Working 10 years as a tester and developing sites I have yet to find a developer that does not produce bugs. “Show me the bug!” is a phrase I’ve heard countless times right before developers look with disbelief and scepticism at their bug being reproduced. Why does that happen? Why are we so sure that there should not have been any bugs? I love working with developers and develop websites myself and ironically being also a tester, I personally create bugs when developing. Being on both sides as a tester and a developer I believe there are at least these 3 main reasons why developers need a tester.
1. Developers are mostly trying to make sure that the software works.
Would you believe anyone would take the effort and time to create something just to prove that it is a failure? I believe the vast majority of people subconsciously believe in what they are doing, otherwise they would not apply the effort to do it. We want to succeed, but this desire is exactly what also creates in us a blind spot for quality in not noticing what does not work.
For example, have you had a moment as a developer that you spin your wheels for hours just to make one functionality work? After getting it to finally work you feel excited to dive deep into testing to try and see if this solution interfered with maybe a different scenario?
A tester’s job on the other hand is specifically the opposite of the developer – to show that a software does not work as it is supposed to. Apart from the developer in the eyes of a tester, success is only to show that the software could be made better.
2. Testing takes time
Recently I convinced a friend of mine to do testing on his website. It was built by a major web development company from Chicago. The site looked beautiful if you skim through it quickly. I can see how he was sold. I took the time and checked his site page by page, link by link and scenario by scenario. I checked it on the phone, tablet and multiple desktop browsers. Testing and bug reporting took about a full 8-hour day. A total of 37 bugs were found:
- The paragraph font was not practical for all ages of reading being at only 14px
- Some areas of the site were not responsive
- Phone numbers and emails were not links
- Some links were pointing to the wrong places
- The company forgot to erase themes that were not used that took space
- Many grammar mistakes.
- Etc
The friend sent the bugs to the devs and they got them fixed quickly and the site now wasn’t only pleasant to look at but was flawlessly functional, made more money and the friend left a good review. Why did this Chicago company most likely didn’t test their product? Probably because testing takes time and time is money, better to do a quick look ourselves.
3. Data shows its important
Working in huge companies I realized they hire hundreds of testers. Working at REI for example we even had a 1:2 ratio for testers and devs. These big companies are definitely data driven and that’s why they know the value of testers. Working there at REI for just 2 years I have found over 300 valid bugs. I often imagine how different the product would have been and also the company reputational loss and lastly the frustration of the customers if the bugs were found by the customers.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this blog on the 3 main reasons why developers need a tester. Would love to hear your opinions, comments or if you have any questions. I love testing and what it does for our world and customers.
I also want to share that recently I finally started my own testing company. We offer on-demand testing services to freelance developers. We are different because of our lean method of testing which makes us affordable and have a super short turnaround time. Testing is only when you need it. No need for long contracts, huge databases of test cases and huge costs of hiring.
If you are a week or two away from submitting a site or project to the client and would want everything tested, just reach out to us. We would love to help and be of service.
We can be contacted via our website or just shoot me an email to [email protected]. Looking forward to connecting.
Nick Kurkov – Senior Software Tester
10 years of various full development cycle testing experience in companies – Amazon, At&t, T-Mobile, REI. Currently an owner of a Software Testing and Web Development Company – iTishniki.
