How To Hire A Software Testing Team That Fits Your Office Culture

Hiring a software testing team can enhance the productivity and quality of solutions you create.
With that, you can improve your market position and build a reputation among your clients. However, all these benefits come down to the team you build.
A team of software testers has to fit the office culture you have. For that, you can follow the following steps for a successful hire:
1. Evaluate Your Stakeholders
Before you make any moves, it is important to learn your office culture comprehensively.
Office culture is not just the rules you follow on a daily basis.
It is the people in your office, especially the stakeholders of your business.
You should have a meeting with your project managers and other leaders who understand the requirement of your company.
Ask their point of view on hiring a team of software testers.
Their recommendations will help in creating a basic idea of what sort of software testers you should hire.
Such meetings will help you understand questions regarding manual testing, automated testing, deadlines followed generally, time management requirements, communication and other requirements.

Also, you can ask your stakeholders and managers about the preferred coding language utilized.
2. Evaluate Your Company’s Methodology
You probably know the coding and testing methodologies utilized in your company.
However, it would be wise to re-evaluate the methodologies utilized in your company.
If you are a startup, an established company or trying to transition to a new methodology.
These aspects matter to decide what sort of software testers you want.
3. Target Community Events And Testing Conferences
After evaluating your office culture, you need to find the right testers in order to create a software testing team. However, there are many potential testers who don’t fit your criteria for hire.
Hence, you need to avoid the clutter and reach the right software testers quickly.
One way of doing that is getting involved in community events and testing conferences. These scenarios provide a meeting ground with group defined testers.
You already know what kind of testers are coming to attend a community event or testing conference.
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Hence, obtaining potential candidates from these events is a smart move to save time and efforts without compromising in any manner.
You can announce your interest in hiring a software testing team and allow the potential firms or testers reach you.
4. Gathering Potential Options Online
You can start promoting your requirements via social media, job portals, and other ways. Attract with competitions focused towards testing needs and office culture you desire.
Right candidates are always available on platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter.
Hence, you can utilize the online presence of your company to gather candidates faster without too much investment.
5. Ask Questions About The Procedure They Follow
When you have found the right candidates to build a team, understand their approach.
Give them scenarios and ask questions regarding the testing procedure, bug finding, and other associated concepts.
This way, you can understand their thinking ability and recognize problem-solving capacity, which is a much-needed trait.
Also, include questions associated with the office culture you have. Here you can ask about the coding approach and knowledge, their ability to provide flexible timings and more.
Also, find the understanding of manual and automated testing approach of software testers.
6. Test The Testers
An actual execution test is necessary before you make your final decision. Hence, you should invest in creating an assignment that aligns with your work culture.
Put some limitations that you face on a daily basis. For instance, you can decide the ratio of manual and automated testing.
This way, you can test the testers in terms of their approach, skills, techniques, and methodologies.
7. Evaluate Teamwork of the Testers
It is essential for software testers to work in coordination with each other and other programmers in your company.
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The ability to communicate matters, so that, the testers and enhance the productivity of your team with seamless collaboration with programmers and designers.
After going through each and every step mentioned above, you will find the right software testers to hire.
They all will blend into your office culture and become an inherent part of your company. However, it is still important to allow them some time to adjust to the work culture.
Hopefully, you are now ready to make the right moves and hire your software testing team.

Tester VS Developer : When It Comes To Software Testing (Infographic)

Testers vs Developer, they are crucial for any software. However, nowadays there are a few vouching for a methodology where developers themselves become the tester.
Is it good? Will it save a lot of time and money?
Let’s keep it factual testing oriented development for certain procedures are indeed good.

Quality Analysis driven development would considerably increase the quality of their coding.
Especially when they are working in the DEV environment.
However, the unit test does not assure the quality of a software. There are other testing procedures that need to be done which requires skills.

  • Full code path testing
  • Component Testing (Unit testing might not work in certain situations)
  • Integration Testing (of components)
  • System testing

Apart from that, the hourly cost of a developer is bigger compared to that of a tester. Imagine his/her precious time invested in testing in which he/she might or might not be skilled in.
So why testers should be relied on?
Let’s go through an Infographic to get a detailed picture.
developer vs tester

Salary of Developer vs Tester : Who Earns More?

There is not much difference between a software developer and a software tester as their goals are the same i.e. to improve the quality of a software or application.

It is believed that there is a difference between the salary of a developer and the salary of a software tester.

The salary amount of both the developer and the tester is based on different factors including their duties, responsibilities, company, demand, job role, experience, and skills etc.

In this section, we will try to find out who earns better: a developer or a tester, by taking different factors into consideration. So, if you want to know who earn more salary, continue reading.

Are you the one who thinks getting into software testing can be a wrong financial choice? Read this:

  1. It is not true that testers do not need as many skills as developers. Most testers are also programmers, and testing tasks are performed by many developers. Such tools as Selenium use the same programming languages in which developers write their code so that testing is quick and easy to set up.
  2. The popularity of the Test Driven Development and Behaviour Driven Development frameworks is on the rise. It implies that developers will have to take into account the viewpoint of end-users and testers. Setting up these frameworks, testers serve a critical function and development testing boundaries often overlap.
  3. In both development and testing teams, key skills include
  • Understanding core functional processes
  • Programming language skills, especially for Java.
  • Database and design concepts
  • Analytical and logical thinking
  • Good communication skills
  • A team-oriented attitude
  • Capacity to manage work using tools or manually

    4. Participation in the development process Both teams are crucial throughout the entire development process. As companies adopt continuous integration and continuous testing methods, testers and developers collaborate closely. In Agile, there’s no strict separation between development and test teams; it’s all part of one SCRUM.

