After a short break, now is the time to write about something important, especially for junior testers. Challenges at work and how to sort them out. I will present 5 of them with tips on how to resolve them.
This article is only my opinion, and it’s partly based on challenges I have faced at work as a junior Software Tester.
The situations presented in this post were random, but I think they can happen at work.
Stress during the first day
When you start to work in a new company, especially when it is your first job as a Software Tester, you feel stressed surely. How will I get on at work? Will I do everything as expected? Will it be that difficult? We have a lot and a lot of questions in our heads before our first day. Depending on the company atmosphere and onboarding process, we can make sure that we are not stressing too much, as no one will expect something big from us on the first day of work as well as when we feel stressed, we don’t gather as much information as we would like to. We can also think about something that makes us calmer. So, let’s focus on getting as much information as you can, introducing yourself to your new colleagues, and everything will be fine!
Impatience
When we get our first device (laptop or PC), we need to wait for credentials, as every system is secured from possible attacks. We would like to start testing the software, and… we will get the specification documentation of the software that we will test. We are reading it with the most focus; however, it’s a big document. Here comes the first challenge, patience. As Software Testers, we need to be patient as we need to learn about the system first, to test it better in the future; that’s why it is so important to be patient as this job is so challenging.
Technical issues
When we’re getting the credentials, we start to explore the system by running the application (whether web, desktop or mobile), navigating in it, and seeing the application functionality. It is not rare that the environment is unstable, especially when we need to perform the tests 🙂. We are stressing so much, and we would like to get a stable environment. The best thing we can do in that situation is just take a breath and wait a second.
We can ask colleagues in the meantime if they have the same issue to make sure that it’s an environmental issue instead of a machine issue. Believe me or not, that happens that often 🙂 If we get the information that it is an issue with the environment (probably already reported), we can ask if there is something to help with. It can be, for example, preparing the test documentation. If that is a machine issue, we need to report that, and again, depending on the company, we can do this by reporting the issue to the test manager or (more often) creating a ticket on the test management tool.
Lack of knowledge
Here comes another challenge: the knowledge of test tools. Every company and even every project uses a different set of tools, but don’t worry, they assume that you won’t know every tool, so a training pack will be available for you in the first few weeks or even months of work. Sometimes the training packs are available even after that time, as the company decides to introduce a new tool to the project.
When you feel comfier, as you will get the appropriate training regarding systems, read the system specification document, have a stable environment, and even prepare test documentation, there is the moment you’ve been waiting for a long. Testing! 🙂
Lost in the problem
Situation 1
First, check that you have everything you need. I know it can sound silly, but the test cycle is in a specific timeframe, and there will not be enough time later to look for something you need. When you’re starting the work activities, you get the issue that you feel is so difficult. If you get to that moment, stop, and ask yourself first, or even loud think. It seems like something simple, but sometimes it helps to save you and your colleagues time. Imagine that you have an issue where you could get the answer by asking yourself (digging deeper) or by loud thinking, but you’ve sent an email to a colleague, waited for an answer, and you got the same answer you could gather by thinking deeper. That process would waste time.
Situation 2
When starting the test execution, you’re looking at the test scripts which have been written by someone else, and… You’re feeling extremely confused. Why? Because the person who prepared the test scripts earlier did it based on the older version of the specification. That means the system looks different now, and a lot of elements from this script are not there or they are not supposed to be there.
What to do? Ask someone or not? And I think personally that it’s the most difficult challenge for juniors as they are scared to ask. That happens because they think that they should know that already and feel sure. I felt the same when I started the work, but what we can do in that situation is just simply ASK. In this situation, we will not find the solution as the specification has changed unless someone has uploaded it and we have access to it, but I would still ask to make sure.
Summary
That was a set of the 5 most important challenges that juniors face at the beginning of their career. I deeply believe that once we adjust ourselves to these tips, our well-being at work will become much better, and the work will become easier for us.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the article and found some inspirational information that you could also use.
The next post will arrive soon 🙂
Graphics with hyperlinks used in this post have a different source, with the full URL included in the hyperlinks.
