Test Positive

If a non techie asks a tester what do they do, you can expect an answer like "I find problems (bugs) what other people create". Well is that testing ?


As per dictionary.com the meaning of the word test is
noun

1.

the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial.

2.

the trial of the quality of something: to put to the test.

3.

a particular process or method for trying or assessing.

4.

a set of questions, problems, or the like, used as a means ofevaluating the abilities, aptitudes, skills, or performance ofan individual or group; examination.

I don't see the world bug, problem, failures etc in the above statement.. But somehow many of use managed to make testing more about finding problems than anything.  Hence questions like did this build pass testing.  And testing becomes a gate that stop bad things from going out the door. Something that delays the release of the product.  Some laborious thankless job that gets done after the developer tosses things over he wall grudgingly.

That brings us to the term quality assurance.  This term is about enabling, about problem solving and helping deliver something of value and quality.  Please don't get me wrong here, quality assurance will also include testing, the very important phase that helps confirm that the product is of good quality. But that is all but one portion of "Quality Assurance".