Quality Quotient of a Tester: 22 Core Strengths to Be a Good Tester

This tutorial gives you a list of characteristic features that anyone must possess to become a good tester. And these features also help a lot in determining the Quality Quotient of a Tester.

But why am I ONLY talking about a Tester? Why not a Developer or any other role?

I just feel that all the work involved in SDLC in delivering software is quite simple when compared to the responsibility of a tester.

The developer’s scope of work is very well defined within a framework, whereas there is no boundary to the effort spent, value-added to the customer, and the scope of the work done by the tester.

The ability, efficiency, and focus of a tester is directly reflected in the product behavior during production.

So, what does it take for anyone to become a Good Software Tester? Let’s find out.

Please note that I do not intend to consider the Developer’s or anyone’s work as low or less important in a project. I’m just taking it as a reference.  

Quality Quotient of a Tester

Disclaimer: This is a detailed write-up covering all aspects of the topic. So sit back, relax, and have a cup of coffee while reading this 🙂

All the roles except that of a Tester, are related to the external skills available in the market and they need to learn and utilize them in carrying out their part of their work in software development. But the individual characteristics of ability and thoughtfulness that possesses is important for a tester.

Anyone can become a Developer by just learning a coding language. But a tester just cannot learn one technology or tool or acquire domain knowledge. A person does not become a good tester just by learning Python, Selenium, Security Testing, etc. Hence, learning never ends for a tester.

As a developer, one can simply start coding with the coding knowledge that he has, but a tester cannot just start his work unless he possesses certain skills. Hence, until he possesses those skills he cannot be efficient in his work as a tester.

A tester must have worked in a particular technical field or domain along with the tool that is being used for that particular project in his/her previous assignment. But it will not be the same in the next assignment. It would be something else. It would be quite new, a new technology, a new tool, and an extremely new methodology.

Over a period of time, it has been proven that Testers have always been able to pick up the required domain knowledge that is specific to the project, the tools and technology that is being used in the project, and that too within the stipulated time and have been able to carry out testing efficiently and deliver the software as well.

Best Tester:

People generally keep asking, “What are the qualities of a good Tester?” or How can I become a good Tester? 

This is not just based on the Testing Methodology, Test Design Process, Test Execution, Automation, or Performance Testing. A tester needs to know about everything to make him/her a good Tester.

It is the basic culture or qualities that one should possess, which in turn would be strengthened by this external learning, and thereby would make a person a strong and a good Tester.

People are also interested in knowing, “What makes you feel better as a Tester?” What do you fetch from the Testing profession? Well, it is nothing but the satisfaction of achieving quality, perfection, neatness, etc., ensuring that you have done some good for your customer.

I’m not just going to talk about these project-specific technical skills that one should possess to be a good tester. Possessing these skills and knowledge is a must but that alone does not make an individual an expert tester. It will just make him/her one among numerous testers who can understand the project basics and carry out the testing.

Hence, rather than just learning, certain qualities or characteristics should be built-in into an individual to become a good tester. And of course, it is something that one cannot learn or get certified from colleges and institutes. One should possess them naturally. And later these qualities will be strengthened with experience.

So, what do you think that I’m trying to write about now?

I’m going to mention certain personality traits which I call the “Core Strengths” to being a good tester.

According to me, whatever skills you acquire like testing technologies, processes, tools, as well as certifications like ISTQB, CSM, Agile Tester, etc, that you attach to your resume, can never transform you to become a better tester unless you have all of the core values which are explained below.

To Be a Good Tester

#1) Being Passionate about the work that we are doing:

The first and foremost important characteristic that one should possess to be a great Tester is to be passionate about the work that we are doing. I wonder how many people have become testers by choice??

Unless one has a passion for Testing, he/she cannot find motivation daily to do repetitive work irrespective of the project, technology, complexity, and the people involved. Passion is a characteristic which will make a Tester explore more and more in identifying software issues.

Passion is the only thing that will make them never content with the knowledge that they have and the amount of work that they have done. It makes them do or learn more every time.

If I have to make a comparison, it is like being a doctor. It is not like any top-ranking person can get into the field of medicine. It is the passion that will make one excel in this profession.

Imagine how critical it would be for the patients if someone who doesn’t have a passion or a desire for a Doctor’s job, gets into that profession? Similarly, until and unless one has a passion for testing, he/she cannot be a good Tester.