    5. Are growth opportunities similar for Testers and Developers?
    Individual growth varies based on abilities, goals, efforts, and circumstances. It’s not heavily influenced by the specific IT branch.
    Developers may progress to roles like managers, business analysts, and architects, or explore sales and research opportunities, depending on qualifications, goals, and available chances.
    Similarly, testers have various possibilities within their domain, such as becoming Test Leads, Test Managers, Business Analysts, and more.

    6. Are developers more important than testers?
    Some people think if a job isn’t crucial, why have it? In the world of IT, there used to be a conflict between developers and testers, but now it’s not a big issue among IT teams. However, some people who don’t know much about these jobs still believe developers are more important than testers.

    7. It’s essential not to decide whether to be a software tester based on the opinions of those who don’t understand the work well. Jobs can be uncertain everywhere. When job cuts happen, it’s usually the weakest link that’s affected, and it doesn’t always mean testers are the ones losing their jobs.

    Factors affecting the payscale of a software tester and a software developer

  • Your skills and how good you are at your job
  • How much experience you have
  • Your current salary (if you’re switching to a new job)
  • The type of employment (full-time, freelancing, contractual)
  • Where you live
  • The company you work for
  • Any extra benefits you get
  • Sometimes, how good you are at negotiating your salary.

Software Developers

A software developer is a professional whose work is mainly concerned with the development of software.
As the name suggests he is responsible to design or develop the new software to fulfill the demand of the end users.
They develop software whether it is a business software, gaming software, mobile software or applications, computers software etc.

A software developer takes care of the whole process including research, design, programming, testing, and launching of the software in the market.

There are two types of software developers i.e. Application Software Developers and System Software Developers.
Application software developer designs both; custom software for a particular business of commercial software for the general public as well.

On the other hand, the system software developer develops the system that takes care of the proper functioning of computers like an operating system for computers.

They also build system’s interface that allows the users to interact with computers.
As online technology is increasing day by day, all businesses are seeking software developers to develop a customized application for their business.

Whether it is a bank, a university, a news channels or a hospital everyone has their own application, and to design the same they need a software developer.

Software developers help the companies to update with the latest technology through web or application development.
The applications designed by the developers can be used on computers, tablets, Smartphone etc.
Therefore, a software developer should be able to create or design, manage and maintain new programs and software.
A software developer must possess an excellent knowledge of programming languages such as HTML, Java, JavaScript, C++, c# etc. Prior experience is always a plus point considers in salary.

Qualifications and Skills Required to be a Software Developer

  • A bachelor or masters degree in computer science, software engineering or in a related field
  • They should have analytical, communication, teamwork, problem-solving skills. Additionally, they should be creative, innovative, and familiar with database management, program testing and other related software.

Tasks Assigned to a Software Developer

  • Test and document software
  • Write, modify and debug software
  • Design and develop application components
  • Analyze needs of the user and then develop the software to fulfill that needs
  • software up gradation in existing software
  • Create diagrams, models, flowchart of different activities
  • In charge of the entire development process
  • Collaborate with computer programmers for optimum utilization of resources
  • Write codes for programming of software

Now let’s discuss the salary of a software developer through a pie diagram
Developer vs Tester

The above diagram is showing the annual salary of a software developer by experience level. It has a positive trend, we can see that the salary is increasing with the growing experience.

The salary of a developer differs from country to country. The average salary shown in the diagram includes bonus, allowances, tips, and overtime pays.

A software developer at the initial stage of his career on an entry level with the experience of 0-5 years can expect to earn an average salary of $61,000.

A software developer after the experience of 5 years, can expect an average salary of $ 80,000 annually. After 10 years of experience, a software developer can get the average salary of $ 87,000 per year.

An experienced software developer who has 20 years of work experience earns an average compensation of $ 97,000 per year.

Software Tester

A software tester is a professional who tests software to ensure that there is no bug, errors, defects or problem in the software that can affect the performance of a software or application before launching it in the market.

They are expert in handling software quality testing tools and techniques. It is the responsibility of a software tester to ensure that software will perform as desired both functionally and non-functionally.

A software tester uses various types of software testing such as black box testing, white box testing, unit testing, system testing, load testing, scalability testing, user acceptance testing, regression testing, smoke testing, integration testing, performance testing, compatibility testing, usability testing, security testing etc.

Whenever a software developer designs software, a software tester plays a key role in the process. He works as a quality assurance and he is the one who gives final approval to launch the software in the market.

He receives the software build at various stages in the process before going into the hands of the end user.

He runs the software programs through various tests and records the response of the software. The key component of software testing is documenting each and every step performed during software testing.

Documentation helps to discover the coding problems. Another significant aspect of testing is to find bugs in the program.

A software tester tests the software or application in different scenarios in order to assure the quality of software. They also provide user feedback and report unnecessary user interface confusions.

Qualifications and Skills Required to be a Software Tester

  • A software tester should have a bachelor degree in computer science, mathematics or engineering or in a related field.
  • A software tester should be fluent on UNIX, Linux or Windows
  • He should be a multi-tasker
  • He should have excellent communication skills both verbal and non-verbal
  • He should have knowledge of programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, C#, C++, Python etc.

