Find a challenge: Test
Nov19
Effective and efficient testing requires a combination of a methodological approach in checking the test object and a creative commitment to find those errors in the unwritten which could pose a problem in production.
I’m in the testing trade, not because I think it’s boring, but because it is a challenging profession. It’s always a challenge to look at system creatively and just try to find those errors that could cause real problems. For me is testing is a creative and intellectual challenging profession. Why?
Every tester knows that a 100% coverage in testing doesn’t exist. A tester cannot write or think of all the test cases and not all these devised test cases can be executed. A tester still needs to execute those tests that can mitigate the risks to a minimum when the system is implemented. While executing the prepared test cases a tester checks if the drawn up requirements and specifications (documentation) are implemented correct in the test object.
But it is also possible to test without any documentation and with more than just executing the specified test cases. Determining which test cases with which testing technique a tester needs to specify is the job of a test manager. The test manager bases his decisions on what the client wants in terms of providing insight into the risks related to the known requirements and al the different quality attributes. The test cases derived in this manner cannot cover all the risks. Therefore, an experienced tester looks beyond these test cases. The tester investigates the test object based on his knowledge and experience for further errors. A tester with a good combination of knowledge and creativity will find more and other defects in the test object than a tester that lacks this insight.
For example with defects, a tester already needs to look further than only the error. The tester should write down the defect as accurately as possible. As a result a programmer or analyst can (easily) reproduce that defect and find out what’s wrong. But a tester will also look even further than that: “If this goes wrong, what happens further on in the system?” And if the defect is solved: “what is the cause of that error?”
As a tester you should deal creatively with the information you have received. You need look further than only checking (off) the different requirements, but also look at the test object from different angles. Many requirements are often only made in terms of functional requirements, but things like usability, load and stress, manageability and security is are thought of less often. These subjects are however of interest to the owner, user or service manager.
We can now outsource this checking the expected operation of the system to a computer, they even can do it much faster. But looking beyond the defined information and finding errors, that is the essence of testing. With testing you think about the implications for the business processes and therefore the consequences for the client.
Finding those errors that everybody thinks “how did you think of that” and which create problems, when they are still in the system, are challenges for a tester. Challenges a tester encounters in his daily work. And these challenges are the distinction between ‘good’ and testers ‘average’ testers, testers with a clear added value to the client.
February 5th, 2012 at 22:24