Programming Skills in addition to Testers!

years of experience inward manual testing together with having the basic cognition of C/C++. Is it necessary for me to larn novel technologies similar C# .NET for hereafter prospects inward testing? Is it necessary for the tester to accept the programming skills also? (Till know I didn’t experience that tester demand to know the programming but allow me know your views). Also volition it last possible for a dark box tester to shift his career to white box testing? If aye what steps demand to follow to get-go the same?”

Lakshmi: “Recently I was browsing some of the testing sites together with came to know that "No cognition on programming linguistic communication is a hindrance to a tester’s career". Is that correct? Really, programming linguistic communication cognition is that much necessary for a tester? I am non able to digest this. Please aid me.”

John: “My attempt director feels that all testers must accept decent programming skills. He is together with therefore much obsessed amongst his belief that I fright he may acquire ahead together with burn downwards testers who are non together with therefore goodness inward programming (even though they are quite goodness at testing). Is at that spot a agency to alter his mindset without pain his ego?”

These are excerpts of few emails from my inbox. These are sort of questions that ever accept made me to think. Every fourth dimension I mean value on these questions, some to a greater extent than questions get-go popping upward inward my mind. Questions like:

1. Knowledge of programming together with effectiveness of a tester – is at that spot a connection?
2. Can a goodness programmer brand a goodness tester?
3. Can a bad programmer brand a goodness tester?
4. Can a non-programmer brand a goodness tester?
5. Can I mean value of contexts when cognition of programming tin move elevate my testing?
6. Can I mean value of contexts when cognition of programming tin move hamper my testing?
7. Can I mean value of contexts when ignorance of programming tin move elevate my testing?
8. Can I mean value of contexts when ignorance of programming tin move hamper my testing?
9. The listing of questions continues…

I accept seen quite a lot of such “Do testers demand programming knowledge” sort of debates, peculiarly since Microsoft started distinguishing its testers equally Software Test Engineers (STE) together with Software Design Engineers inward Test (SDET)! And this struggle gathered momentum equally Microsoft started shifting weightage from STEs to SDETs piece hiring (and firing) attempt engineers! However, I am non going to extend the STE Vs. SDET struggle inward this detail post of mine. Rather I volition endeavour to focus on the demand of programming cognition for a tester.

To me the unmarried judgement reply for the enquiry “Do I demand programming skills to excel equally a tester” tin move last – “It depends”. It depends on your detail context, the type together with complexity of the AUT [Application Under Test] together with to a greater extent than importantly your testing mission. Blindly hiring testers who tin move code may bear witness to last a bad idea, peculiarly if you lot are neglecting your testing mission piece taking such a biased decision!

Having said that, at that spot tin move last contexts where a tester who tin move code, tin move last an property for the attempt project. Think of scenarios where testers demand to automate GUI tests. Even if the tester mightiness last using some so-called record-and-playback sort of tool (WinRunner, QTP, IBM Rational Robot blah blah...), cognition of programming, tin move last an added advantage. That tin move allow a tester to tweak his tests at script grade to brand them to a greater extent than powerful together with flexible! e.g. The tester demand non re-record his tests each fourth dimension a object parent for a recorded attempt object is changed (may last due to recent code refactoring). He tin move only acquire together with alter that detail object parent from the script. As Danny Faught talks inward this interview, "Test automation requires programming skills. Plain together with simple, no agency exactly about it. No tool tin move acquire exactly about that."

In cases where the arrangement (or the client) tin move non afford acquiring license for costly automation tools, the programming science (in most cases cognition inward some scripting languages similar Perl, Python, Ruby, JavaScript together with markup languages similar XML, XSLT) tin move aid the tester inward setting upward a home-grown attempt driver framework to cutting downwards the license toll of Commercial tools together with at the same fourth dimension tin move final result inward a customized tool that fits ameliorate for your testing requirement. Forget virtually attempt automation, testers amongst programming skills may notice defects before inward evolution wheel together with may also last able to pivot indicate the elbow grease for the defect (provided that the tester is aware of the underlying code together with the scheme architecture). This may also aid the tester inward finding other areas inward code where at that spot tin move last similar errors. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 tester who has a evolution background tin move also participate inward code reviews, tin move debug problems, perform unit of measurement testing together with position patterns inward the code that are fault prone. If you lot are a tester, cognition inward programming tin move sometimes earn you lot greater credibility amid the programmers.

But does this hateful a tester without coding skills is useless? Of course of teaching not! To enjoin Manual Testing (Sapient Testing, the James Bach way) is losing its value, inward my opinion, is also early on to trammel into whatever conclusion. With user's expectations increasingly higher, it would last foolish to lower its value. How many testers create unit of measurement testing inward this agile era of software evolution (where the programmer has to write unit of measurement tests for his ain code snippet)? Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 goodness tester is a goodness tester for his powerfulness to test, non for his powerfulness to code! After all, a tester gets paid to test, non to code. Although coding background tin move aid inward sure enough contexts to attempt better, that should non last over-generalized! Test automation tin move never supervene upon manual testing. I think, the same tin move last safely said virtually programming skills of a tester. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 tester amongst coding skills tin move non supervene upon a tester without coding skills. If asked to attempt an application, both of them volition disclose dissimilar sets of defects. Think of user experience/interface related defects for example. Or for that matter, mean value of scenarios where you lot don’t accept plenty fourth dimension to test. Would you lot sit down downwards to create code review together with perform a elbow grease together with upshot analysis using your programming skills or would you lot rather exploratory attempt it right away?

If I were a attempt manager, I would rather hire testers both amongst together with without coding skills. Testing is all virtually flexibility! Each together with every fellow member of the testing squad can’t last expected to accept equal science sets together with equal areas of expertise. Testing equally a arts and crafts is evolving into dissimilar specializations together with it must last understood that each sort has its ain importance. So it ever helps to accept a testing squad comprising of a diversity of science sets. Testers amongst dissimilar specializations (with or without coding knowledge) are non mutually exclusive rather they should compliment each other. What create you lot think?

Happy Testing...

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