QA is being Intelligently Dumb
Dinesh Arunachalam
Co-Founder & Head of Security Engineering @QuarkSek || Product Engineering Leader || GenAI Enthusiast || Ex-Amazon, Ex-Fortinet, Ex-IBM
My initial assignments taught me how to do requirement analysis, convert them to test cases and achieve traceability. Requirement document was The Bible to me. I have been doing this for years wondering in parallel, why do we end up with freaky issues from Customers that a QA person does not find during test execution? Even identifying the rationale behind the requirement did not help.
QA's assumption that the end user is fully aware of the system
My ideology of test case design changed when I started looking into the customer issues. There are 2 main gaps - the way the customer configures/deploys the product is different from the test bed setups and QA's assumption that the end user is fully aware of the system. The former ones are little tough to find during test cycle with the limited infrastructure available in office premises.
However, when it comes to the end user level of intelligence, every test engineer should become Intelligently Dumb. I did not mean the end users are dumb w.r.t. intelligence, but they may, in case of perceiving your software and using it. The system can be used by different level of end users, ranging from Novice to Expert. During QA phase, we are in expert mode since we know what the system is going to do and how.
Consciously become dumb to feel the software as a new toy
In the field, the software is put under test by Naive user trying to use special characters, where it is not allowed (or) wrongly assuming behavior of the default configuration (or) trying to access something which is not meant for his privilege. Intelligently and consciously become dumb to feel the software as a new toy provided to you. Put your knowledge about the system one level down and validate. Remember, system designed for Naive user is more Robust and User friendly.
Experienced QA Engineer Specializing in PBM, AI-Driven Solutions, and Clinical Trials | Proven Expertise in Comprehensive Test Strategies | Certified Scrum Master & ISTQB-Certified
4 个月Very good article. Understanding the product from an end user's perspective is highly important. To test a product from an end user's perspective, set clear goals to identify what you want to learn, such as uncovering usability issues or validating features. Create real-life scenarios that reflect typical user tasks. Set up a testing environment that mimics real-use conditions. During the test, observe users without guiding them, and encourage them to vocalize their thoughts and feelings.?Analyze the results to identify common issues and prioritize fixes. Implement changes based on feedback, and retest to ensure improvements. Document your findings in a report to share with your team. Stay neutral during testing, create a comfortable atmosphere for honest feedback, and iterate quickly by making small changes and testing often to refine the product continually.
Creative Problem Solver, Passionate to learn, love to motivate people to achieve their goals
9 年Good one. The more we know about the customers, higher the chances of mimicking their behaviour.