“Developers doing software testing is not enough for Software Quality” is a fact that some organizations don’t recognize. Developers who develop software always think positive about it and they may go in the positive ways to test. But the quality of a Software increases only when it is tested in both positive and negative ways.
There is a Differentiation in the Psychology of Developer and Tester, which impacts Software Quality
The way a developer looks at the software he has developed is completely different from that of a tester. It is a general psychological behavior of a human where we cannot think of breaking a thing when we have ourselves built it. The same implies in developers testing the application they have developed; their way of testing just focuses on checking whether what they have developed is working or not. But the way software testers do the testing process is a lot different.
Software testers focus on finding all possible defects in a software that an end user may come across and strives hard to make the software better. The purpose of testers doing software testing is not same as developers, where developers focus on verifying what they’ve developed, testers do as much as testing possible by deriving test scenarios from requirements and from those test scenarios they create different test cases to find defects.
Developers doing Software Testing is just limited to the piece they develop
There are plethora of reasons to have a dedicated testing practice in place. As aforementioned, developers verify only whether what they have developed is working or not; which means that, they only have an understanding of a few modules that they developed; not on all the components that make the software.
Verifying a few modules whether they are working or not is what developers do, and these components are verified whether they are working on their own; but not when integrated with other modules developed by other developers. If all the components of a software are integrated making it work as it intended to and delivered to client, then there is a possibility of software failure as the software didn’t undergo integration testing (integration testing tests that all the integrated modules are working as they should without impacting each other).
Not just integration testing, there are other types of testing such as exploratory testing, usability testing, user acceptance testing and compatibility testing which a software has to undergo, only then it becomes better and the end user will be satisfied with it. Regression testing is one such testing type which has to be done whenever there is a change in any module of software; it focuses on testing whether the change has impacted the existing functionality or not.
Therefore, developers doing software testing have their own limitations but testers doing software testing is something which is on a whole different level when compared.
Software Testing is a unique skill, which contributes the most for Software Quality
As every business runs on software systems, having a quality software gives an empowerment to do business effectively and have competitive edge. Software Testing is a process which drives software towards quality and high-quality software is what drives businesses towards success. However, Software Testing outcomes depend on the skill of testers.
Different people tend to use a software in their own way and the software has to work as it should in each and every way an end user accesses it. Testers thinking like an end user and concerning about end user satisfaction should test the software.
Software Testing is a unique skill as it seeks logical thinking in creating test scenarios around business workflows. So, testers need not just have skill to think like an end user but also the skill to understand business and application to create test different scenarios that uncover different defects.
