Breaking tester stereotypes : who is testing and why it matters

Abstract

Testing is essential for successful delivery of software solutions and is not always performed by specialist testers. In earlier studies, we noted a wide diversity in the backgrounds of the testers participating in these studies, prompting our research question: Who is Testing? We conducted a qualitative study of over 70 industry testers, covering testers from multiple countries and domains, with information about their backgrounds, hobbies, roles and characteristics. We show testers are from a wide range of backgrounds, with differing needs, characteristics, and problem-solving preferences. Their roles in software projects are multi-faceted, requiring a high cognitive skill level. We discuss how to break stereotyping and best support diversity in testers’ backgrounds and characteristics.We consider whether software testers are different from other software practitioners, and how understanding tester personas helps support of testers and testing.