Testing Related Skills

So far, this book has focused on test design and execution. Those things are important, but it misses out on some important things, such as how to recognize a problem. Once we understand there is a problem, we need to communicate it as a problem to someone else in a way that stands up to scrutiny. You can argue that finding bugs and communicating why they need to be fixed is these are simple, even obvious… yet if that is true, why is so much software so buggy?

To be effective, the testing activity needs to find risks to the project and communicate them in ways that make change happen. Those things will vary depending on many factors, such as the company’s culture, the people receiving the news, the amount of pressure they are under, and so on. That means there is no “one true way” to communicate. Instead, communication is a skill. You’ll have several tricks in your toolbox, then try more of what works. In this chapter, our...