Tasks Assigned to a Software Tester

  • Evaluate software applications to check the errors and maintain stability
  • Debug scripts and identify flaws in the system
  • A software tester applies both manual and automated software testing strategies
  • Analyze software programs

Let’s discuss the salary of a software tester with the help of a pie diagram. 

This diagram is showing the annual salary of a software tester on the basis of experience. This is also having a positive trend as shown in the diagram for the salary of a software developer.

With the increase in the experience, salary is also increasing. A software tester is getting $49,000 at the initial stage of his career; the average compensation includes bonus, incentives, overtime and other allowances.

Hence a software tester can expect a good salary in his career of 0-5 years. After getting the experience of 5 years he can expect $ 68,000 average salary in a working period of 5-10 years.
An experienced software tester means the employee with experience of 10-20 years can expect $ 75,000 average salary per year.

When a software tester complete 20 years of working he will get an average salary of $ 81,000 annually.
Now we have the average salary of both; software developer and the software tester. So, we can compare both the pie charts together and find out the conclusion.

By comparing both the diagrams we can see that the software developers earn more than a software tester.
The initial average salary of a software developer is $ 61,000 on the other hand; the average initial salary of a tester is $49,000 that clearly shows that a developer earns more than a tester.

Also Read : 52 Software Testing Tools 2019

Important things to remember:

1. There is more to a job than money. It’s an opportunity to apply your talent and belong to a community of people who appreciate, what you do. Consider the whole picture to see all these advantages.

2. Search for a job similar to find a lion, not a unicorn. Be wary of tales you hear regarding someone getting high pay despite of having less experience than you.

3. Never compare salaries with others, whether they are Quality Assurance (QAs) or Developers (Devs). If you believe that you work too hard for too little money, discuss this with your manager.

4. When a job is good, it’s great.

5. Lastly, remember: “To multiply your income, multiply the rate of learning.” Learn new skills to increase what you can earn.

Salary of a Software Tester 2019 [Updated]

Software Tester salary is something people wish to know owing to the current boom of the industry,
Reason?
Testing is an important process associated with all software before launching them in the market.
It is done in order to make sure that software is free from errors and bugs and is ready to be used by the end users.
Being such an important aspect of software’s production, it requires special skill sets; therefore it generates a lot of career opportunities.
So have a look at the salary of software testers to substantiate the claim

Software Testing As a Career

The scope and profile of a software tester have undergone tremendous changes over the last decade.
Industries have realized the importance of software testing before releasing an application in the market.
There are several types and levels of specialization in software testing that has increased the value of software testers. Following are some of the job options for software testing.

Software Test Engineer

A software test engineer works in quality assurance team. They check the software to ensure that the programs are running properly. They have to check the functionality of a program.
They have to design, build and implement effective testing strategies. They adopt black box testing, white box testing, and grey box testing strategies to test a software application.
A software test engineer should possess a bachelor degree in a similar field. They should have key skills like; programming, active listening, reading comprehension, critical thinking, etc.
A software test engineer should be computer savvy and should know how to use computer servers and operating systems.
The average salary of a software test engineer is $82,212. The salary structure increases as per the experience and it also differs from company to company.

  • Software Test Engineer salary in India – Rs. 450,000 – 800000
  • Software Test Engineer Salary UK – £41,250-£47,500
  • Software Test Engineer Salary USA – $60,000 – $108,000

Quality Assurance Tester

The quality assurance testers are known as a problem solver. He assures the quality of software through manual and automated testing.
They are an important component of the software development process. A QA tester must possess at least a bachelor degree in computer science.

Also Read : The Reasons Why Testbytes is the Leading Software Testing Company!!

A quality assurance tester is responsible for:

  • Review and analyze system specifications
  • Execute test scripts and review results
  • Report and document technical issues
  • Coordinate with QA engineers and develop strategies and test plans
  • Report bugs and errors to the development team
  • Conduct post-release testing
  • Evaluate product code according to the specifications

The average salary of a quality assurance tester is $56,212 per year in the US

Quality Assurance Analyst

As the name suggests the quality assurance analyst ensure and analyze the quality of a software application.
He makes sure that the software is working properly and he also makes suggestions to management to make the functions better.
This is the prior responsibility of a quality assurance analyst to improve software application and programs within defined timelines and budgets.
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They often work within testing environment and quality improvement team. The quality assurance analyst uses a variety of tools to compare the software with user’s requirements.
After testing the quality assurance analyst recommend changes and improvements in the software application. The average salary of a quality assurance analyst is $59,492 per year

  • Quality Assurance Analyst Salary in India – Rs 181k – Rs 899k
  • Quality Assurance Analyst Salary in UK – £20K – £54K
  • Quality Assurance Analyst Salary in USA – $21,000 – $157,00

Software Engineer

A software engineer is the one who applies the software engineering principles to design, maintain, develop, test and evaluate computer software. To become a software engineer you required a bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer system engineering or software engineering. Sometimes a master or doctoral degree in the related discipline is required. A software engineer is responsible for the following tasks:

  • Write and design testable codes
  • Design quality assurance procedures and software verification plans
  • Upgrade, troubleshoot and debug existing systems
  • Convert information using programming languages such as Java, C++, and Python etc.
  • He develops flowcharts, documentation, and layout in order to identify solutions and requirements
  • Produce specifications and determine operational feasibility
  • Deploy programs and evaluate user feedback
  • He ensures that software is updated with the latest features

The average salary of a software tester is $104,463 per year.

