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Marcin Wosinek
Marcin Wosinek

Posted on • Originally published at how-to.dev

What is a good tester?—Interview with Alexander van der Berg

Today's guest is Alexander van der Berg, an experienced software tester who can shed some light on this part of the industry.

What is a good tester?

A good tester knows where the bugs hide and reliably finds them even under time pressure. The tester does not ask what needs to be tested but knows it based on qualifications, experience, and intuition. A good tester also knows the priority of each found issue so that not every issue must be discussed with the product manager.

Regarding test automation: A good tester develops tests that find and prevent bugs from going to production. This means that if the automated tests never find bugs before they appear in production, then maybe the tests are not well written, are superfluous, and can be deleted. And more useful tests should be automated instead.

A good tester also develops automated tests that have a low maintenance effort. This means that the tests have a good architecture and require the tester to have programming skills. Automated tests must also be reliable and, under the same conditions, always show the same result. The automated tests must not be flaky because this causes loss of trust in the test results.

What were you looking for in people when you were interviewing candidates for your junior colleagues?

I looked for various things:

  • Experience with the tools and in the technical [focus] area we used in the company. When I, for example, needed someone for mobile app test automation, the job applicants who only automated Windows Desktop software were not the best fit because they had to learn mobile app test automation and the used tools first.
  • Talent to find bugs. I checked this by showing some screenshots from the company's website or app and asking the job applicant how these screens should be tested.
  • Programming skills for test automation. I always tested Git and programming knowledge with a short exercise. This filtered out a lot of job applicants because some people write everything on their CV they ever had installed on their computer but do not have working knowledge in any of it.
  • My recommendation for job applicants: focus your CV and your job applications on the area you know well and want to work on. If you would like to change the testing area, then write a good motivation for it. And keep your CV short: no one takes the time to read a ten-page CV when they receive dozens of applications each day.

How is the market for testers right now?

As usual, I would say testers are looked for a lot. Maybe this will change with AI doing testing, but someone with testing experience will have to tell the AI tool what to do. So the testing job tasks will change, but the job will still be needed.

Why do you think it is so difficult to find good testers?

Only two percent of the job applicants I received in the past few years had the skills and knowledge necessary for the company I worked for.

Some people only work in testing because they are not good enough to work as a developer. They are, therefore, not able to program reliable and low-maintenance test automation; this means they are not a good fit for any company that relies on automated tests.

Other people only work in testing for the money you can earn in IT, which means that they are neither very motivated nor skilled at it, and are not really motivated to get better.

Not many people like testing AND are good at it. Most people want to create new things.

What was your day like as a tester?

This depends on the company. Some companies structured test and test automation in Scrum sprints, the same way as for the developers. In others, I did not know what I would be doing the next day because many unexpected issues and tasks came up. For some companies, I did manual testing only; for others the goal was to automate as many tests as possible—or to support the developers with the configuration of the continuous integration and deployment system. I also worked in parallel to testing as a third level support and analyzed issues reported by the customers because testers usually know all the parts and subsystems of a product very well.

From what I’ve heard, companies often look for test automation, but in the end require manual testing. What is your experience with that?

It is and will always be a mixture between manual testing and test automation: it is often not possible to automate every test. The goal should be to automate as many tests as possible to reduce the manual testing effort. The test automation should not be postponed because when too much manual testing must always be done, then the tests will never be automated.

Besides this, exploratory testing will always be manual and will always be necessary.

One possible way to reduce the effort for manual testing is to automate the test case steps that can be automated, execute these automated test steps locally, and then manually continue the test from the last automatically executed step. This saves the time for the manual execution of the steps that run automated.

How does collaboration between testing and programming usually work?

This depends on the company. In Scrum teams, a tester is included in a developer team. In others, there is one tester responsible for various teams, or the development work is done by an external company and only the final or milestone result is delivered for testing.

How can one know if this job is a good match for them?

The most important thing is that you like your job. Only then are you motivated to do high-quality work and to get better at it.

Maybe it is possible to get to know the department, colleagues, and tasks during a trial day.

If you’re unsure, maybe better not start; or try it out and change jobs if it is not a good match. Changing jobs is not a big issue, and no job is forever anyway.

For whom would you recommend testing as a job?

People who have talent for finding bugs: if you cannot enjoy a play because the stage is dusty and some lights on the ceiling are broken, then you are a good tester because you are one of the few people who immediately notice it.

Learn more

If you are interested in learning more about testing, or other programming subjects, you can sign up here for an occasional email from me when I publish new content. Meanwhile, here you have some related articles:

Top comments (6)

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jnuios profile image
jnbut • Edited

I aspire to enter the field of testing. Could you please guide me on the recommended courses I should pursue to attain the skills required for this role?

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marcinwosinek profile image
Marcin Wosinek

I've heard this course is good:
udemy.com/course/testerbootcamp/

I'm working on new materials on testing. If you want to get updates when I publish something, you can sign up for a newsletter here:
how-to-dev.ck.page/a5c69742db

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marcinwosinek profile image
Marcin Wosinek

I just asked a friend for a recommendation, hopefully I'll come back to you with it.

For now, I can recommend my other articles:

API testing shows often as a skill necessary for testers, and is more technical than manual app testing.

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agedsatellite profile image
agedsatellite

Understanding where bugs might hide and being able to find them efficiently, especially under pressure, shows a lot of skill and experience. I agree that a tester who knows what needs to be tested based on their qualifications hill climb racing and intuition is invaluable. And prioritizing issues effectively is key to keeping the workflow smooth without unnecessary delays. When it comes to test automation, it makes sense that tests should be effective in catching bugs before they reach production, and also be reliable and low-maintenance. That balance between thoroughness and efficiency seems crucial.

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zedlouder11 profile image
sowzy • Edited

An interview with Hacker Noon, Alexander van der Berg, a software testing consultant and trainer, shared his insights on what makes a good tester. Here are some of the qualities he mentioned: A good tester understands the different phases of the software development process and how testing fits into each phase. They know how to work with developers and other stakeholders to ensure that the software is tested effectively. A good tester is able to identify and troubleshoot problems in software. They are able to think creatively and come up with solutions to problems that may not be obvious. A good tester is detail-oriented and able to find even the smallest bugs in software. They are able to focus on the task at hand and not get distracted by other things. A good tester is able to communicate their findings effectively to developers and other stakeholders. They are able to explain complex technical issues in a way that is easy to understand. The software testing landscape is chanda na kay constantly evolving, so a good tester is always willing to learn new things. They are open to new ideas and are always looking for ways to improve their testing skills. In addition to these qualities, van der Berg also mentioned that a good tester is someone who is passionate about their work. They enjoy finding bugs in software and helping to make software better. If you are interested in becoming a software tester, these are some of the qualities that you should strive to develop.

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jasonlasi32 profile image
jasonlasi32

I am wanting to become a tester, what course do i need to study to be able to do that?
I am practicing with bad ice cream.