A roadmap for an aspiring tester

I was assigned with a task to prepare a roadmap to learn testing for a batch of new joiners in our team. The roadmap should include what they should learn and why, how they should learn and from where they should learn. I have compiled an outline which I am sharing it in this post. I believe that there are much more to learn for a tester than what I have managed to list here. I welcome suggestions from all of you as comments.

A tester needs to learn:

There are many technologies a tester needs to learn. Some of them (important ones) are:

SQL: A tester has to do a lot of activities related to database. So it is obligatory for any tester to learn the SQL language. This learning includes concept of RDBMS, SQL queries, query optimization and database administration.

Sources: http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp, http://www.informit.com/library/library.aspx?b=STY_Sql_24hours

 

Excel: Excel is a very powerful tool and capable of doing much more thing than you can imagine. It’s a best friend of a tester. Gain mastery over it.

                Sources: http://www.baycongroup.com/el0.htm             

HTML/DOM: For testing web application efficiently and effectively, one has to understand HTML and Document Object Model. Knowledge on CSS is also good.

                Sources: http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp

http://www.tizag.com/htmlT

http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp

 

XML: XML is a widely used technology and supported by many testing tools to store data. It’s a must for a tester.

                Sources: http://www.w3schools.com/xml/default.asp

 

Scripting languages: There are many scripting languages such as java script, PERL, python, ruby etc. Learning a few of them comes handy while testing. You can build your own tool to carry out few tasks with the help of a scripting language. Java script is of highest priority. Learning PERL or python is a bonus. Choose your own language.

                Sources: http://www.w3schools.com/js/default.asp

                http://www.tizag.com/javascriptT/

                http://www.learn-javascript-tutorial.com/

                http://echoecho.com/javascript.htm

                http://www.perl.com/pub/2000/10/begperl1.html

                http://www.perltutorial.org/

                http://www.tizag.com/perlT/

                http://docs.python.org/tutorial/

                http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/

The above mentioned sources are not the ONLY sources. Information is strewn across the internet. Explore as much you can.        

Tools that come handy:

There are several open source tools to carry out specific testing related tasks. There are some cool Firefox/Chrome add-ons. Explore in this area and zero on whatever suits your purpose best. Few of the tools/add-ons are:

Bug reporting tools:

Bugzilla: http://www.bugzilla.org/

Mantis: http://www.mantisbt.org/

Trac: http://trac.edgewall.org/

Redmine: http://www.redmine.org/

 

Add-ons:

Firebug: It’s the most popular and a powerful add-on for Firefox. Below is a link to a nicely compiled mind map of add-ons.

http://moolya.com/blog/2011/03/04/addon-mindmap-for-testers-from-moolya/
 

Selection of tools depends on your requirement. Google you purpose and you shall get the list of all related tools.

Blogs: Repositories of failure/success stories

Make a habit of reading few blog posts regularly. There are hundreds of good blog sites and they narrate their success as well as failure stories. Learn from their learning. You can’t afford to make all the mistakes by your own and learn from them. Life is too short for it. Better if you start writing your own.

The link below provides list of top 100 testing blogs:

http://www.jayphilips.com/2009/11/30/100-software-testing-blogs-and-tweeters/
 

Following are links to some really good blogs out of the above 100:

http://www.satisfice.com/

http://testertested.blogspot.com/

http://tuppad.com/blog/

http://curioustester.blogspot.com/

http://help.utest.com/testers

bangalorehackers.com

http://testobsessed.com

testomate.com

testingideas.blogspot.com

vividtester.blogspot.com

testeriq.blogspot.com

Videos:

This is an effective way to demonstrate things. What you can’t express in writing you can show it through videos. It is a plus who hates to read much (though you have to get rid of this habit).

Following are links to few really nice videos:

1. http://testertested.blogspot.com/p/audio-video-podcasts.html contains audio and video related to exploratory testing and basic of software testing.

2. Future of Software testing by James Whittaker - http://blip.tv/utest/james-whittaker-the-future-of-software-testing-utest-webinar-1507610

 

3. Exploratory testing by Jon Bach - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7894844001159492923

 

4. Open lecture by James Bach - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILkT_HV9DVU  

5. How to think efficiency in software testing by James Bach- http://vimeo.com/10715536  

6. Becoming a software expert by James Bach- http://loadstorm.com/2009/software-testing-experts-james-bach

 

7. Agile testing- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqrOnIECCSg

 

8. Agile Testing Challenges- part 1 and 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ9hY7NNesk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exUrdzpdTg4&feature=related