Top 5 Software Testing Skills For Testers

Software testing is crucial to the success of any software product. Effective testing requires the expertise of skilled testers. Today, with the advent of Apps, the demand for skilled testers has grown rapidly. Testing is a highly intellectual work . It involves aspects of discovery, communication, persuasion, control, measurement, accounting & project management.

Apart from technical skills, a tester needs to develop and master many soft skills. Here are some of the top skills that every tester should develop:

1. Logical & analytical skills

Analytical thinking is the foundation of software testing. You find bugs when you apply logic to the testing process. Mere knowledge of testing tools is not enough. Logical and analytical thinking enables you to think out of the box. You should be able to create various test scenarios. When you apply the scenarios in the workflow of the application, you will be able to give useful insights from the perspective of the end user.

2. Communication skills in software testing

The insights provided by the software tester form the basis for decision making. The feedback of testers have the power to seal the fate of Apps and projects. Crucial decisions like the readiness of an App for release are based on tester insights . Your feedback as a tester must be simple and easy to understand. Unless the insights are provided correctly, it will be nothing more than misinformation. This can mislead the whole project. You should be able to communicate issues to development teams effectively. Hence, having good communication & interpersonal skills helps greatly in sharing test insights with different teams.

3. Inquisitiveness & creativity

Contrary to myths, software testing is not a mundane process. A creative bend of mind that’s curious about the way things work is a big advantage. This will help you to ask the right questions. Exploring the right questions will help assess the quality of a software product effectively. Think of software testing as an exploratory process, where one has to seek and find answers on their own. It is only by exploring different angles, that one can develop a clear insight on the performance of a product. The more questions you ask, the more you will develop your knowledge about the product. By trying various test scenarios and improving on testing methodologies, you can provide intelligent insights to development team. Your success as a tester plays an important role in the success of the software product.

4. Learning and adaptability

One basic quality that will help you in software testing is the ability to adapt and learn quickly. Note-making may seem like a general learning skill, but it is a time-saving and useful skill. By noting down aspects learnt in a project, it is easy to execute similar tasks with the same methods. Note-making also aids in learning new testing concepts.

5. Project management skills

Testing can be demanding, at times. Being highly organized will help you prioritize and manage workload effectively. Understanding the business process and the big picture is a big plus point. Project management skills like problem-solving, and negotiation will aid greatly in delivering better results. You need to stay productive even when the going is tough. A willingness to learn and a quest for process improvement can help keep your testing practices in top shape.

Additionally, it is good to have the respective IT domain knowledge and programming skills. With programming skills, you can gain opportunities in code level testing. Knowledge of code structure will help you in developing more valuable insights for the development team.

- Tharika Tellicherry