6 Things Every New Software Tester Needs To Know & Understand

This article will serve as a roadmap towards getting a greater understanding of software testing. You will be given tasks to complete as you begin your journey. Tech testers who work in software testing companies are still learning, but it’s difficult to quantify their progress. We gain knowledge about the product we are evaluating. We learn from developers, administrators, and testers and build relationships with them. This allows us to excel in what we do. We, too, are chameleons. We alter our actions depending on the setting we’re in or the product we’re testing. We must continue to educate ourselves about the tools we will use to evaluate each product.

This is far from a comprehensive list. It will help you get started on your adventure. Take one for the team.

1. Your Interest In Software Testing

Let’s begin with some introspection.

Being mindful of your mindset is a vital aspect of being a tester.

• What brought you to this blog?
• What makes software testing so important to you?
• What do you think software testing means, in your opinion? 

Include the issues above, as well as any other concerns you might have. The aim is to get the bulk of such questions answered by the conclusion of this guide. You’ll have more questions as time goes by. Questions encourage people to look for answers, which contributes to understanding.

Will you be someone who strives to improve software through defect management tools? Are you able to act as a consumer advocate? What about the company? Who are your coworkers?

Don’t let the intimidating nature of the task deter you. Start with the first question and consider it.

What do you do next:

• Commit to writing down why you’re here (a post-it or whatever medium you prefer)
• What are the plans for the end of this?
• What abilities do you currently possess that you believe would be useful in testing?
• What do you think app testing is right now?
• Make a note of this guide in your calendar. Be honest with yourself on what you can do. Accept your day-to-day habits as well as your energy levels.

2. Learn The Essence Behind Software Testing

Begin by jotting down your ideas about what software testing is and what a software tester does.

Application testing encompasses a wide range of activities. It is not always necessary to use the commodity. Finding glitches isn’t the only goal. Testing will begin as soon as the specifications are finalized. Testing entails considering what the app can do, potential risks, and how the user/customer navigates the software.

Testing is:

• Testing manually and through defect management tools to see whether software provides the expected benefit to its consumers.
• Investigating the product to see if there is any knowledge that our customers will find useful.
• Preventing surprises – Identifying issues before releasing apps to stakeholders.
• Testing a variety of products:

Because of its volatile and imaginative nature, this is a valuable practice in software creation that is often overlooked.

Testing is not:

• Simple, fast, and predictable.
• Just testing to see if the product fits the definition.
• Increasing consistency is an exercise that requires the participation of the whole team.
• Exemplify that the program has previously worked.
• Everyone understands or values it.
• A rigid, unimaginative mechanism that is better held under close control.

3. Being Social Helps

This would be a somewhat easier job, to begin with, but you will need to work hard to maintain it. Start as easily as you want or feel comfortable. When you have the opportunity, we suggest completing all of the steps listed below.

Participating in social events will allow you to meet local testers who are eager to assist you when you run into a difficult issue. You’ll make some lifelong friends in a new city thanks to these social events. It’s good to have friends who can empathize and appreciate what you’re going through.

What do you do next:

• Look for a nearby tech testing meetup on Meetup.com.
• Join the Ministry of Slack Testing.
• Join Twitter, start following testers, and participate in some discussions.
• Enter The Club, a discussion group for software testing and quality assurance.
• Read Andrew Morton’s blog posts about joining the STC meetups in Bristol and Cardiff.
• TestBash, Agile Training Days, EuroStar, STPCon, Global Testing Retreat, TestCon, STAREAST, Let’s Test, and Nordic Testing Days are just a few examples of testing conferences. We’ll go over these in more depth in Mission 23. They are an important part of being social.

4. Have a plan

When there is so much material being tossed at you, it can be tough to keep organized.

You will get a lot of assistance from making your own mind maps. There are several free resources available to assist you with this. A mind map, in my opinion, makes it much easier to arrange a jumbled thinking pattern. Have you ever got a million thoughts racing through your head that are closely connected so you can’t seem to put them in a logical order to make something useful out of them? Mind charts, as well as the tried-and-true method of using post-its on a wall, will assist with this.

5. Ask a question

Pose a question to a tester.

You should post your question on Twitter, Slack, The Club, or at a meetup. If necessary, turn the issue into a conversation. It’s impossible to say what you might gain from it. This can seem to be an easy subject for an entire mission, but it may be challenging for others. If you turn the issue into a conversation, it could last for longer than the mission at hand.

6. Share Your Experience With Others

Even if it’s not for casual consumption, writing about your experience will offer inspiration and strength. Writing is an ideal way of self-reflection which helps you to learn from your mistakes and make preparations for the future.

Consider the first task you did, your motivation for being here, and what you wanted to achieve. Consider everything you’ve heard so far. Were there any activities that you found especially useful? If so, what’s the reasoning behind it? Did you come across something that was uninteresting? If you share any of your insights and observations, you may be shocked by how valuable they are to others.

How to teach people about your experience:

• Use the hashtag #StartTesting to describe each mission, and feel free to include @ministryoftest in your tweets.
• On Ministry of Testing Slack, post updates to the #StartTesting channel.
• Create blog entries about your learning experiences.
• Write an email to somebody you think would profit from it.

Conclusion

Reflect on the points mentioned above, act on them, and keep the learning journey a constant process. Your journey from a junior to a senior QA and even a team lead needs dedication, hard work, and constant learning experiments.