Testers

Testers are professionals who evaluate products to ensure they meet requirements and function as intended. They operate in software development, hardware engineering, manufacturing, and consumer electronics, among others. In software, testers may also be called quality assurance (QA) testers, QA engineers, or test analysts.

Responsibilities include designing test cases, executing tests, logging defects, and retesting after fixes. They may perform manual testing and automated testing using scripts and tools. Roles vary: testers focus on finding defects, while test leads coordinate test activities and QA managers oversee strategy and quality metrics.

Testing approaches include functional testing, regression testing, exploratory testing, performance testing, security testing, and usability testing. Tools include defect trackers (e.g., Jira), test management, automation frameworks (Selenium, Appium, Cypress), and continuous integration systems.

Education and career: many testers have backgrounds in computer science, information systems, engineering, or related fields. Certifications such as ISTQB are common but not universal. Career progression may move to test lead, QA engineer, SDET, or QA manager roles.

Challenges include tight schedules, vague requirements, complex systems, reproducing defects, and communicating findings. The role emphasizes risk awareness, documentation, and collaboration with developers, product managers, and stakeholders. Quality assurance aims to improve product reliability and user satisfaction throughout the development lifecycle.