  • software engineer salary in India – Rs 232k – Rs 1m
  • software engineer salary in UK – £34K-£80K
  • software engineer salary in USA – $60k – $124k

Software Testing Hierarchy

We will discuss the Hierarchy structure of the software testing in brief with the help of illustrations:
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  • Project Manager: In major companies, they look for skilled and professional project managers. It is the topmost position in the software testing hierarchy.

This is the highest position to which any of the software testers can climb up to in a company. Project managers are generally the first point of contact in a software testing team. Any issues or discrepancies arises will be directed contacted to the project manager.
Project manager deals with the management of the project which indicates seldom participation of the individual in various activities undergoing in a software testing firm. The project manager has the highest pay ranging from $136,144 to $154,267, as he is the only one who gives instructions to other team members and coordinates their activities.

  • Manager QA: The QA manager position is the second highest after the project manager. The average salary of a QA manager is usually $109,610 – $135,523.

The role of the QA manager is not only to analyze the project but also to make sure the testing procedure adheres to the protocols of the company.
The individual also ensures to oversee the quality of the software through various testing protocols and managing teams of QA engineers.
These QA managers also ensure to identify defects and bugs in existing software by implementing various aspects of testing.
He also does various other tasks, including conducting software tests, document software issues, improve the process, negotiate contracts or evaluate projects.

  • Team Leader: After QA manager, comes the Team Leader. Team leader leads his team of different skilled testers.

These testers have various skills and experience who can execute any type of testing tasks efficiently. Team leaders generally handle all the operations with his team and report to the QA manager.
A report which consists of test results, individuals also provides coordination with the project manager. The average salary of a QA team leader is $96,342 – $105,000.

  • Senior Tester or Senior Test Engineer: Senior tester or senior test engineer comes at 4th The position generally includes specialist or experts who are an exception in handling testing tasks.

They make sure that the task has been carried out in the given time and budget effectively.
This individual only supervises assistant engineers or engineering graduates. The average salary of these testers is generally $55,475 – $76,499.

  •  Associate Test Engineer: These are the testers who are in an assistant level position of testing. This position is the second last in the hierarchy level. Associate test engineers generally responsible for manual testing. They are also responsible to train junior testers during their initial stage. The average salary of an associate test engineer is $28,246 – $47,248.
  • Junior Tester: Junior testers are generally the entry-level This position is the bottom of the software testing hierarchy with the least experience and skills. They may need a few years to gain experience climb up the position. The average salary of a junior tester is generally $16,796 – $24,846.

Salary of Software Testers in Different Countries

  • Average software tester salary in UK £24,950/ $28499.14 per year
  • Average software tester salary in India Rs 330,857/$4788.49 per year
  • Average software tester salary in Japan $73,658 per year
  • Average software tester salary in the US $59,530A
  • Average software tester salary in Canada $52,052 per years
  • Average software tester salary in Australia $63,421 per year

Also Read :  Top 10 Mobile App Testing Companies In India

12 Reasons To Invest in Software Testing!

When an organization considers testing, there are a plenty of restrictions that ring a bell, to begin with, including timelines, accessible resources, tools and obviously the financial plan.

It is required for a company to consider the quality and cost of the software at the same time while giving an application on time to the client.
For an organization – it is a sort of investment for future advantages for building goodwill in the business. It gives a considerable measure of effect on sales and in addition sponsors the cost of software too.
The testing manager has data about the whole situation and it is useful for the organization in getting more revenue of investment with quality software.
However, primarily company needs to think about the perspectives behind investing in the Software Testing Company.
Here are the reasons why and how this investment is going to be beneficial for a company.
1. You can Find Errors during Production
Finding basic imperfections, post-deployment in a live domain shows that the testing completed hasn’t checked the task necessities effectively. This outcome in your Operations (Ops) group spending a substantial part of their budget and time working around or fixing the defects.
Applying hotfixes to a live situation is a high-risk arrangement which can make further issues. The prior testing is associated with the venture, i.e. from the requirements stage, the sooner deformities are found and the less expensive they are to resolve.
2. Resolve Defects Before it Launches to the Market
As said before, testing is required to guarantee that the application or product plays out the way it is supposed to be. Different sorts of Testing processes assist you in obtaining the required outcomes.

