Learning new things and advancing in the technical skills becomes inevitable to keep up with the trends and avoid becoming obsolete. In that, every tester needs to be able to do a variety of things such as probing into requirements, asking more questions, comprehending product information, communicating with the clients, etc. to remain competitive and relevant.
1. DevOps & Agile Methodology
While Agile methodology imparts speed to the test project, DevOps helps with cross-functional teamwork right from the development, analysis, and QA which yields high-quality end product at a faster time-to-market.
Moreover, learning these methodologies removes the role rigidity and silos, allowing teams to pay close attention to phase-wise development and continuous releases. With the pressing demand to meet delivery deadlines, testers need to learn Agile & DevOps methodology due to the fact it promotes collaborative and iterative working models.
2. Web & Mobile Technologies
It is highly important that testers keep a tab on the web and mobile technology advancements since it guides them in comprehending the coding architecture and technical challenges to deliver effective QA solutions. Every tester must also get familiar with the web and mobile technologies so that they can understand the type of application, its built and scalability and apply a suitable course of action for its testing.
3. SDLC
Having an in-depth knowledge of SDLC cycle will also help anticipate complexities in the application which can guide in taking the right measures beforehand. It is also advisable for testers to learn the software lifecycle management skills as it will help them understand the application development tasks and plan testing cycles easily. With this, testers must also learn a couple of development methodologies like Waterfall, Kanban, Scrum, Lean, etc. that applies to the application development lifecycle processes.
4. Testing Tools & Techniques
It is also important for testers to get the knack of these tools to serve different requirements and complexities of the project. Besides, it is necessary for every tester to be aware of different testing techniques and usage of tools. Regardless of the domain and application type, the knowledge of different testing types likes black box testing, penetration testing, security testing, system testing, unit testing, etc. makes testers versatile, helping them work on any sort of project.
5. Programming
Programming knowledge helps in identifying possible errors in the application code which further reduces the chances of bugs and application inefficiencies. It is advisable to learn at least two programming languages since there are brighter chances for testers to understand the workarounds of the application for ensuring better application quality lifecycle.
When we talk about programming, it isn’t that testers need to work like a developer, but it is important to understand the inside out of the application so that it becomes easy to comprehend its functioning and create tests accordingly.
6. Communication – Written & Oral
Apart from this, good communication helps in demonstrating a high degree of comprehension which further helps in conveying insights and giving feedback to both technical and non-technical people logically and rationally. Every tester should also possess good communication skills.
By good communication, we mean that they should be a good writer, speaker, listener and reader to communicate effectively with stakeholders such as update the status of the project to the clients, inform about requirements to the team, communicate issues to the developers, translate requirement documents to test cases and prepare reports for management.
7. Intellectuality & Creativity
Software testing is not a routine or mundane task, instead, it is a process that requires creativity and intellectual bend of mind. Intellectuality and creativity cannot be learned.
Also by applying intelligent insights and solutions, testers can explore different test scenarios, identify defect probabilities and seek possible solutions for delivering effective product quality. However, one can try to think out-of-the-box by questioning the application behavior and analyze different sides of the application to understand it’s working.
8. Project Management
Project management skills also prepare testers to be accountable and answerable for their work to concerned stakeholders and also undertake responsibility and management the end-to-end testing project. Learning the skills of project management will instill problem-solving ability in testers. This way, project management skills contribute to delivering quality results, improving the entire test process.
9. Customer Support
Being a tester does not mean that they should always remain back office for they contribute equally to the success or failure of the test project and hence should always be available to respond to and support customer requirements. Unlike traditional set-up, modern day test projects demand testers to be ready for providing customer support and think from their perspectives.
10. Reporting
This practice of reporting leads to better coordination of the overall test project and also gives transparency to the top management in terms of test cases executed, bug encountered, release timelines, etc. which eventually helps in taking the right decisions. A good tester must also possess good reporting skills to provide the exact status of the test project and application under test to stakeholders.
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