I will give you an example that exhibits the passion for the work they do. What else can be better than self-experience?

The Example may seem weird, but it is worth mentioning. And definitely, we should learn from our day to day happenings from our surroundings. Observing and learning from each and every small thing that happens in our life is also the quality of a tester.

As soon as I wake up in the morning, I go to the balcony daily to do yoga. I see an old lady rushing with her saree tied high. Every day I see her in the same rush and the saree tied up.

I found out that she is a housemaid, who washes clothes and cleans utensils for 3-4 houses in that lane. What I observed in her is the passion that she has for her work. She never misses her work and timing even a single day. Imagine her passion and dedication for the work that she displays everyday.

While still walking, even before reaching the location, she sets herself mentally to start her work. I really like the passion that she has for her job. Don’t you think it’s her passion that makes her wake up every day in the morning to go to work?

I have another example that will explain the absence of passion in the work. This is when one is made to pick up the profession without any desire and passion for it.

One of my friends became a doctor because of the pressure from his family. In order to maintain his family status, he took up the Medical profession, and with a lot of struggle, he completed his Medical degree too.

When he started his medical practice, he never had any passion to do that work on a daily basis and found it very boring after a while.  He was interested in starting a business.  He struggled for some time in his profession as a doctor but he could not continue it for a long time.  He eventually left and switched to doing business, which was his passion.

Now he is doing very well and is very happy. So, unless one has a passion for their work, they cannot give their best.

I would say that, in order to carry out testing, especially quality testing, one should definitely have passion for the profession and the job that they do on a daily basis.

Are you a Passionate Tester?

A passion for testing and attitude toward quality should get into Tester’s nerves, their blood, and their DNA too. Passion for Excellence is what will make an individual, a strong Tester.

Passion keeps one awake and keeps one’s eyes wide open for details. Passion keeps them active and engaged. Passion for testing makes the Tester get into the testing mode wherever they go and whatever they see, which in turn is very essential for their role.

#2)  Being creative & innovative:

Being creative & Innovative which is commonly termed as thinking out of the box, is another important personality trait that a tester should possess.

What is the purpose of testing if one just does the testing of whatever is coded? How will one get a qualitative defect, if he/she just tests whatever has been taken care of already?

So, it is this character of creativity & innovative thinking that makes a tester think out of the box and gather ideas to design vivid tests and scenarios, that generally may not have been covered while coding.

Creativity helps the tester provide feedback about the product enhancement and helps the product grab a better position in the market by standing out among other similar products.

A tester should be able to think and visualize the product just with the details provided through the requirements and hence they should be quite creative and also be able to rip the product by identifying the gaps in the product and showcase how effectively their product can be used and even prove it by identifying the ways to misuse it.

The innovative idea of the Tester is to best utilize the combination of various tools and technologies available in the market to customize their requirements in order to achieve the Test objectives by reducing the cost and thereby increasing the speed to the market along with the quality aspects.

With the change in the scope of a Tester’s role, the responsibility of the Tester is not just to find the defect but also to add value to the product and also to the customer and his business. So in order to do this one needs to be quite innovative and creative, always think out of the box and think uniquely too.

A tester should be able to think something beyond the level of thinking of an ordinary person. Must go beyond the point of common thinking, imagine various possible scenarios that can occur in reality, and pose questions to themselves like what if it is like this ? and what if that is the case? etc., based on the situation.

#3) Ability to put yourself in the customer’s position:

The next important aspect of a tester’s role is the ability to put themselves in the customer’s position.

I know it is very easy to say but quite tough in reality to experience the feelings and happenings of being in someone else’s situation, especially the role played as an end-user or a customer.

Being in the customer’s shoe and thinking about how he/she would use the product developed by us and understanding their expectations as an end customer is quite challenging.

One cannot just understand what is running through their mind. It is always common to feel that our product, our creation, our contribution, and our work are good to oneself and difficult to find faults within. Hence in order to visualize if our software is meeting the customer’s expectations, thinking in their line of thought and doing a role play as a customer is very important for a tester.

Always thinking about the customer, thinking if I can really test it in a way similar to how customers are using it in real life is the biggest task for the Testers and simulating similar scenarios is the best one for a good Tester.