Also Read : How to Select An Test Automation Services Provider For Your Software

Reliability tests run high-level loads for a more drawn out time, Fail-over Tests check repetition mechanisms, and Stress Tests measure the load that the framework or application can take. Such tests resolve the dangers that may impede the product in a real-world situation.
Identifying defects when it is too late is absolutely not suitable as delaying of testing is like denying it. Defects not recognized at an early phase, effect delivery timelines and several times are left unfixed as the cost of settling them is too high.
Hence, testing aids in exploiting the application to uncover the defects, as it is fundamental for developing the application to be launched on the market successfully.
3. System Performance Deteriorates after Launch
New features appended to your system or adjustments to the internal system can have a deleterious impact on the customer’s experience and system performance. To alleviate this risk, testing must be an essential component of your testing strategy.
4. Improve the Robustness
It is critical for companies to guarantee that the applications stay strong even in the most perilous times –  cyber-attacks, network issues, or virtual threats. A testing process like Performance Testing with multiple tests and mechanisms guarantees the robustness of the product to maintain in the marketplace and work flawlessly.
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5. Testing Investment is under the Industry Average
As per the World Quality report 2016, organizations spend 35% to 40% of development funds on testing projects. So, if you see that you are investing limited in testing than comparable companies, you must apparently think to invest more.
6. Bugs will be Found by Clients
It’s never pleasant for others to detect faults in your project, though it is even critical when those who observe faults are clients who have paid for your product. When your clients are discovering many bugs, you must contemplate investing more in testing, as bugs do not show entirely on your employees, company, or product.
7. Challenge to assure Test Coverage in each Redundancy
Manual testing for new features alongside the regression testing of existing functionality is a tiresome endeavor, that increments as new features are included at every redundancy. Teams usually strive to align every test activity in small iterations depending only on manual testing.
This results in inadequate test coverage and bad product quality.
8. Inspect Different Technology Stacks
Software development is getting complicated, which has prompted the use of different technology stacks. This is important for guaranteeing the presumed execution and expectations. Performance testing recognizes the frail links in the technology stack that has been utilized for the product development.
9. The Undertaking doesn’t Pass Quality Round
We’ve all been in that meeting where the judgment should be made – ‘to do’ or ‘not to do’. Pressures can be high and the enterprise can be under serious stress to launch it to the public. This is no time to convey bad news to the clueless partners.
The way to deal with this circumstance isn’t to be in it in any case. Thus, properly planned test methodology and reporting procedure will notify the key partners of testing advancement and issues all through the venture and will stay away from the last-minute shocks.
10. Improve Scalability
With the difficulties in the digital domain, companies need to establish applications that are scalable and can get updated progressively. The testing process called performance testing uncovers the conceivable vulnerabilities inside an application and recognizes where it must be fortified to acknowledge updates and revisions to get more versatile.
11. Your Testers Keep Desisting
Are your testers panicking before every launch plan? Do they ask for you to increase launch time by maybe a couple weeks? Testers express that they don’t have enough time to test and have questions in regards to the feature of programming.

Also Read : Software Testing: Meeting The Customer Expectation

Happy workers tend to yield better work, especially when they have adequate resources and time to finish their undertaking. In case that your testers keep desisting since they are exhausted and their time is extended too thin, you ought to put more in testing.
12. Distinguish Problems linked to Database
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Load or Stress tests not just allow teams to manage the behavior of the application, It will also help in evaluating he capability of the existing server of your company.
Wrapping up
Investing in the software testing company is clearly predominant these days for the success of companies that can choose either licensed or open source testing means for guaranteeing the best administration and operation of their product. Thus, in order to decrease bugs, secure the best speed, recognize DB problems, and build a responsive and robust website or application or product, it is important to place clear testing goals before invest in the testing company.

15 Common Misconceptions About Game Testing Careers And Testers

When you were in school, you must have heard your parents saying that playing video games is a waste of time. Well what if you were told that playing games is actually a career? Interesting right? This field is called Games testing.
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But like any other new concept there are a couple of misconceptions about game testing and Game Testing Career. That is what we will discuss in this article. But first we must ascertain what is game testing.
The primary function of game testing is to find out game defects and its proper documentation. To run a gaming program or application successfully, game testing is required as it helps to find game bugs, and makes sure that the game is fit to use.
So now that we understand the concept of game testing, let us check out a couple of misconceptions people have regarding this field:
1. Game Testing doesn’t Require Brains:
It’s a common assumption that a game tester doesn’t need to apply his brains, perhaps because a tester may have to run a game multiple times, making his job monotonous .
But that’s not true because for running a game successfully a game tester has to really apply his brains to find out the bugs in the game in hand. A tester can also find out a new approach for Game testing so that his job doesn’t get monotonous.
2. A Game Tester can Perform any Test:
This assumption is generally made from the developer’s side as he expects a tester to perform game testing in all scenarios, that is whether the game is an initial stage, or midstage, or in the finishing stage.
The truth is that the testers always make efforts to address game testing in all scenarios, provided that the developer supports the tester requirement at all stages of game development, otherwise it may be difficult for a tester to fulfill the expectations of the developer.
3. The Myth that Testing gives Accurate Results
This assumption is a hint that a developer expects a tester to deliver a hundred percent bug free game product. The truth is that a tester might fail to give accurate testing results due to lack of infrastructure or a limited time period to do the required testing.

Also Read : What Are The Requirements To Be A Game Tester?

Testers can find out bugs in game but they cannot ensure that the particular game will not have bugs in future. This can be explained by an example in context of life critical systems, which have an application in fields like medicines or planes.
Let’s take the example with reference to planes. Planes have to initially go through some testing procedures before they are put to actual use to ensure that the testing give effective results, despite this a tester may not give accurate results in terms of actual altitude the plane should be able to fly or the wind speed required on a particular day. As such the tester is not able to define what exactly the flight may have to endure once the plane is put to use.
4. A Tester’s Job is to Find Bugs Only
Again it is believed by some people that a tester is just required to find bugs in the game and to handover the report to the developer.
But this not true in reality as a testers job is just not limited to the extent of finding the bugs in a game, in addition to this profile a tester needs to study the architecture of the product, which enables them to fulfill the requirements for running a test and to give feedback to developer for improving a game and to make necessary amendments to make it user-friendly for the end user.
5. Testers did not Value to the Game
Giving importance to this assumption would be like degrading a tester’s value in an organization, maybe because of the assumption that a tester role is limited in an organization.
Let’s Have a Look at the Video Representation by SmashJT to get an Idea about How it actually Likes to be a Game Tester

