How to evaluate a tester
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The document provides guidance on how to evaluate yourself and other testers. It recommends that you first evaluate your own skills and abilities to determine what you should be doing, if you are doing it, and how you can improve. When evaluating other testers, it suggests comparing yourself to those slightly better in targeted areas and adapting skills you observe. The document then lists possible criteria to consider, including soft skills like communication and business orientation, and technical skills like bug reporting and tool usage. It concludes by reminding the reader not to fool themselves and to find realistic models to aim for continuous improvement.
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How to evaluate a tester
- 1. How to evaluate a tester (evaluate yourself) Takeaways: 0. :P Don’t fool yourself. 1. Self evaluation – ideas 2. How to evaluate other testers – from a tester perspective - ideas 3. How to improve? - ideas
- 2. You->you • Find out what you should do and how good. • Find out if you do it . • If you do it, find out how to improve. • If you don’t do it, find out how to improve . • Off topic for this presentation – “Just do it”. • Sounds simple.
- 3. You (tester) -> others (testers) • This sounds also simple – compare yourself with other testers – try with better (could be better in just one area) ones first, do not be demoralized, it will take time to get better . • If you like something from that person, try to adapt it for your situation
- 4. Possible criteria – just some ideas, add/remove depending on your situation Soft skills: Technical skills: Communication skills Bug reporting skills Business oriented Write clear test scenarios Ability to self-learn Able to use different tools Curios Basic programming knowledge Good memory Ability to analyze a product and Logical deduce from it the best Organized approach to test it (from business requirements, or Analytical business constraints) Strong desire for quality Attention to details Able to synthetize information Skeptical
- 5. Takeaways • 0. Did you fool yourself? Stop. • 1. Willing/able/opportunity. • 2. Find realistic models. • 3. Aim for better.
Editor's Notes
- How to find out what you should do? – Job description – in your case, testing related discussion groups (examples), your common sense…How to find out how good you should perform? – Almost the same as above.How to know if you perform “well”? – Measure - if your are evaluated based on some metrics, monitor those (I would like a separate discussion about measuring – I would like to find out what metrics are used, why, how…), request feedback from “clients”, colleagues, managers.If you are doing fine, try to do better (willing, able, opportunity, it is not enough to do the same “fine”, aim for more). Pick an area to improve, do it. – Measure if you improved.If you are not doing fine, you already know where to work - do it (even if you are not the only one responsible for the issues signaled in the feedback, try to improve on your area, let others do whatever they want) …– Measure if you improved.Just do it (whenever you feel like it) – pick an area to improve, make a plan an carry it out. Measure the output.Make a plan for your career path.Study the employment opportunities.Be informed on what tools are used.Evaluation criteria: Do you finish your tasks on time/are you doing them good enough? What you do is “good” – E.G: for a testplan, do you receive many improvement suggestions or just a few?Are you able to do things you could not do some time ago?Number of bugs after launch? – Number of bugs before launch? Bugs before launch/bugs after launch ratio?Invalid/valid bugs ratio?Do you share information, do you help your colleagues?Documentation.Reusing your/others work.Initiative.…Examples of interesting forums/information sources:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/software-testing/http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/SQAtester/http://www.satisfice.com/blog/http://testingeducation.org/wordpress/http://kaner.com/http://developsense.com/http://testertested.blogspot.com/http://joelonsoftware.com/
- How to compare with others– code reviews, testplan reviews, test strategy reviews, discuss with that person, read the emails they send, their status reports, etc.Think if you are doing better/not so good. You should find areas where you are better and areas where you should improve.Find an area where he is doing better, try to improve yourself. Measure the outcome.Evaluation criteria (do not fool yourself).E.G:Gets a lot of suggestions on code reviews – Java – uses Generics?, writes code to the interface or the implementation…?Code/testcases/bugs are easy to understand/extend/maintain – how much would it take to add automation for a new “entity” supported by the project you are testing?Can he do things you can’t? (performance testing, security testing, interviewing, trainings, lead a team)?Receives the same suggestions?Reports signal unfinished tasks often?The testplans contain “all” the needed information?The testplans cover “enough” from the application functionality?…
- Compare with each other – review their work (code, testplans, test strategy, execution, velocity, mails, issue reports, status reports…).Compare the feedback received on their work (try to normalize the feedback – if testers are at different levels the expectations are different, feedback can vary). Compare testers on the same level, but do it across levels too (you can identify areas where a higher level tester should improve).Evaluation criteria.E.G:Leadership –insists on high quality?Seeks ways of improving? Manages to improve?Can influence others in adopting better solutions?…
- Soft skills.Willingness.
- Takeaways:0. :P Don’t fool yourself.Self evaluation – ideasHow to evaluate other testers – from a tester perspective - ideasHow to improve? - ideas