts. With the intention of being a good QA engineer, i jumped into my work. I tried to be familiar with the system i was testing, i was searching what and how to do, i was playing with the system, i was showing my knack of poking the system with some random activities and now i know i was doing nothing but exploring the system.
Fortunately, i discovered some bugs within a very short time. Then i had to do one of the most important jobs of mine, that is, reporting the bugs! I started learning.
Soon i discovered I was surrounded by some devils who were always asking me lots of questions, Is the product up to its quality ? Is my testing done ? Did i test everything ? Did i find all the bugs ? Am i sure there is no more bug ? Am i sure client won't find any bug ?
I was a scared; like i'm all alone in the dark. I felt like being the sole responsible for whatever bad thing gonna happen. I discovered my scariest days which often used to came, when the latest build of the software was taken to the customer end. Unfortunately, i was failed to make sure the software was bug free, and client found bugs!
The next day, i was called by the project manager to justify why it happened. I had no answer that time. I could not reply in favor of myself, i had no justification and thus i was guilty. No one questioned the people who collected the requirements, designed the specs, built the architecture, developed the system, managed the project, lead the team, and so on. Everyone was looking at me like i was an alien. It was me who was the sole responsible person.
I took all the blames on me and started thinking to improve more. Gradually, i realized my necessity of involving myself throughout the whole development process. I did the followings and years after i realized what i actually did are:
- I started joining the requirement collection and analysis part from the next phase. I started learning my clients, the users.
- I started testing on developer's end. I learned about developers, their skill level, possible places they left bugs, and most importantly, i learned team work.
- I became the trainer of client to teach them how to use the system. The more they operated the system, the more i had to face several questions. I learned their business requirements, i got domain, i learned what are called usability issues.
- I faced lots of questions asked by the customers, of which i had no answer. Thus i started to do the same with the system so that next time i have the answers ready for them. I started to explore the system!
Few months later i came to know i was mostly a tester than a quality assurance guy and i was a part of the whole quality assurance process. And i discovered, i already started liking myself of being a tester!
