Key Skills and Attributes for Everyone Who Tests Software

As organizations continue to refine their software development and testing approaches, the skills and attributes for the tester role must keep pace with these rapid changes. Many people other than traditional testers are now being asked to conduct testing. Whether you’re a lifelong tester or are just embracing testing from another discipline, there are key skills everyone requires. Janet Gregory presents some key skills and attributes testers need, whether they are practicing agile or more traditional methods. She explores skills such as effective communication as well as technical and domain skills. Janet discusses key attributes—such as creativity, flexibility, and tenacity—that all team members can bring to the table to help with product testing, especially the cross-functional teams on agile projects. There are attributes and skills—such as “a different mindset” or “good communication—that are often talked about. Easy to say, but what does that mean specifically for testing activities? Janet shares her thoughts on those skills and attributes as well as many others that affect not only testers but also test managers, programmers, business analysts, and even product managers.