24 Sep Who Are Test Designers and What Do They Do?
Who Are Test Designers and What Do They Do?
Test designers are an essential part of testing and development teams.
They help ensure the success of a software application’s release and implementation.
They also help organise and shape requirements for tests and software development.
But how does a test designer do their job?
How are they essential to a development team?
And what makes a good test designer? Read on and find out.
What Does a Test Designer Do?
In simple terms, a test designer is the one who plans, designs, implements, and evaluates software tests.
A test designer is also tasked with creating test plans and test models, implementing tests, and evaluating the results of said tests.
A test designer may also decide on which testing tools and techniques to use.
Test designers are also called test architects or test automation specialists.
Though the job description of a test designer is easy enough to understand – what they do is considered one of the most critical parts of software development.
The tests they create are meant to improve the overall quality of the application to be developed.
A good test design supports quality assurance, quality control, and software testing.
Benefits of Software Quality Assurance, Control, and Testing
SQA helps companies save on cost. Faulty software applications are expensive to repair because they can mean hefty lawsuits.
Preventing damages by finding application bugs, issues, and flaws are cheaper than having to repair them after they’ve been deployed.
The same goes for corporate systems too.
Corporate software systems that handle large amounts of sensitive data need to be tested regularly to find bugs and vulnerabilities.
System blackouts can cause companies to lose money by the second.
SQA can bring in clients. A company that prioritises and implements good test designs and methodologies can produce high-quality apps and websites.
QA of websites, apps, and software systems can build confidence in past, current, and future clients.
SQA earns a profit. Properly conducted software tests are beneficial to both the company and its customers.
Software tests and QA ensure that computer systems and applications are stable, reliable, available, and secure.
Apps like these are great for a company’s reputation, and the free marketing that these apps can provide is unparalleled.
Customers, in return, will no doubt pay for apps and services that they want and need.
They’d even pay for subscriptions or upgrades if the functionality offered by the app justifies the additional payments.
What Makes a Good Test Designer?
- Database management knowledge and programming skills – While testers and test designers may not be directly tasked with managing databases and programming, many of the tests they’d perform would check for the quality, integrity, and security of databases and codes. This means that they need to have an understanding of what database admins and programmers do. They may also need to modify databases to run automated tests.
- Test case writing skills – Test cases are beneficial in communicating to non-testers the requirements that they need to fulfil in the development of a product. A good test designer should also know how to explain test results to developers and stakeholders.
- Critical and analytical thinking – A test designer helps improve the quality of the system they’re testing by trying to push it past its breaking point. There are many different ways for software applications to be tested, and each of them has their own contribution to that application’s improvement. Test designers need to be always curious with lots of questions and different scenarios in mind. In-house testers and test designers need to practice their critical and analytical thinking more, especially when they’ve become very familiar with the systems they’re testing.
- Team player – A good test designer needs to be a team player. As part of a development team (and even in the case of those that offer third-party testing services), testers and test designers need to effectively communicate the goals and the requirements to team members who are non-testers. If the developers can’t understand the purpose, they won’t be able to create an app or a system that satisfies the client’s requirements.
Conclusion
Test designers are an essential part of software development.
They perform SQA, SQC, and software testing.
They’re instrumental in assuring the quality of software applications, and they play a massive role in keeping clients’ confidence in a business.
A good test designer must have sufficient knowledge in programming and database management.
They also need to keep a critical and analytical mind and be able to work in a team.