There could be different types of users from different geographies and different kinds of profiles who would engage in using our product and in such cases using the “persona-based testing” technique is the best option to simulate the customer’s behavior and hence the goal would be to ensure that the end-user perspective is tested.

It is always essential to think of various real-time scenarios and relate our testing in Lab with the day-to-day happenings, and possibilities based on the geography and various personas, and we call it ‘Scenario-based testing’ and ‘Use case-based testing’.

Hence, it is essential for a Tester to interact with the end-user and collect as many scenarios and use cases as possible to incorporate into their testing.

#4) Visualizing skill:

A Tester should always have very good visualizing skills.

A tester needs to visualize the end state of the product which is not created, during its development itself. He/she needs to visualize the features and start thinking about its behavior in production and how it would be used by the end-user and create scenarios based on that.

He/she needs to put all the pieces of information gathered from various stakeholders and from various sources together in their minds and create a visualization of the product. Hence, a Tester needs to get the big picture of the product and its roadmap just with his visualization skill.

#5) Analyzing Skills:

It is not just important to have a big picture of the product but it is also essential to get into the minor details of the product and observe carefully, absorb the content and put that information to the right use while testing.

Hence, as a tester, one needs to observe, think and analyze deeply.

#6) Bird’s-eye View:

Having an eye for detail is another important characteristic of a tester.

My belief is that unless one gets deeper into the topic and explores more and more things about the product, it is not possible to understand the product thoroughly and carry out thorough testing. Hence, an eye for details. It is very important for a tester to dig out all the product gaps and identify the hidden defects.

I would also like to add “Ear for details” and say “Eye and Ear for details’.

An eye for detail will also bring more clarity to the subject. Every minute the details of the product matter a lot to the customer. If anyone thinks that this is not important and there is no need to pay much attention, then there we go wrong. So, paying attention and giving importance to each and every detail of the product is quite important.

#7) Being suspicious:

When it comes to identifying flaws, defects, or gaps in the product, being suspicious literally helps any tester in achieving their goal of testing. I’ve so many instances where while handing over the build to the Tester, the developer would say ‘yeah, the defect has been fixed and it works fine.

But when a tester gets into the actual testing, we notice that at times, either the defect itself is not fixed, or partially fixed or sometimes it would have given rise to some other defect due to its side effects. Here, I’m not saying that developers are lying or cheating, but somehow it is like this in many situations.

Hence, as mentioned, the Tester’s characteristic is to be suspicious and not to believe anything unless they test and prove that it is working fine. So, be suspicious. Never agree or settle for something that is told. Being suspicious and curious will always add value to the product testing and thereby will reflect the best Character of a Tester.

#8) Reasoning and questioning:

Reasoning and questioning are other important characteristics that a Tester should possess in order to prove to be an effective Tester.

Only the one who really understands the topic can ask questions and the one who asks better questions is considered to be intelligent too. Irrespective of that, reasoning and questioning, in this case, enable a tester to understand if the implementation made by them is the best option or if there are any other options that are available.

Not only that, as mentioned earlier, questioning helps in getting more clarity on the product and also in understanding why that particular solution has been implemented, out of many other available options.

In such a case, a Tester can further extend themselves to think beyond everyone and come up with a better and cheaper idea that no one has thought of so far. We also know the “five why” principle of finding the root cause analysis. This will definitely help the Tester to get to the root of the problem and later identify if a similar problem exists in any other area of the product.

Testers should always keep reasoning about anything that they hear in order to understand better and that too in detail. At times even questioning themselves will help a lot. Why should one design like this and why not like this? What is the critical path? What is the optimized solution?

Actually asking questions makes a tester more knowledgeable. But it is also quite important to exercise care that only the right questions are asked at the right forums, otherwise, it will defeat the whole purpose.

Testers should have the enthusiasm to understand the ins and outs of the product, beyond the scope of the testing in order to identify the real problems in the product.

A few times, I’ve noticed the Developers and Development Manager dictating the testing group when there is a time crunch, and the team has fixed the critical defect, saying, “just run these test cases, it is enough.”

Ask them why? Understand why that particular defect occurred, and what they have done to fix it. Honestly, a good Tester will not sleep peacefully, unless all the doubts are cleared out to the root.

