Because testing is often perceived as a destructive process rather than a constructive one and the fact that testers are always very happy finding faults, it is essential that the tester developer relationship is not personal, biased and sentimental.

 

Developer characteristics

·         Specialised

·         Valued by the organisation

·         Trained

·         Creative

·         Sensitive to criticism

 

Tester characteristics

·         Methodical

·         Tenacious

·         Happy when they are finding faults

·         Under valued by the organisation

·         Good communicators

 

Good communication between the tester and the developer is an important factor in the success or otherwise of a project.

Any communication made must be constructive and not destructive.

“This system is rubbish, too many errors “ will not be received well from the developers listening.

 

Faults found by testers must be reported clearly and concise.

It is important that when reporting the fault the tester should detail the step-by-step process that was done to the point where the fault occurred.

 

Developers should always inform testers what changes has been made to an application, otherwise there is danger of testers missing parts of the system to test because they are unaware of them. Any release of the software should be documented with all relevant changes and fixes highlighted for the attention of the testers.

 

Faults are normally reported on a problem tracking system or an incident management system.

 

Developer/Tester Relationship

 

·         Communication is the key.

 

·         Communication must be constructive and not destructive.

 

·         Information about any changes to a release must documented and circulated to all parties involved.

 

·         Problems or faults found must be reported clearly and concisely.

 

It should always be a two way process.