But that’s not true again as a tester is well versed in his work, and has an overall knowledge of the product, as compared to the developer who only works on specific areas or components in the game. So obviously since a tester has the required skills to run app tests all stages of a game test, he naturally adds value to the game.
6. Test Automation Can Take Place of Human Testers
This assumption is moreover like a rumour, which is expected to be spread over by test automation experts to discourage game testers, that the testers don’t have a future, because one-day test automation will replace them.
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This myth can be completely discarded due to the following fact, that long time back it was a belief that when computer-aided game will emerge, computers would start writing the codes which will make human programmers jobless, but this didn’t happen.
This fact provides evidence that test automation won’t be able to replace human testers. As a matter of fact, as humans are the end users of a game product, so obviously only human testers will be expected to run the game app.
Test automation tools which are used by automation experts, let us check whether the colors, layout, and fonts on a screen are per the requirements of the end user or not. But they don’t ensure that the tools would be user-friendly or not. So this may be another reason that automation testing cannot replace human testers.
7. Testers are Believed to Break the Developer’s Code
It is a belief that testers work in an organization to break the developer’s code and hence put them at fault, which again is not the truth in reality. whatever may be the stage of game development if the codes get broken the tester always make efforts to find out errors at any stage. The tester also helps the developer to find out if he may have missed any coding at any stage of the game development stage. So it’s not correct to hold a tester liable for breaking the code.
8. Testers and Developers Cannot be Friends
 A friendly relation between the developer and tester is of utmost importance for a sound health of an organization.
So this is not true as even the organization cannot afford this, as both complement each other for the successful running of an app. The tester can always give innovative ideas to the developer and a developer can also give important clues to the tester for the testing process.

Must Read : Game Testing Tutorial: All The Information is Here!

9. Testers may be People with Weak Coding Skills
This is again not true, as testers do the coding in various ways. It may be

  • In the form of SQL series
  • Maybe for converting code from one database to another
  • Or maybe required to write scripts in Java or other coding languages.

So a person with weak coding skills would not be to perform so many activities
10. Reporting to Developer’s Lead can be an Obstacle for a Tester
 Generally it’s assumed that the developers have their own lead to follow for game development, and the testers have their own separate leads to follow for implementing game testing.
But sometimes the situation may be different. In other words a tester may have to follow the developers lead and is entirely dependent on the developers lead to run the game test, which might affect the performance of a tester in giving effective test results.
But in reality such a situation should not pose a problem for the tester because he is well versed with his work. A tester is capable enough to implement any changes in testing which are required as per the developers lead.
11. Testers Come into the Picture Only When the Product Test Enters the Post Development Stage
An organization needs to bring a tester in the picture right from the beginning stage of product life cycle, in order to ensure the delivery of product to the end user without any defects.
Test-your-WebApps-for-better-stability
This fact is important as the tester requires a time frame to make necessary requirements for running a test, so the organization needs to keep the tester updated at every stage for obtaining effective test results.
12. Testing is Clicking at Random Places
It’s an assumption that a tester just clicks on the user interface randomly, but in reality the tester has the responsibility to explore the user interface in detail and check whether all the tools on the user interface are working properly to makes sure that the app runs on all user platforms effectively.
13. Tester does not have a Career on Management Side
Management side is a different field altogether and a tester has nothing do with management side, but a tester can still acquire the management skills for example cost management, or managing people.
Basically this assumption does not carry much weight age as far as management is concerned still if it’s required to manage, a tester can do so.
14. Testers Do not Get Much Fame
Testers should not assume that their work is not valued by the organization or may be the clients they are working for.
No doubt it’s true that if they get any appreciation for their work from the organization or clients they would definitely get motivated, so it’s better for the testers to let their work speak for them.
15. Are Growth Opportunities Similar For Testers and Developers
The growth opportunities for both may differ on the grounds of their individual abilities, and the amount of efforts they can put in? Developers have an opportunity to go for the post of manager or a business analyst which again depends upon their qualifications.
A tester on the other hand may go for test managers, test leads or even a business analyst.
So finally after going through the given misconceptions as mentioned above we are able to get a clear insight about game testing which is definitely valuable for an organization to give productive game testing results.

