Call for Speakers - Closing October 13th

Track Talk W12

Why Testers are the True Rock Stars of IT

Bryan Jones

13:45-14:30 CEST Wednesday 14th June

We have all heard the negative comments in the past – “Just get any tester in”, “Anyone can test”, “Testers are just failed developers”, “Testing is easy”, “That costs too much, cut out some testing”.

Well now’s the time to stand up and put them right! Now is the time for us to celebrate what A Tester truly is!

A good tester is not a Jack-of-All-Trades. They are a multi-faceted, cross-skilled, emotionally intelligent, critically thinking, risk-aware, balanced rock star of IT.

They have to be able to:

  • Understand requirements like a BA, and often better than the developer
  • Understand the designs as well as the designers
  • Understand code and often be able to code
  • Understand the users’ view of UI/UX and business processes
  • Understand the data like a data specialist
  • Understand infrastructure & environments
  • Understand configuration control & release management
  • Understand risk from all aspects
  • Communicate to all stakeholders and involved parties in a way they can understand
  • Understand defect management
  • Have a deep understanding of good testing practice and techniques
  • Design and execute good tests

 

On top of that, Test Leads & Test Managers also need to be strategists, project managers, process improvement practitioners, communicators, coaches, negotiators, and leaders.

Software development is a social activity, and testers are the glue that pull it together. We provide so much value, both tangible and intangible, so let’s call it out.

Using stories of personal experience in both IT and rock bands, this talk is part motivational speech, part personal development coaching, part career coaching, and part advice on how to be a rock star.

But above all, this is a celebration of what it means to be A Tester!