What are a tester’s characteristics, in other words, what properties must a person have to be an ideal tester? In the first place, the ideal tester does not exist. It varies per situation. We can, however, list a number of generic properties:

Communication, spoken and written

The tester maintains contacts with many different parties. For instance, he talks to e.g. the programmer, the information analyst, the project leader and other testers. It is important for a tester to be able to understand the interests of his discussion partners and communicate effectively. Written communication is important to record defects and write reports.

Accurate and analytical

A tester must focus on detail. It is important to establish for every requirement or wish what is actually being asked. In case of doubt, questions must be asked. It is important for the tester to go about his job analytically and refrain from making assumptions. A test basis is at the basis of his test, if this is not complete or contains defects, it is registered as a defect. A tester must never ever make assumptions in this respect, even though they may be self-evident.

Convincing and persevering

A tester communicates the detected defects to the party that caused them. This is where the extent to which the tester is convincing plays a part because the receiving party must consider the reported defects as actual defects. The tester must have power of conviction and persevere in affirming the importance of the quality of the product.

Objective and positively critical

When a defect is communicated or questions are asked about a requirement, it is important to do so objectively. Comments like “bad software”, “again an incorrect requirement” or “irritating colours” should not be used. In discussions about defects, it is important that the tester makes the problem clear to the other parties in a constructive, positive way. This means a certain level of diplomacy and refraining from pointing fingers at various parties.

Creative

The tester must simulate reality to make a statement about the quality of the software. Test cases are created, test data compiled, and a test environment defined for this purpose. This requires creativity.

Sensitive

The tester is at a crossroads between professions. The point of gravity of the tester’s activities lies at the end of a process, when the pressure is highest. The tester must be aware of the tensions and interests and handle them correctly, so that the required objectives can be realised.