Five power skills to keep in your QA toolbox

One of Mighty Acorn’s core principles is continuous improvement. I think that continuous improvement is a goal for most software testers. We’re constantly asking questions to challenge ourselves: what do I need to learn to fully understand this project? How do I best dig all the bugs out of that functionality? What new skills can I acquire to level up my testing? We’re always on the lookout for things we can add to our toolboxes: new techniques, new tools, new ways of thinking. When I’m getting started with a project or a fix, I grab my toolbox and think: what’s in here that I can use on this? Is working on this going to give me something I can store in here for future use (spoiler alert, it probably will!)? It might be a new testing technique, or it might be a new power skill. Here are five power skills I think every tester should keep on hand and constantly build on.

1. Communication. Clear communication is important in all aspects of your life, not just your job (and not just testing jobs!). But when you’re balancing testing for many different things with a lot of people who need to know what’s going on and the status of various tasks, it’s key. Making sure people know what you’re working on and why that’s what you’re working on helps make your priorities clear. Moving along work where it’s easy to understand what you did helps anyone who is not in the nitty gritty of the everyday changes know what’s been considered. Speaking up when you have something to contribute will improve the quality of a project across the board. Be clear, and lean in to over-communicating to make sure everyone is on the same page.
2. Teamwork. Don’t forget that a whole team is working on the project — not just you! Work with your teammates to understand your product, conduct thorough testing, troubleshoot issues, and meet the clients’ needs. Ping your fellow testers for ideas when you’re working on something big. Ask your software engineers questions about how things work. Ask for help when you need it, and give help when you can. Remember: you’re all there to support the same goal of releasing stellar, high-quality products. Support each other in achieving that!
3. Adaptability. Things change quickly. Requirements can change in the blink of an eye because a stakeholder brings up something new at the last minute. It’s easy to get frustrated when this happens, but it’s also an opportunity to push harder for something to be the best it can be. Embrace the challenge, ask more questions, and learn.
4. Curiosity. The best issues I’ve seen in my career as a software tester have come from “I wonder what happens if I do this.” Sometimes, if you pull the right thread, the whole sweater unravels! We’re all always thinking about the right barriers for our testing- what goes downstream far enough? What’s really just totally unrelated? Don’t be afraid to sometimes fall down the rabbit hole for a few minutes. It can be a fun adventure!
5. Growth. Like communication, I think this is important in all aspects of your life. Embrace a growth mindset. You are capable of learning anything. I recommend Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success for a deep dive on this. We all learn differently, but we all can learn anything. We just have to figure out the right path to get ourselves there. If you lean into this, you’ll find yourself picking up all kinds of new tricks.

Every day, we’re presented with opportunities to take on new challenges and learn new things. If you embrace these five skills, I think you’ll find yourself engaging in your work in new ways and reaching new heights of success. Keep your toolbox handy and have fun hammering out tons of bugs!