Dec 28

QA Certification (certificate icon with award)

QA Certifications

There are several major QA certifications online. What are the most popular software testing certifications, how do you achieve them, how much do they cost, and how important is it to get Agile QA certifications?

Types of Certifications

The two biggest sources of QA certifications are the ISTQB and the QAI. Each offers multiple types of software testing certifications.

If you’re looking to specialize in a particular type of QA (such as security testing or management), it’s worth getting the certificate specific to that position.

However, any of the more general QA certifications should be suitable for most testers. Further, if you decide to focus on a different area of QA, having a certification that only applies to your old specialty may not be useful. Continue reading →

Dec 8

Wes Silverstein

Company Culture / QA Process

How to Deal With Negative Perceptions of QA

Developer Respect for QA (person sitting at desk with computer open showing bugs and errors)

How to Deal With Negative Perceptions of QA

When you work in the field of QA testing, you’re inevitably going to encounter folks who don’t respect the idea of QA. While this can happen frequently, there are ways to work around it. If you can determine when to persist through the noise and when to push back, you’ll be able to accommodate whatever is thrown your way.

Developers

The overall QA and developer relationship can be collaborative, and working with a developer that respects QA is amazing. However, the most common role that perceives QA negatively tends to be engineers. It’s helpful to keep in mind that this isn’t always the engineer’s fault.

Some QA testers can be condescending in their manner of reporting bugs, as if it’s a personal critique on the developer’s self-worth. Naturally, if a developer feels that they are being personally criticized, they may react defensively. (Learn more about how to collaborate with developers in our guide to the QA and developer relationship.) Continue reading →

Nov 16

Wes Silverstein

Company Culture

How to Set Boundaries at Work (And Respect Others)

Office Lunch at Desk (person sitting at a desk looking at a laptop)

How to Set Boundaries at Work (And Respect Others)

When you spend the majority of your hours working, setting boundaries at work is vital. Equally important is respecting boundaries set by others. This can cover a lot: communication, workload, availability, and countless areas in between.

It won’t always be possible to lay down the law in every scenario that you’d like. But by knowing what your ideal boundaries are, and implementing them from the beginning, you’ll have a fighting chance at reducing work stress.

Slack

In modern QA, Slack can play a big role in communication. And with all of the expectations that come with live messaging, boundaries are often needed. These can include:

Keeping the Slack app off of your phone
Turning notifications off at certain hours
Not checking Slack before or after work
Keeping Slack closed when in the middle of urgent work

Timing is also important. If you don’t set Slack boundaries early on, people will think that they can reach you at any time of day – and it can be difficult to re-set expectations at that point. Continue reading →

Oct 30

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering / QA Process

The Role of QA in the Software Development Life Cycle

QA Testing SDLC (webpage/mobile app wireframes with magnifying glass icon)

The Role of QA in the Software Development Life Cycle

The role of QA in the Software Development Life Cycle isn’t always clear. Sure, there’s a QA testing phase. But what about all of the other stages? What role do software testers play in those, if any? First let’s go over what the Software Development Life Cycle is, and then take a look at the roles and responsibilities for QA at each step.

What is the Software Development Life Cycle?

The Software Development Life Cycle (often abbreviated to “SDLC”) is a framework for, well, developing software. The SDLC methodology is a structured process that splits each aspect of software development into different phases.

In an Agile Software Development Life Cycle, the team can jump back and forth between SDLC phases. (Learn more about the Agile QA Process, which we’ll be focusing on below.) Continue reading →

Sep 28

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering

Resume Advice for QA Testers

Resume Advice for QA Testers

So you’re ready to apply for your first QA job. Or maybe you’re already in QA, but looking to start at a new company. Where do you begin? The first step is putting together a stellar resume and LinkedIn profile. And the best part is, you don’t need years of job experience to do so. Read on for our resume advice for QA testers.

Do You Really Need a LinkedIn Profile and a QA Resume?

In a word, yes. There are some careers where a LinkedIn profile might not be necessary. But in the world of tech, beyond being expected to have one, a LinkedIn profile can provide invaluable job and networking opportunities.

Which Do You Start With?

It only takes five minutes to register on LinkedIn, so it’s an easy first step. And if someone wants to add you, you’ll have a link to give them even before you add profile details. However, when it comes to completion, it’s more important to finish your resume first.

Although it’s beneficial to have one, you can still apply to many jobs without a LinkedIn profile. The same can’t be said of a resume. Continue reading →

Sep 8

Wes Silverstein

QA Process

How to Have Effective QA Communication Skills

How to Have Effective QA Communication Skills

Communication is important in any career or area of life. But in the world of QA, it’s even more essential. Testers have to communicate with people at all roles and levels of the company. And on top of that, QA is at the front line when it comes to finding bugs and user experience issues — all of which need to be communicated well. It’s hard to understate the importance of effective communication skills for QA testers.

