I Don't Code, Am I No Longer Useful
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This document discusses the changing role of testers in software development. As more testing becomes automated through programming, some question whether non-coding testers are still useful. However, the document notes there are many non-coding tasks in software development. It provides examples of non-programming work testers can do, such as working with product management to select features and clarify requirements, learning the system thoroughly to focus testing, and helping the team deliver value through non-coding improvements. The conclusion is that while testing may involve more programming, there are still needed roles for non-coding specialists to provide quality and domain expertise. Diversity of skills and perspectives remains important for software teams.
I Don't Code, Am I No Longer Useful
- 1. I Don’t Code,Am I No Longer Useful? Maaret Pyhäjärvi Email: <maaret@iki.fi> | Twitter: maaretp Maaret Pyhäjärvi Nimeä | Attribution (Finland) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/fi/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/fi/deed.en
- 2. “Code not interesting? Prepare to lose to your kids in work” “3o working years from mid-life” Very common in job ads nowadays: • Looking for a Technical Tester / Software Developer in Test to automate… • ”…our customer will start with an agile team of three developers and see later if they need a tester at all”
- 3. Piece of Realism: Different Programmers • ‘Hello World’ Programmer / ‘code.org’ – code school programmer • Survives in work environments – programmer – “Specifications” handed ready from the outside – One way to implement; limited maintainability of code • Full-stack Developer Test Automation is a form of Programming
- 4. Non-Programming Testers spread out to fill the gaps.
- 5. I Test These … Since 04/2012 9 devs 6 devs PdM team PdM 2 ’system testers’ … since 2012… since ~2009
- 6. Examples of What I Do at Work as ’Testing Specialist’ • Learn why the product exists & patiently use the system in varied ways • Provide feedback / log bugs • Work with product manager & developer to clarify a feature • Negotiate smaller workload for the team • Enable trainings and skill building • Pair up with developers for shared experiences on quality • Get developers to pair up with code • Challenge requirements with product management • Negotiate right skillset ratios for the team • Point out things that don’t work • Make efforts needed with skilled testing visible • Fix typos • Create & Review unit & Selenium test ideas; Extend • Provide ideas for how to test a business model • Create User Help Documentation • Provide quality perspective for steering groups • Present for end users on behalf of the team Not a manager, very much a senior software specialist.
- 7. Testers don't break your code, they break your *illusions* about your code * Adapted from James Bach
- 8. Things Can Look Different from Different Perspectives
- 9. Tester vs. DeveloperSource:Adapted from Bret Pettichord. 2000.Testers and Developers Think Differently Tester Developer Need of Mastery Focus of Modeling Focus of Thinking Tedium and Conflict Get up to speed quickly Generalist Domain knowledge Ignorance is important Thorough understanding Specialist Knowledge of product internals Expertise is important Model user behavior Focus on what can go wrong Focus on severity of problem Model system design Focus on how it can work Focus on interest of problem Practical Empirical: What is observed Sceptics Theoretical How it is designed Believers Tolerate tedium Comfortable with conflict Report problems Automate tedium Avoid conflict Understand problems 9
- 10. In Summary • Software Development has a lot of tasks that are not coding – … even if it was great if everyone could do everything – And it would not be great if everyone was exactly the same (diversity!) • Testers need to learn to explain the value they provide – sales skills • Flexibility in titles, a future as a product owner – There may be testing but not tester positions NON-PROGRAMMING WORK WORK WITH PRODUCT MANAGEMENT • selecting & clarifying what goes into the development pipeline • learning the system on what creates impacts to focus team work WORK WITH TESTING • confirming and collecting ideas about what to confirm • delivering and organizing for product feedback FIX NON-CODE • tweaking configurations HELP PEOPLE DELIVERVALUE BETTER • designing improvement experiments