Everybody spells the beans saying that "a tester should have Test
to Break Attitude"... How much of it is required? Lets try to explore
about it.
A tester, should assume that System Under Test is with lot
of defects hidden in it. This will help us to have a mindset to go in depth in
our testing covering the length and breadth of the System.
This attitude is very helpful Especially people who are invloved in
EXPLORATORY testing/Adhoc testing. We always tend to try and
break the part of the function and in the process we encounter defects which we
might miss it during our scripted testing.
However, too much of this attitude will also put us into negative thought
about a product.
This is again is debatable. Should a tester always think negatively
when testing?? "Not always" is my answer, but most of the time a tester
should feel that the "system under test has lot of issues, I am going to find a
lot of showstopper".
Please be carefull, the negative thought, or test to break attitude
should only be on the System under test and not on the person who has developed
it.
We all know, attitude is such an important intrument of an individual to
perform any work to completion. Similarly, test to break attitude is a very
important aspect in tester life, However, more of it is also not very good.
Testers should be Situational, Analytical and more importantantly
understand the Purpose/Aim of testing then with proper attitude we can make
wonders.
I second with your thought
ReplyDeleteI have seen testers who are having an attitude of finding showstoppers/blockers, are always less confidence on the working part/feature of the product
With the "Test to break attitude" are you suggesting that testers break software. If so I would disagree with you on this part. I believe that testers don't break software. The software is already broken when delivered for testing. Testers try and identify those break points for the other stakeholders to fix it.
ReplyDeleteI have written an article on it here -http://testacy.co.in/dont-break-software/
Software is a logical construct, and until there is a form of absolute logic, software will always break. Test and development should evolve a context prioritizing the understood context. Otherwise things like rowhammer will stop all development.
ReplyDeleteSoftware is a logical construct, and until there is a form of absolute logic, software will always break. Test and development should evolve a context prioritizing the understood context. Otherwise things like rowhammer will stop all development.
ReplyDelete