Also Read :  A Guide on Game Testing Methodology

15 Points To Consider While Hiring a Software Testing Company

Why do we test something? Well to see if the ‘something’ in question is up to the mark or not. The same applies for software which before launching in the market is necessary to test. This is in order to ensure its functioning, accuracy and simplicity of the system.
app testing
Software developing companies hire software testing companies like any other outsourcing service as they are experts in ensuring that a software system runs flawlessly and measures up to all the essential quality criteria put into place. But what is the criteria, based on which we hire a software testing company?
We shall discuss this in the following sections. But first let us understand, what is software testing?
Software Testing:-
It is an investigation which is conducted to provide information about the quality of the software. It is done to assure that the software is working as expected.
There are two ways of doing software testing:-
Black box software testing done by professional testers qualified for the job.
White box software testing done by non-technical end-users.
 Software Testing Company:-
It is an organization that conducts software testing for different companies or business entities.
So now, in the following section, we will discuss the points that should be considered while hiring a software testing company.
1. Experience:-
It is one of the most important aspects that should be considered while hiring a software testing company. you should check whether the company has any experience in software testing or not. To do so, you can check or read their portfolio and by going through their past experiences. Some parameters on which you can rate the company’s experience are Parameters of coding, usability, the performance delivered, design and marketing, load balancing capabilities etc.
2. Qualification:-
However qualification plays a vital role in selecting the software testing company, but it is not necessary that a more qualified outsourcing company will give you the better result. The things that matter is the innovative ideas, the capability of the team and of course the qualification as well. So, before hiring a company the criteria of qualification is also need to be considered. You should give your project to the company who have a team of well-qualified professionals.
3. Coding Standards & Framework:-
Before hiring a software testing company you should assure that the company and the team should have a sound knowledge of programming language and tools related to software testing. The company having the more structured framework and an organized coding system will have the better code maintainability compared to others.
4. The Extent of Service:-
It is another important point that needs to be considered before hiring a software testing company. It is very important to see the extension or the scope of the services rendered by the company as it will help you in the long run. You should assure that the company is providing you with all the steps of software development lifecycle.
5. Team Location:-
It is another important question that comes to the mind while selecting a software testing company. The question is whether you should choose an offshore company or a company in the same country?
The overseas company can provide you the high-quality service but at the same time, there can be an issue of communication barriers, language issue, cultural differences etc. So, if you are choosing an international company, make sure that they are able to beat these barriers.
6. Service Level Agreement:-
It is an agreement or a contract signed between both the parties i.e. the service provider and the client. the SLAs defines the output expected from the service provider. It is very important to define the SLAs between both the parties to ensure 100% alignment of goals settled between both the parties.
Some key points that your SLA must have are:-

  • Knowledge transfer
  • core business know-how
  • Process compliance
  • Timelines of reporting and project management
  • Quality measures etc.

7. Flexibility and Scalability:-
There should be flexibility in the services provided by the software testing company or an outsourcing company. It should be decided by examining the factors such as modifiability, ease of exit, robustness,  new capability etc. Outsourcing contracts demand a degree of mouldability to ensure that the timescale fluctuations are met.
8. Quality Improvement:-
It is one of the primary objective of the client to achieve a remarkable quality improvement through outsourcing a software testing company. As the agreement comes to an end, the working method and process tried to improve continually. Eventually, the target should be the overall improvement of the end product.
9. Intellectual Property Protection:-
It is one of the important aspects to be taken care while outsourcing the services. IP refers to the creation of mind like inventions, designs, artistic work, and symbol etc. used in commerce. It is one of the biggest challenges to protect the IP of business when it is outsourced.
10. Security:-
When you hire a software testing company, security is the most important aspect that needs to take care. The software must be having the information about the company that should not be disclosed to everyone. So, a business should choose the company which provides security to the software.
11. Testing Infrastructure:-
It refers to the tools and techniques that are required for software testing. Before hiring a software testing company you should make sure the service provider must have all the required infrastructure to support your software or product. The testing infrastructure includes software, hardware, operating system, backend database systems, testing tools,  platforms etc.
12. Management Style:-
Management plays an important role in software testing. So before hiring a software testing company, you should make sure that the managerial style of your company is compatible with the service provider. It is important that both should have a same managerial language which will help them work together.
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13. Responsibility and Accountability:-
Responsibility and accountability should go together. The software testing company you are hiring must be responsible and should be one who can take the accountability also. You would love to work with the company who is ready to take the responsibility and the accountability as well.
14. Cost of Working:-
After accessing the company on the above-mentioned parameters, you should decide the true cost of working with them. You should choose the outsourcing company which provides you the maximum ROI in terms of quality, overall value addition, and timely delivery.
15. Documentation Standards:-
Before hiring a software testing company, you should make sure that the company should have all the required documentation standard you need. Some of the documents are; test plans, scripts, test plans, test scenarios and test results etc. You should make sure that the company you are hiring should be well documented and you have easy access to the documents.
Final Thought
Today, software testing is the need of almost every software project or company. For conducting a software test we need to hire or outsource a software testing company who fulfill all the above-mentioned parameters or aspects. The main motive of outsourcing a software testing company is to get the quality work at a reasonable cost. Another reason for outsourcing the company is that the organization hiring the software testing company can focus on its core business area.

Brace Yourself! Software Testing Memes Are Here

Memes for life!

So what’s so special about them?

They are funny,  they are the breeding ground for the sarcasm in you!

And above all, All of us out there can create one, share it and laugh

Well, not every one. You have to have a sense of humor and please, offensive people, stay away!

Test-your-WebApps-for-better-stability

Oh yes! Forgot to tell you one of the most important aspects of memes. They are universal and they can be applied to anything everything.

For instance, Software testing has always been one of the most hectic jobs out there. software testing memes can alleviate a bit of that pressure from your client through the laugh.

And oh boy, there are plenty of them out there which are insanely hilarious.

Aren’t you curious to know which one they are?

If you are,

Scroll Down!

  1. That Moment

software testing memes
2.  You never know
software testing memes
3. Been there! Done that!
software testing memes
4. Awww
software testing memes
5. Do it like salt bae!
software testing memes
6. Borat from Kazakhstan approves it
software testing memes
7. This is deep yo all
software testing memes
8.  It’s a war every day
software testing memes
9. 2018 yo!
software testing memes
10.  Lel
software testing memes

12 Disastrous Software failure that created chaos0

The word ‘Disaster’ is an underplaying word for any organization or brand that had incurred losses due to software failure. Though technology and innovative applications have made life much simpler, numerous software bug instances are recorded by organizations.

