Even today, when you talk about the profession of tester, it is very frequently believed to have to do with video games. However, the need and the demand for quality control applies to the entire digital industry (web and application development, etc.). An industry in full growth makes the testing profession that much more relevant.
How does one become a tester?
Every day, programs, websites, and apps grow increasingly complex and ubiquitous which has necessarily resulted in testing turning into a professional activity. And yet, there is still no special course to become a testing specialist. That is the reason StarDust has implemented in-house training for its teams: training that takes place over the course of two months and covers all the testing fundamentals. People of very different backgrounds can become testers: frequently, graduates of BTS (Advanced Technical Certificate), DUT (University Degree in Technology), bachelor's programs, or specialized IT or developer schools, or else self-taught individuals passionate about new technology.
StarDust teams also have all the support required to develop their competencies in the quality control domain. After the two months, they become experts in quality assurance and are able to obtain an ISTQB certification.
What skills must a tester have?
To be efficient, a tester must have a host of competencies and qualities:
- Expert in the use of new technologies. Among other things, a tester should be at ease with the various existing devices and web practices.
- Knowledge of what it takes to make a digital product: whether it be based on the V-model or agile software development, a tester must know the proper time for the various phases of testing and understand the relevant factors and processes.
- Mastery of Bug Tracker tools
- Writing skills in French and English will come in useful both in manipulating the products he or she is testing and in utilizing certain tools. A rigorous, curious, and persevering nature.
Career outlook?
A typical testing project is broken down into several phases: initial scoping (short), writing of an acceptance test plan (testing strategy), test campaign (performance of tests), implementing fixes (performed by the client), re-testing and analysis.
The professional tester manages test and re-test execution. Whenever he or she takes on strategy development and the writing of the test cases, he or she becomes an Analyst. Finally, a project lead manages the test campaign in its entirety, from defining the devices, to managing test planning, and making sure that the test campaign and its results are of appropriate quality.
Recognizing the Value of the Professional Tester
Even today, the tester's true value as a quality expert is too often ignored, be it because there is no proper professional education or because a tester's career development path is fairly limited. But recognition of the testing profession goes hand in hand with the recognition of the value of testing in a product life cycle.
By appreciating professional testers through the ISTQB certification that leads to a professional qualification, StarDust takes part in recognizing professional skills hoping that one day testers will be recognized by everyone as guarantors of digital quality.