What’s in a name? When it comes to job titles, names can mean a lot. Some top things job titles can influence include:
- How others see you
- How people treat you
- How much authority people assign to you
- What people expect of you
- What you expect of yourself
Some situations when a job title might matter more include:
- When you’re applying for jobs
- When you’ve just started a new job
- When someone new joins the team / project
When it comes to names for quality and testing specialists, the range is vast. It makes looking for jobs particularly difficult, because there are so many different terms to search for. It also raises a lot of questions around what exactly the person will be expected to do. So what’s the difference between a Tester and a Quality Engineer? Does it really matter?
I think it does. It matters because of the points I mentioned above regarding influence. But at the same time… I don’t think it does. It doesn’t matter because you shouldn’t let your job title hold you back from doing good, impactful work.
So what’s the point I’m trying to make here exactly? It’s about testing as an activity and engineering quality as a mission. Let’s dive into each of these a little.
Testing as an Activity
A tester is someone who performs testing. Whether it’s your whole job to test, or just part of it, if you’re testing, you’re a tester. But are you a testing specialist? If “Tester” is part of your official job title, it’s likely expected that you are. You should be someone who knows a lot about different types of testing, and how and when to use them. You should be aware of different tools to support testing, different methods to execute tests, and if test management falls within your remit, you’re probably also designing tests and planning testing activities. (I find it a bit weird when the act of testing and designing and planning tests are split, but I understand that it happens.)
There’s lots of debate out there about what good testing is. Let’s assume that you test well. You take pride in your work, you uncover a lot of useful information, and you’re always improving your craft. You are a tester.
Engineering Quality as a Mission
So what is engineering quality, and how does a Quality Engineer differ from a Tester?
engineer (verb): to arrange, manage, or carry through by skillful or artful contrivance
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/engineer
Contrary to popular belief, testing is not about quality. Testing is about information. Testing alone will not improve quality, but it can greatly contribute to the engineering of quality by giving us information about the current state of a thing. If we don’t know about the current state, how should we know how to improve it?
An analogy that comes to mind is when people salt their food before tasting it. How do you know it needed more salt? Might you have just ruined your meal? Maybe you knew because you read the recipe, or watched the chef cook it. But do you really know, or are you just making an educated guess? The best way to know for sure how something tastes is to taste it. The best way to assess the quality of a system is to test it. That informed seasoning you do – or don’t do – is a way to engineer quality.
But that’s not all. Engineering quality in the kitchen also involves training the staff, curating the menu, enforcing hygiene standards, and much more. Engineering the quality of software similarly involves many other activities than just testing; like coaching people to be better testers, improving processes, managing risks, to name only a few.
Testing is about the information you uncover. Engineering quality is doing something about it.
Tester vs Quality Engineer: Which One Are You?
Who cares whether you’re a Tester or a Quality Engineer? I think you should. Because what we do in our day-to-day jobs is greatly influenced by our purpose. Barry Ehigiator talks about your essence of testing – why you’re doing it; what drives you. There’s nothing wrong with “just” being a Tester. If your essence of testing is to uncover information and help people make informed decisions, you’re a Tester, regardless of your official job title. But if you really want to help improve quality, don’t let that job title hold you back. Be a Quality Engineer.
Do you see yourself as a Tester or Quality Engineer, and why? Do you see a place for both of these roles? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Note: After writing this post, I came across the question of whether quality engineering is just software engineering. What do you think? And by extension, should Quality Engineers be considered / called Software Engineers (Software Engineer in Test is also a title I’ve seen)?