Read on to find out how to follow best practices for communicating anything and everything as a QA Engineer.

Communicating Bugs

Writing bug reports alone requires all kinds of communication skills. (Learn more about Best Practices for Reporting Bugs.) But even after you’ve created a bug report ticket, the bug-related communication doesn’t end there. It’s also good to follow these practices:

Sound the alarm for showstoppers. A showstopper bug means that it must be fixed immediately. For example, maybe the mobile app is crashing every time a user logs in. When you spot something like this, you’ll want to go above and beyond filing a bug report ticket. While that should be your first step, once you’ve done so, it’s time to make sure your team is aware. Continue reading →

Sep 1

Wes Silverstein

Automated Testing / Manual Testing / QA Engineering

What Are the Different Types of Software Testing?

What Are the Different Types of Software Testing?

QA testing may sound like a catch-all term — and in some ways, it is. “QA” stands for Quality Assurance, and all of the different types of software testing have this goal. But each type of testing achieves it differently. As a result, they’re best used for different purposes. Find out how what the different types of software testing are, and when to use them.

What Are the Different Types of Software Testing?

The main types of software testing are:

Manual Testing
Automated Testing
API Testing
Performance/Load Testing

These types of testing can be done on websites, mobile apps, and other software.

Manual Testing

Manual Testing is done by hand. This doesn’t mean not using technology — far from it. But it does mean manually going through different sections of a mobile app, websites, or other software, looking for any problems. Unlike automated, API, or performance testing, all you need for manual testing is access to the website or app. The other main types of software testing typically involve using other software or tools to test and/or find bugs. Continue reading →

Aug 23

Wes Silverstein

Company Culture

Career Advices for QA Testers

QA Career Advice (graphic shows magnifying glass over briefcase with checkmark icon)

Career Advices for QA Testers

Whether you’re at the start of your QA career or thirty years in, it’s always a good idea to know how to negotiate salary, advocate for a promotion, and navigate difficult situations in the workplace. On top of general career best practices, there are also aspects specific to software testing careers.

Taking QA Careers From Junior to QA Lead to QA Manager

When starting a QA career, many testers have the word “Junior” in their job title. Even if it’s not part of the official title, it’s usually a given that your first QA position will be entry level or close to it. But after you’ve learned the ropes and started to enhance your QA skills, you may set your sights on becoming a QA Lead.

Tips for Becoming a QA Lead

Continue reading →

Aug 16

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering

QA Analyst vs. QA Engineer

You may notice that most software testing job postings are for QA Analyst or QA Engineer. There are other software testing job titles out there, but these two are the most common. So what’s the difference between a software QA Analyst vs. QA Engineer?

The truth is that there’s no evergreen definition of the differences between a QA Analyst and a QA Engineer. Sure, you might find articles with well-thought out details for each position. However, in real workplaces, the reality can be quite different. Read on for the standard definitions for each, as well as what you can expect (or not expect) on a more practical level.

QA Analyst Job Description

The “QA Analyst” job title usually refers to a manual QA position testing software like websites or mobile apps. These are some of the tasks you can expect from a QA Analyst role:

Writing test cases (or using test cases written by others)
Manually testing software
Reporting bugs
Identifying user experience issues
Collaborating with developers and project managers (often in an Agile QA process)
Providing QA estimates to help the team plan out release timelines

Continue reading →

Aug 9

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering

How to Find QA Jobs

LinkedIn QA Jobs (mobile app showing LinkedIn)

How to Find QA Jobs

So you have a solid resume and LinkedIn profile, and you’re ready to get a new software testing QA job. How do you find QA jobs, what do you apply for, and how do you follow job application best practices?

Where to Look For QA Jobs

In this day and age, there are dozens of major job sites. On one hand, it’s great to have so many resources. But on the other, it can be difficult to cut through the noise. You also don’t want to end up wasting time.

Some of the best sites for finding QA jobs include:

Interested in working from home? If you’re located in America, Mindful QA is often hiring for remote QA jobs, including remote manual testing jobs and remote QA automation jobs. If you’re just looking to pick up extra hours on the side, we also have work for part-time freelance QA testers.

Indeed QA Jobs

Indeed has two main options: Indeed Prime and an online job board. If using the latter, you can filter and save searches by location, job title (for example, QA analyst or QA engineer jobs), experience level, salary, and more. You can also read reviews of the employer posting the position.

Indeed Prime is a free service that lets you post your resume Continue reading →