When I say this, I would also like to mention to the Testers that they should never come under the pressure of Developers and Development Managers or anyone else on the team. It is their responsibility to analyze thoroughly and decide what is required to be tested, instead of leaving it to others to dictate Testers.

#9) Guarding the quality:

Obviously, guarding the quality is the best and most mandated quality of the Tester.

We know there are a lot of situations where a Tester could come across under pressure to compromise during testing, either by not providing enough details when questions are asked or cutting down the testing scope, compromising on the case of tools, etc.

In such cases, it is always better to put your foot down, let what may come, and just do justice to the quality without any compromising.

I’ve observed in a few organizations, where everyone neglects the words of the Test Manager or Test group and makes their own decisions about testing. But if that decision in any way leads to compromising quality, as a good Tester, one should never accept that.

So, guarding the quality of the product ultimately becomes the responsibility of the Tester, even though it is conceived and built by the entire team. It looks very simple, but without compromising on quality, it is a very difficult task in reality.

At times, it is a practice that, when everything is completed, the team wants to make some last-minute changes, which generally affects the overall quality. So, guarding the quality of such last-minute decisions to make changes to the code becomes the responsibility of the Tester.

When we use the word “guarding”, it means a lot. It is not just testing the software and finding defects, but ensuring the overall quality of the software at every stage of the product and keenly watching if any incident/ happenings or any other stakeholder’s decisions contribute to compromising of quality and fighting against such decisions throughout.

Going the extra mile to maintain the quality is known as “guarding quality”.

#10) Being Aggressive:

Being “aggressive” in making decisions is another characteristic of the Tester.

Having explained the above situations, where the Testers come under the pressure of compromising the testing and are unable to carry out enough testing. I would say that Testers need to be aggressive in putting up their point of view, decisions, and in expressing their thoughts, if not, it will be definitely neglected and ultimately result in poor quality of the software.

If a Tester tries to establish that the defect is critical, then no one would like to accept it in the first instance itself. They always want to push it down or call for triage to decide if it is critical or not. At such a point in time, Tester needs to be aggressive in putting up their thoughts.

A tester should not have the attitude of surrendering to others’ decisions unless they evaluate the sanctity of the decision.

Many a time, with the urge to deliver or meet the timeline, stakeholders recommend cutting down the scope of testing and recommend stating that it would be fine to test only a particular area of the software in case of a bug fix, or it is enough only if these test cases are run. It is always good to take the input but should not get influenced by any other’s decision.

Hence Tester needs to be very aggressive while making such decisions.

Whenever the QA group submits their Testing plan and schedule and tries to convey that the time available for them is not sufficient for carrying out testing, then however detailed their plan and estimate is, everyone tries to push it down. So, in such cases, the Tester undergoes a hard push back in carrying out the testing activities comfortably.

In such a scenario, if the QA team can present their points aggressively then there will be a possibility of change in the decisions of the entire team.

#11) Excellent Communication:

Communicating the required information in an effective way is the basic essential quality of a tester.

Testers are required to work with various stakeholders across the globe at various stages of SDLC and hence it is essential to express and represent the information precisely, with clarity, and without creating any confusion.

We keep hearing that when a defect from life comes back and hits the QA team, everybody starts blaming the QA team, stating “why was this simple defect not found out during testing”? Quite often the same defect has already been reported earlier and the team has not given enough priority to take it seriously and fix it.

Whose problem is it? QA failing to critically articulate or interpret and project the impact of the defect appropriately to the stakeholders? and not being effective in communicating the severity of the issue and convincing the team?

So, along with communication, it is the ability to articulate things and influence the team to agree to their point of view, which is the important thing that is essential for a tester.

When I say a Tester needs to be good in communication, he or she need not be an English Laureate but should be at least able to clearly and effectively communicate what he/she feels, either verbally or through a written document.

If one cannot bring out the clear meaning of the content in an understandable manner, then the whole purpose of testing or identifying the critical defect and being able to convey that it is quite critical will be defeated.

Communication could be as simple as explaining the defect description, writing the sequence of its occurrence, or explaining to the team about the roadblock, which the test team is stuck with being unable to proceed. At the same time, a tester needs to be pretty well aware that poor and ineffective communication will lead to a lot of confusion and result in poor quality.

