Fresh Tester Start In A Project

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When I started working in Software Testing, the amount of information that I needed to grasp was exhaustive. Not only that I needed to learn about the industry, the business, the domain,  the product and its features, I had to get acquainted with the testing side of things – testing strategy, methodologies, test setups, tools required, etc. A very exciting challenge indeed, but it could also lead to burnout quickly if not properly handled. It’s worthwhile to have a charter or a map on learning and to gain knowledge. In this blog, let us look at the top priority things as a fresh tester start that needs to be considered in their journey to get accustomed with their day-to-day work in their project.

Product Requirements Analysis

The first and foremost thing that a fresh tester needs to look into is the product they are working on, and how it fits into the industry, the business, and the domain. Studies have shown that 65% of the defects found are related to requirements. In order to come up with requirements that are complete in several aspects like performance, security, accessibility, UI/UX, etc., it is important to first understand the product’s placement in the business. We should not be looking at the requirements in isolation, but should look at the fulfilment of customers’/end-users’ needs from the industry/domain/business perspective and validate whether the product fulfils those needs. It would also be worthwhile to compare the requirements with other competitive products out there in the market and see if the requirements satisfy needs of the broader market. While the Product Owner / Product Manager owns the requirements and acts as the interface between the customers and the product team, it is very much under the purview of the Software Tester to validate the requirements and ask the right questions to make sure that the right product is built.

Test Planning, types of tests

The next important thing is to understand the types of testing to be done for the product and the solution, and plan the tests. Test scenarios need to be designed too. There are various types of tests – functional, performance, security, accessibility, system, solution, interoperability, and usability. What tests need to be done, and the scope of each test needs to be clearly understood by the tester. Also, the tester needs to understand the tools used in testing of the product, such as test management tools, automation tools, and debugging tools.

Software Development Life Cycle and Software Design Principles

It’s important for the tester to understand what kind of software development life cycle is being used and what kind of software design principles are being used. From the perspective of getting engaged with all stages of software development – requirements, architecture, design, and code, it is important for the tester to understand the development methodology, so that testing can be planned accordingly.

Test Reporting

It is important to understand the principles of good test reporting, how to analyze and report on test results, and how to use test results for informed decision-making.

The above topics are the major considerations for a fresh tester start within a project. Feel free to chat with me on the above aspects. Happy to help!

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