Testing, Day One

One of my colleagues recently told me about his first day on his first job as a tester. Once he was settled in his manager pointed him at one of the team's applications and said "This app has a nasty bug. Find it."

Five minutes later my colleague was in his boss's office. "I found the bug!"

His manager shook his head. "That's a good bug, but not the one I was talking about."

Five minutes later this scene repeated itself. Over and over and over that day, my coworker asked "Is this the bug?" and his manager replied "Nope."

By the end of the day - his first day ever as a tester - my coworker had found some eighty high-quality bugs. None of them were the one his manager wanted him to find - if, in fact, his boss ever even had a specific bug in mind. But eighty bugs in one day! That's doing pretty good!

I see several morals in this story:

• Bugs are easier to find when you know they are there. And as every great tester knows, there are always more bugs.


• Different people react in different ways to the same situation. Had I been in my colleague's place, I would have rapidly become enormously frustrated. He, however, became ever more highly motivated to find that one specific bug his boss had him searching for. Understanding what makes your teammates tick can greatly improve your relationships with them.


• Testing is fun! As my coworker recounted this story, I could tell that it is a happy memory for him. The best testers I know all have stories about gnarly bugs and flaming apps and working with developers of various degrees of tester-friendliness which they recount with glee and enthusiasm at the drop of a hat. And isn't having fun the point of life?

Thanks Dante for this story! What are yours?

Posted by The Braidy Tester at 07:30 AM  Permalink