Generally, developers do not like showcasing critical bugs in their code, so what matters here is the ability of a tester to convey and convince that there is a bug in your code in a tactical way. While conveying the defects to the development team, there should not be a show-off of the feeling that “I have found a defect in your work or you have made a mistake”, which in turn will lead to ego issues in the team. This is all required as a good communicator.

Conveying any negatives in an objective way so that no individual goes into the offensive mode by clearly explaining the impact of the situation is quite important. A tester should always keep the interest of the project in mind while conveying anything without highlighting the mistake of an individual.

In this case, we can extend the definition of communication skills a bit more for a Tester in terms of writing skills as well, where the Tester in a project needs to document certain things with more clarity, like Readme’s, User guides, generating meaningful test summary reports, etc.

#12) Expressing Thoughts/Views:

Talking in the group and making your voice heard is yet another important characteristic of a tester.

It could be a review meeting or a technical presentation or as simple as a gathering to convey a decision to the Testers, call them to work on the weekend, or about presenting a project schedule.

In those meetings, a tester should be able to stand up in the group, present their points clearly and be able to make their voice heard by ensuring that they really understand what it takes to test, what are their challenges and what are the consequences if not tested thoroughly and should be able to influence in reversing the decisions.

#13) Hard Working:

One has to be a real hard worker in order to be a tester.

It takes a lot of time and effort for an individual to understand deeper into the subject and unless one is a hard worker, it is difficult to become a good Tester. The hard work aspect of a tester does not need much explanation.

#14) Excellent Problem-Solving Skills:

Testers should not just be identifying the defects and throwing all the other problems of the project off the wall to the Developers. It is quite important for the Testers to help the entire team in ‘solving the problem’ or at least proposing the possible solutions to the problems.

When a QA has problem-solving skills, stakeholders and everybody else in the team would like to look up to them with dignity and importance and will reach out to them to take their suggestions in case of any problems or issues.

So, if a QA starts analyzing the problems and works with the team to solve the problems, the QA’s role in the project not only becomes important but quite interesting too.

#15) Continuous Learner:

A tester needs to be a continuous learner and should keep themselves updated by constantly learning about the new technologies and happenings around the globe, which in turn will help them to perform the testing role in a better way and helps them to stand out in the team.

No matter which path one takes, the focus should be to keep learning.

Let it be Functional, non-functional testing, automation, learning a coding language, machine learning, AI-based automation testing, micro-services testing, etc., and to learn anything that comes their way is the Testers way.

This learning helps them to be more creative, innovative and helps in solving problems and implementing new ideas and solutions. The more knowledge that one possesses, the more it helps them in making the right decisions.

It is not just learning the new technique or technology or a new process, but also learning from the previous mistakes, not only from their own but from others’ mistakes too. Constantly learning from others, learning from everything that they see, is the best quality of the Tester.

The one who is in the learning mode always thinks and questions himself, what did he learn today from the happenings. And finally, it is not just learning that helps, but implementing the learning in practice is what matters in real life.

#16) Being open to change and flexible:

Being open to change and being flexible’ is another important characteristic of a tester.

We know that change is inevitable and is always for the good only. The tester should be open and tolerable to the changes in the scope, changes in the design (several times), changes in the architecture, changes in the tool, technology, or anything else.

Whatever may change, a tester should accept those changes and adapt themselves quickly to the change and carry out the testing work honestly without any complaints.

Testers should be flexible enough to accept comments from stakeholders on their areas of work, maybe a suggestion provided to improve upon, automation coverage, defect metrics, test results reporting, hosting triage, or anything else. They should be open-minded to welcome any sort of change or suggestion and keep constantly learning and improving.

Testers should be open to working with the Development team with patience in helping them simulate the defects, in addition to providing lengthy defect descriptions, logs, and screenshots during bug reporting.

#17) Good Team Player:

The tester has to be a good team player.

He should be able to constantly work closely with the team, learn from them and also help others to learn from himself. Testers need to work together with the team in identifying the problems in the product, showcasing them to the team in a better way, and helping them to resolve them quickly.

A Tester needs to stand for the entire team when a defect or mistake is identified and support every other Tester in all the phases together in a team. As a tester, any problem or issue should be owned by the entire team instead of blaming one person. As we know, an individual can achieve more in teamwork than being single.

