What makes a “Good Tester”?

September 20th 2019
- by: The Sogeti Digital Assurance & Testing Practice

One of the challenges we face as testers is understanding what value we bring to an organization and what skills we have to bear upon that Value. Some see Testing as only a skill and others see Testing as a craft and not just a profession or job.

Testing involves many soft and hard skills and one real essential differentiator between an average Tester and a good Tester is hard to put a definitive measure on.

One thing is for sure: testing is a process by which we deliver advice and insight into the quality and related risks of a system and this requires in the very least a “Motivation” to provide such advice and insights in the first place.

Secondly, the way to communicate this advice and insights in an effective and diplomatic manner to other stakeholders is essential. So perhaps some of the most important characteristics of a good Tester is a Curiosity to discover and then the diplomatic and communication skills to proceed in reporting the findings of the tests we have carried out to the other stakeholders.

But perhaps one of the greatest differentiators for what makes a Good tester is the desire and ability to Learn and keep improving. With an increasing  need for Testers to be able to automate tests and understand the growing technologies such as how Testing is impacted by the growing use of RPA and AI, plus the fact that the scope  of testing for IoT and other Technologies and growing hardware and software contexts – then the ability and desire to Learn and Improve is perhaps in fact a key essential aspect.

We value this learning and encourage our Testers to be engaged not only in operational Testing but to also retrain and Learn new testing skills on a continuous basis. It is perhaps only in this trajectory of a career in testing where the craft of Testing is improved and updated continuously that one can truly grow to become and stay a Good tester.