Different Personas of a Software Tester

In every organization irrespective of its size, you find testers do more than given job or role at hand. This blog is about the testers, who put many hats to propel quality for their products. These personas may not be the most powerful people in your teams. They are the unsung heroes who work for the quality of their products day in and day out. Each of these personas brings, about their own skills and point of view in product testing. Based on my experience and observations, I have categorized testers as different personas. While HR roles give direction to their deliverables, these persona based roles empower their testing excellence.

The different Personas of a Software Tester are:

Learner Persona: This persona observes the product behavior through "Beginner's mind".He/she brings in fresh perspective at every test iteration.This ability uncovers many issues that others have failed to comprehend.Learning about the product through different lens gives the scholarly edge in the team.This persona's insights and observations help the product team for future product enhancements.He/she may not be the smartest tester or fastest tester, but most learned tester.His guidance to other testers helps in discovering critical issues.He is the comprehensive product specialist in the testing team.

Cross-tester Persona: This persona is a T shaped individual in our team.Specializes in particular testing skill, but has broad knowledge in other testing disciplines including vertical products.As an example, he/she may be expert in automation scripting.But has a knack in functional, build validation, unit testing, customer demos etc.This persona is the most sought out during resource crunch or resource sharing situations.

Para Trooper Persona: This persona helps to handle test emergencies.These emergencies can be internal or external facing.During product releases, there might be innumerable conditions and pressure situations.Post product uptake too, there can be firefighting situations on customer front.This persona withstands pressure and stress to handle the emergency.He/she may or may not be an expert tester, but works at a fast pace to stitch the situation.

Collaborator Persona: A collaborator works on cross-functional communication. A Collaborator collects product information across cross-functional teams.They are pro at people skills and generalists in testing skills.They collaborate in a formal or informal way to understand product predicaments and convert them to testing opportunities. Their forewarnings about any upcoming issues, help the team in proactive planning.

Deep - Divers: The Deep -Divers are explorers in the team.They work in isolation and are functional experts in their areas.Their grit and perseverance in testing help in uncovering complex issues.Their patience and passion for their modules override the schedule adherence. They are sought for their bug lists and reproduction of complex issues. They are not generic product specialists but can become one when they take up different modules for test. 

 Different organizations have different needs and demands.Apart from stated above, you can list many other personas in your testing teams.The same tester may be grouped in multiple personas.

You can either spot these personas in your organizations or coach your testers to become one.Like a handyman toolkit, these testers perform their skill as per the testing needs.

Whatever the role they play, the value they bring is complementary to their job role and help in test excellence.