Hence, the role of a Team player helps a Tester to achieve better quality as a team.

#18) Maintain Accuracy:

Maintaining thoroughness, accuracy, and precision in everything that they do is an important characteristic of a tester.

Unless they possess this character, the Total Quality of a product cannot be ensured and any posh work will never complete the testing and cannot ensure the total quality. Attention to minute details and not neglecting anything is quite important. It is like a school exam, and we do not know what questions will come and from where.

Similarly, we do not know from which part the software bugs will come if we leave it untested.

#19) Collaboration Culture:

“Collaboration culture” is a key buzzword for DevOps.

With the advent of DevOps coming on to mainstream usage, collaboration with all the stakeholders, especially for a Tester, is of utmost importance in order to keep themselves on top of the information and the updates. Collaboration helps Testers to keep themselves on the same page as other stakeholders in the program.

Collaboration also helps in prioritizing the testing activities and test scenarios based on the interactions, and discussions that a Tester would have with the other stakeholders and helps in reducing the testing cost and thereby improving the quality.

#20) Active Listener:

Another important criterion for anyone to be a good tester is to be a good listener.

As a tester, one needs to listen carefully and interpret correctly by listening to others. They need to gather a lot of ideas and knowledge about the product and how it is going to be used in real-time by simply listening to others.

A tester needs to understand the real problem of the customer, which are implicit and a customer may be finding it difficult to convert it into the project requirements and document them. So, a tester should be able to read the customer’s minds and understand them thoroughly by listening to them.

#21) Clear Understanding of Responsibilities:

If there is a crucial release and if the test team has been asked to come in over the weekend to carry out the final round of testing and everyone has agreed to come. Then accordingly, work allocation is done among them.

Imagine suddenly if someone among the ones who has agreed to come either delays in starting the work or does not turn up and does not even inform that they cannot come?? Think of the impact of the situation. The schedule along with the quality is in a big question mark.

So, as a Tester one should have a clear ‘responsibility for their work and timeliness’ and needs to understand the dependency on them. They need to keep in mind that their work is at the end of the release and stretching it will affect the entire project schedule.

#22) Customer-Centric:

Last but priority wise first, is the commitment that a tester should have towards the customer’s and their interest.

It is always very much important for a tester to keep the customer in mind and focus on them during their entire journey of software delivery. Customer experience and customer satisfaction should be the key thinking that should always ring in the Testers mind.

Only this thinking and making no compromise on this thinking will make the product a successful one.

In situations where any compromise has to be made due to any unavoidable circumstances, then it is the responsibility of the Tester to contact the customer, inform them clearly and take their consent on the compromise that is happening.

A tester needs to know what makes the customer happy and what makes them annoyed. They should clearly understand what their business targets are and where to focus on achieving them.

Conclusion

I have listed the main characteristics that become the yardstick for anyone to be a good Tester and help a lot in determining the Quality Quotient of a Tester.

With the introduction of Agile and DevOps into the mainstream along with the changing roles and responsibilities of a tester, both the tester and the entire testing process have come under scrutiny.

Testers, along with the main responsibility of testing, have a number of other responsibilities and wear multiple hats. They handle multiple roles in a project as a negotiator, problem solver, advisor, decision-maker, end-user, and customer as well.

Hence, now it is very clear that Software testing is not just finding the defects but thinking beyond the requirements, and hence, whatever qualities one should possess to be a good Tester depends on the core values of the Testers, even beyond the technical skills that they possess.

If one does not have these core skills/key strengths or quality quotients within them, then whatever external training or certifications they add to their kitty will not take them anywhere.

About the Author:

This tutorial is an excellent contribution by our STH team member Gayathri S. She is a core .Software Tester’ by her profession from the period of introduction of separate Software Testing roles in the IT Industry. She is very passionate about testing and in her words, when I started the Testing profession, I never knew that a Tester should possess all these “core skills” to be a good Tester and luckily over a period of time, with the attitude of constant learning, the profession has transformed me into a “Strong Tester” by increasing my quality quotient.

Are you an eminent Tester with the above-mentioned Characteristics? Do you think that we have missed out on any unique characteristics that you possess in the above list? Feel free to express your thoughts and share your experiences in the comments sections below! We would love to hear from you.