Software testing is undoubtedly a technical skill – one that requires logic, critical thinking, and analysis. And few would ever argue with this statement. But the very best software testers are also artists. They have a “creativity” itch that they absolutely must scratch. And that deep itch often manifests in unusual ways, which is [...]
The “off-season” isn’t something you normally hear about in software development and testing. Beach towns, professional sports, and academia all have natural breaks built into their schedules. But testers and developers work all year-round. At the macro level, there is no “off-season” for our industry. But as individual testers, we all have downtime, whether we’re [...]
Swedish auto manufacturer, Volvo, has an ambitious goal of reducing accident-related fatalities to 0% by 2020. And central to this mission is the company’s line of self-driving cars. Volvo is already well on its way thanks to on-board detection systems that can help cars automatically avoid moose, deer, and other large game. But the vehicle [...]
In theory, we’re all supposed to be on the same page. In the quest to deliver stable builds that excite end-users: Software testers are in charge of finding and reporting bugs. Software developers are responsible for fixing those bugs. It all sounds pretty straightforward. But the reality is often very different. There are times [...]
We’ve discussed the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) extensively in the past, with posts about: Amazing multi-world games like No Man’s Sky. Self-creating websites through platforms like Grid.io. Technological breakthroughs like these potentially put software testers and developers at risk. We could become irrelevant in a world where machines can do all the heavy lifting. [...]
We recently came across an interesting article touting the benefits of higher education. And we couldn’t be more supportive of this idea. Knowledge is power. The writer went on and made a distinction between university graduates and those who only finish the same courses but in a college. Specifically he referred to computer sciences and [...]
If you were to survey the bookshelves of software testers around the globe, you’d likely see all kinds of QA-related manuals, tutorials, and dictionaries. But here’s the thing. No two bookshelves will ever be exactly the same. After all, each one of us has different tastes and needs. Plus, there’s a lot of turnover [...]
At Testuff, we talk a lot about finding defects. But what about fixing those bugs after you’ve found them? If you regularly follow this blog, you already know how we feel about this topic: “Fixing” defects is the developer’s job (exclusively). “Finding” bugs is the tester’s job (exclusively). And it’s best if these 2 [...]
Last time, we wrote an article that covered some of the difficulties teams face when hiring outsourced talent – and how best to address those challenges. In this post, we’d like to cover the same topic again. But this time, we’ll shift our focus to the freelancer’s perspective. As a software tester for hire, what [...]
Hiring an external freelance tester is one of those options in today’s workforce landscape that some see as a necessary evil, others as a great benefit, but that nearly every software QA team eventually faces: Sometimes you need a few extra hands on deck for a short term. Other times, you want access to outside [...]
