How To Build A Successful Career In Quality Assurance?

By Author: tyrion william
Total Articles: 9
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Qualities that make great QA Professionals

Familiarization with the software development process and popular tools and techniques used in the same will definitely go a long way with helping a QA aspirant to land an interview with a company of their choice. This being said, considering the large volume of applications that are received by hiring Managers on a daily basis, it imperative that a professional aspiring to land the QA job of their dreams must possess a few or all of these character traits and qualities:

Creativity

Great QAs are known for their ability to recognize needs and eke out positive or negative scenarios that may be the outcome of every stage of the product development process (software product!). The innate ability to anticipate the unexpected at every stage of a development process defines a QA to a great extent. A creative approach to formulating highly improbable ( yet possible ) testing scenarios which is able to undermine or question the set of systems with even the best possible development will most definitely give aa QA an edge over the competition. It is good for a QA to test ...
... outside what are established boundaries to help build better products.

Diplomacy

This particular skill (yes it is a skill!) cannot be stressed enough with regard to the profile of a QA. The core of a QAs job comprises of repeatedly informing the developers and product managers that their creation is unfit for consumption by a consumer – but only as a means to an end of developing products of superior quality. While getting into this process early on is important, it is equally important to tread softly when it comes to delivering the bad news! This means building a great rapport with the development team within the enterprise.

The way to go about doing what was just said is to make the developers and the product managers understand that your role as a QA will ultimately make them look good too! It is also of great importance to keep product criticism within a closed loop, avoiding spreading bad news on a large scale. It is better to deliver negative feedback in person instead of the bug tracker, which aids in the building of better relationships which inevitably leads to the construction of better products.

Clarity

The role of a QA is not that of a fault finder, but it is one that helps deliver clear and actionable insight which takes a high degree of cultivated skill. A great QA will often identify the importance of detailed and specific information which delves into the intricacies within a flaw, which includes details on reproduction of the same flaw when needed for analysis. The more detail that is provided by the QA, the more better it is for the entire QA process, since it will reduce the chances of product managers or Senior QAs coming back with more queries once they receive the bug report. It is never a good thing to assume that product managers or developers will always be well-versed with the QA lingo used to describe issues. One has to spell out such issues with great clarity in order to avoid a frustrating work cycle with peers and seniors alike.

Objectivity

QAs receive inputs from the complete software development process, with verification just amounting to a single facet of this role. It is worth recalling at this stage of discussion that a wide majority of users are not interested in the code, they are more concerned with the functionalities that are offered by the application that they have ordered to be built. As a QA professional, the ability to provide objective insight into the workings and validity of a set of features or changes is just as essential as the ability to validate code.

Such validation at macros and micro levels (features and code for the features respectively) should take place early on in the SDLC, because otherwise there will be a host of arguments and unpleasant discussions to be handled if such usability issues are brought just a week before the product launch. Objectivity also includes the priceless ability to shelve personal dislike for existing features along with minor imperfections – especially if they have a minimal or negligible negative impact. Verification and validation has to go hand in hand to add real value to your tea in the enterprise.

Ability

While tools are bound to come and go, advanced automated QA testing techniques for highly convoluted software products brings up the need for career oriented QAs to possess an excellent command over market friendly developer languages such as Java and C#. The ability to write automation scripts using Python, Ruby, Perl or anything similar will undoubtedly set one on the road to swift career advancement. While software QA professionals do not always get the recognition due to them, ever – increasing awareness of software quality and the consequences that are brought on by the lack thereof means almost every existing IT enterprise is placing increased importance on QA.

Conclusion

The IT market while always being dynamic has a fixed focus on customer retention and expansion of a customer base. With the rising costs associated with bad software product quality, enterprises are putting their faith in preventive rather than reactive measures to regulate product quality. And this means that QAs stand a great chance of building significant and lucrative careers in the current market scenario.