Testers As Test Consultants: How To Learn The Skills? - Lisa Crispin & Janet Gregory

When defining what “modern testing” means to him, Alan Page has said that testers on cross-functional teams should also be testing coaches. Janet and Lisa like to think of testers playing a “test consultant” role. Wait, yet another set of skills we have to learn to be successful testers? Not to worry. The skills that make us valuable testers let us help others on our team learn to be better at testing. Testers are great at asking questions, providing quick feedback, identifying and solving problems.

Let’s explore ways we can grow and apply the skills we already use, and identify others we might need to learn, to help everyone on our software delivery team get better at preventing bugs and building quality in.

Learning intentions:

• Why testers need to be test consultants, rather than do all the testing themselves
• Skills a tester needs to help others on their cross-functional team learn how to do testing activities themselves
• Ways we can learn and practice these skills