““Skimping on testers is such an outrageous false economy that I’m simply blown away that more people don’t recognize it.””
Lots of software companies, regardless of size, think that they don’t need testers. Let’s tackle some of the most common reasons for this.
“We don’t need a separate tester. Our developers test their own code.” This is so common and not-at-all ideal. Why isn’t this ideal? For one, developers aren’t regular users: They’re super users. They can’t and won’t use your software the way that your end users will. They’re likely to use the software as intended - that rarely yields bugs. Further, developers will have a very certain idea about how their code works and will test accordingly. They’re unlikely to consider that a particular path is confusing, that some data isn’t saved if they click the back button twice, that most users won’t have a monitor that’s as big as a refrigerator, etc. Finally, how much time can a developer really spend testing? They need to be coding! And where there is code, there are bugs. And a good tester wants to find them before your users do!
“We only want testers who write automated scripts.” Is some automation a good idea? Sure! Is automation the cure to all your software ills? Absolutely not! Firstly, a tester is there to evaluate someone else’s code. If you only want someone who does automation, you’re likely to end up with a tester who spends a whole lot of time writing their own code (and then spending time fixing it!) rather than spending their time testing your software. Secondly, if a tester is keen to write automation scripts, a lot of the time they’re keen to become a programmer, and a programmer and a tester have very different mindsets (one builds, the other breaks). In an ideal world, you have someone who writes automation scripts AND you have a manual tester. In a less-than-ideal world, it makes more sense to invest in a manual tester who will act like one of your end users and spend their time actually finding bugs.
““I am constantly impressed by how Ali figures out how to test our web applications with amazingly little guidance and navigates all of the systems we throw her way. And she does it all with enthusiasm and grace.””
“If a customer finds a bug, they’ll contact us.” Oh, this is a dangerous one. More often than not, here’s how that scenario really plays out: Potential Loyal Customer goes to use your software. Something isn’t intuitive or they’re confused or they can’t do what they want to do or the software is just plain buggy! Instead of emailing you with their gripes, they’re simply going to move along and find a product that works for them AND not recommend your product to others. Ouch! By having a tester on hand to identify your bugs/inconsistencies/confusion points, your opportunities for gaining and keeping customers goes up exponentially.
“Hiring a freelance tester is wayyyyy too expensive!” You know what’s expensive? Hiring a top-notch developer for big bucks, making them test their own code (which is NOT how a developer wants to spend their time), having them get frustrated with this not-so-great practice and having them leave your company for one that has better software practices! The reality is, you can hire a freelance manual tester when you need them for a tiny fraction of what you’d pay a recruiter to find you a replacement programmer.
“We only want a full-time tester.” Before you go full speed ahead and hire a full-time tester, consider if it’s really necessary. In my experience, a lot of times, it won’t be. First off, it’s costly and takes a lot of time and effort to hire a full-time tester. And then you’ve hired them and they turn out to be not so great? We’ve all been there. I urge you to do a breakdown of the cost to hire a tester as an employee vs. the cost to hire a top-notch freelance tester when you need one. Do you need someone banging away at your website for 8-hours a day, every day? Or do you really need someone 2-days before you do your weekly release? Or do you want someone who will poke around your website twice a week for 4-hours at a pop and find all the bugs they can? Or do you just need a pinch hitter during crunch times? These are things to consider thoughtfully and I’m more than happy to chat with you about your needs. Contact me here!