How to Improve Your Testing Skills and Beat the Competition!

This article will explain the 8 Practical Techniques to Keep the Mind in Tune for Testing.

During a recent Software Testing interview, I asked the candidate about what he does to keep the mind in tune so that he can continuously think about new testing ideas. He was confused and answered, “I do testing”.  I smiled.

While working on the same project/application/product/domain for many years, we become an expert in a particular domain or product, but if we are not careful, we lose the most important thing – The eye to test.

Yes, you read it right. When you are working on the same product every day for 2 years and when you are bored and not seeing any more bugs, my friend, it is time to rejuvenate; time to brush up the mind, and time to be a learner again.

Software Testing is not a job, it’s a responsibility. Either you are doing Manual Testing or you are writing complex Automation scripts. You are the authorized person for the quality of that particular web page/module / overall product.

To keep up with the responsibility in the highly competitive IT environment, it’s necessary that:

• You find something bad before someone else finds out.
• You see something critical before someone else thinks about it.
• You report something extraordinary before someone else has a chance to do it.
• You co-relate past experiences, learn, and use work experience to generate a fabulous output.

Most of the time, as a tester, we are busy while executing documented test cases, generating automation scripts or reporting bugs. While doing this, we are losing that skill of looking at everything with a different view.

Why Is Software Testing Challenging?

Software Testing is challenging because you have to keep yourself updated with the latest knowledge as well continuously provide more qualitative inputs to make a product better (in short, find more bugs). How can we keep up with this kind of stress?  It’s not just one-time learning. It’s a process, and believe me, by following some simple practices daily, you can do it easily.

8 Practical Tips to Keep Your Mind in Tune for Testing

#1) Think “Testing” with everything around you.

When you are traveling, cooking, playing with kids, taking a walk in the garden, or when you are reading a book, observe everything around you, and force your mind to prepare test ideas to test these things.  Think of at least 5 test ideas for everything around you, every time you get a chance to think about it.

Think….. how can you test a train?  How can you test a spoon? How can you test a book? How can you test a jar? How can you test a cable? How can you test a remote?….. the list is endless. After following this practice for 15 days, notice a  difference in yourself.  You will be full of ideas. You will be able to understand things properly and will be able to correlate the items.

#2) Learn something new every day

No matter whether it’s a small testing technique or an automation tool, you must have at least one item to check off as “Learned” every day. Small amounts of knowledge, when accumulated, creates an ocean of the same. This practice, if followed, will surely show wonders in your career. Try it!!!

#3) Keep diversified interests

Nowadays, it’s expected that a quality person is aware of the development lifecycle, documentation, testing processes, programming, analysis, automation, and knowledge across different domains.

It’s not easy to learn something else while you are already busy testing something specific. But at the same time, you cannot take a risk of pulling your career chords downwards. Open your eyes and see what is happening around you. You cannot learn everything, but you can definitely have some ideas about important products/domains different than the one you have been working on.

• If you have been working on a Windows operating system, see how Linux works, read about it, and explore it.
• If you have been a manual tester for most of your career, see what kind of automation tools are available and explore it.
• If you have been doing web application testing thus far, look into how mobile application testing is different.
• If you have been working in a banking domain, understand how the healthcare domain works.

Keeping diversified interests will give you an opportunity to look at the bigger picture and understand the similarities and differences easily.

#4) Play games

There are numerous strategy games, pattern finding games, and missing letter games available for free. Use the opportunity, and learn from them. Games make your mind sharp and alert. The sharp mind is able to find something hidden easily.

#5) Read

Read whatever you can. It’s not necessary to read-only software testing books to become a good tester. If you are able to co-relate things correctly, books on any subject will be a treasure to you.

#6) Take breaks

Humans have a tendency of getting used to things. If you look at a broken piece of furniture for a long time, your mind, at one point, will start thinking about how perfect that piece was rather than the broken part. Don’t focus your eyes on the same thing constantly. Take breaks, observe your surroundings, discuss knowledge, and then resume your work. Does it make a difference? A lot.

#7)  Keep a note

Every day, jot down at least five points about what you learned, what you did to make things happen, what you found, or what ideas you implemented on a notepad. It will be a treasure when you take the time to revisit it.

#8) Learn management

You can achieve success only if you can manage things better. Learn and observe from your managers – how they manage resources, clients, projects, timeline, and other hurdles.

To manage something, you need not be a manager. Start with your work and time. Try to help others and accept help when required.  The management skill will grow with constant practice and will surely make the best out of you.

Conclusion

I am stopping here as I think I have covered the points for daily practice. I am not interested in mentioning points on sharing/upgrading knowledge or discussing different topics because I think every one of us is doing it as a part of our work.

Finally, try to be an exploratory tester and you will be able to fit in all the other categories.

About the Author: Bhumika Mehta is a project lead, carrying 7 years of software testing experience. She is totally into testing and loves to test everything that exists. She appreciates good ideas, innovations, and risk.  Of course, she hates monotonic work, people and the environment.

Happy Testing, and as usual, suggestions and views are welcome.