Hi, New Testing World

Three months ago, while flying over India on my way from Bangkok to India, I began my first venture into Quality Engineering and Testing.

Half asleep, half thirsty and gazing at the Keeping Up With the Kardashians season 19 that the couple next me was watching, I began to read the Quality Engineering articles offline that I had prepared the days prior.

Perhaps it was the intense air conditioner, my swelling feet or insomnia, but whatever I was reading, it started making sense and got me hooked. From that horrible flight, I have been learning about this fascinating, exciting and often overlooked field in the industry.

Today, I will gather my thoughts and summarize my learnings about the Modern Tester. I hope this article will convey that the ways we contribute to the success and growth of our software delivery teams is always evolving.

Let's start by clarifying - or rather, declaring:

Modern Testing is the antithesis to Traditional Testing

It is more than that.

Why is this necessary? Simply put, the world has changed and so have our tools (AI Big Data, OpenSource etc.) and processes (Agile extensively replaced e.g. Waterfall), and we should also adapt our roles.

The Modern Tester does some test, but their primary activity isn't hunting bugs.

The Modern Tester is not a bug hunter

Instead, they are a Test/Quality Coach that leads and nurtures a Quality culture for the entire team.

It is possible to wonder what Quality Culture means. Let's first define Quality.

What is Quality? Why is it Important?

Quality isn't just about code quality or zero-bug-backlog. Instead, Quality is a collective mentality that allows the entire team to create software that is sustainable and scalable that solves the problems the customer is looking to solve. The user's reaction is quality.

Quality Culture refers to a collective mindset for continuous improvement

Now that we have defined Quality it is easier for us to understand Quality Culture. It is a collective mindset within the team that involves learning, tools and leadership. Communication and a deep desire to improve are some of the requirements. The Quality Coach (i.e. The Modern Tester steps in to lead the way. Remember the immense development potential in this field?

It's all great. But how do we create Quality Culture?

It's basically about helping the team learn from their mistakes and adapt. This sounds very logical, and it is.

The best part is, of course the results.

The main goal of the Modern Tester is to help accelerate the team

I can still recall a few years ago, August, when my then-colleague went on vacation. The whole system was almost destroyed because this person knew specific application commands. This person was the bottleneck. A member of the team that is skilled in a subject not normally known by the others. Everyone fails if this one fails. This was not a good thing, and it could have been avoided.

An organization can avoid bottlenecks and summertime sadness by sharing its testing methods and knowledge with the other members of the team. This, in turn, reduces delays and improves efficiency.

Software Engineer (specializing in Test)

The Modern Tester works closely with the Product team to understand the product holistically and spot areas for improvement. However, they are also an equal member of Engineering and have a broad understanding of engineering. They specialize in testing, while other software engineers specialize in Frontend and Backend. They all specialize in generalist areas.

We have discussed a few things about the Modern Tester role so far. I created a visual aid to summarize and enhance the information.

These are my biased thoughts, strongly inspired by Janet Gregory, Lisa Crispin, and Alan Page's AB Testing Podcast. Last but not the least, I want to thank Simon and Priscilla for introducing me to Modern Testing.

It is now your turn to comment on the Modern Tester approach. Is it something you are interested in? Are you already implementing it in your company? Do you prefer the traditional approach to testing?