Since it’s a human tendency to make mistakes and software products are coded and tested by humans, every piece of software, therefore, has some of the other glitches. In this run, let us look at 12 infamous epic software bugs that have changed the way developers and testers develop and test any software application.

1. Data breach at Yahoo – August 2013
 
Data breach at Yahoo

An epic and historic data breach that occurred at Yahoo in August 2013 affected almost 3 billion users was hacked by a group of professional black hats from Eastern Europe. The hackers were also suspected of stealing and selling customer information hacked from LinkedIn, Myspace and Tumblr.

Similarly, there again occurred a breach in 2014 which affected 500 million Yahoo users but was different from the 2013 incident. People using Yahoo services should always follow proper hygiene by using two-factor authentication and not using the same password for a long period.

2. HSBC Online Banking Failure- April 2016
HSBC Online Banking Failure

One of the world’s leading banks, HSBC, suffered an IT outage that left thousands of customers stranded. On 4th January 2016, people started facing problems while logging into the online and mobile banking services. The problem continues for the next 2 days and people feared to lose their money due to the failed system.

Though, HSBC released an official statement on Twitter apologizing for the audience for the technical issue. Though HSBC never came up with the exact reason for this downtime, we are sure it was caused due to some technical breaches.

3. North American Blackout- August 2003
 
North American Blackout

On August 14, 2003, more than 50 million people lost power due to an aging grid that encountered a series of technological flaws, stretching from New York City to Ohio. The problem started when a power plant along the southern shore of Lake Erie, Ohio went offline due to the high demand which put the rest of the power network under greater stress.

While you might think that this has got nothing to do with a software bug, but the incident could have been avoided if the software that triggered the alarm system had not been bugged. The alarm could have alerted the officials at the right time to averting the incident.

4. ARIANE 5 Failure
 
ARIANE 5 Failure

On 4th June 1995, Europe’s newest satellite-launching rocket, ARIANE 5 ended in failure. Just after 40 seconds of it taking off, the launcher broke down and exploded. According to the team that investigated the failure, the destruction occurred due to the 64-bit number being coded into a 16-bit space. The loss of information was due to the error in the specification and design of the inertial reference system.

5. Pentium FDIV Bug- Nov 1994

Chips are like the brain for every electronic device. In 1994, the CPU market leader Pentium found that their chip simply couldn’t perform its math. Pentium tried and tested to find out that no matter what software changes you perform, the results stood the same being inaccurate for all combinations. The problem actually was the faulty math co-processor that was known as the floating-point unit.

When the floating-point unit accessed any empty cells in the algorithms, it would show a zero response instead of real calculations. The company was lucky in terms of finding the bug in an early stage before it shipped the chips to its customers.

6. Cisco Email Security Appliance Vulnerability- Sep 2016
 
Cisco Email Security Appliance Vulnerability

In September 2016, a deformity in the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) scanner of Cisco AsyncOS Software allowed remote attackers to bypass the system. The vulnerability was due to improper handling of the MIME header in the email attachment. A successful attempt allowed the attacker to access the configured email message and content filtering that allowed the malware to be delivered to the recipient.

Seeing the bug, it is advised that customers regularly consult the Cisco representatives for products to determine the exposure and complete the upgrade solution. If the support isn’t clear, customers can contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Centre (TAC) or their maintenance providers.

7. Cyber Attack On Nuclear Power Plant – October 2016
Cyber Attack On Nuclear Power Plant

On October 10th, 2016 the world watched a team of highly skilled hackers takes down power grids that were a result of cyber-attack. Hackers were trying to penetrate the computer network of companies that operated nuclear power stations. This shows that disturbances in nuclear infrastructure due to a Cyber Attack is not always a ‘Hollywood stunt’!

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did not disclose much of the attack that took place but said it disrupted the day to day activities at the plant.

8. WannaCry – May 2017
WannaCry

A recent software attack, WannaCry was a worldwide cyberattack that targeted co putters running Microsoft Windows operating systems. The attack encrypted files on PC’s hard drives which made them inaccessible to users. The attackers demanded a ransom bitcoin amount to decrypt the files on your system.

The attack was brought under control on May 14th, 2017 when network engineer Diaries Huss share a ‘kill switch’ names malware that eventually stopped the spread of this virus. However, later the developer of WannaCry updated his ransomware to remain unaffected by the malware.

9. Bitcoin Node Crash – April 2017
Bitcoin Node Crash

On 23rd April 2017, the world’s largest digital currency, bitcoin, came down crashing due to what appeared to be a memory leak. The software bug leads to, in effect, duplication of work, with wrong actors exploiting bugs for political points. While most of the bitcoin owners welcome an increase in the block sizes, the fact cannot be ignored that bitcoin seems very vulnerable to software bugs and attacks which needs improvements for sure.

In the end, it was all just codes, hence bugs will be found and fixed. This won’t be an issue until the bugs are relatively harmless.

10. Mariner 1’s $135 Million Software Bug- July 1962

A software bug that occurred due to a simple punch card is considered one of the most expensive failures in history. In 1962, the software bug; let to the destruction of Mariner 1 spacecraft even before it could complete its mission on Venus.

Just minutes before the satellite could take off, the onboard guidance antenna failed, which hindered the backup radar system guiding the spacecraft.  However, later it was found that there were minor errors in the software of the guidance system which led to this huge loss.

11. The Mars Climate Orbiter- September 1999
The Mars Climate Orbiter

On December 11th, 1999, NASA launched the Mars Climate Orbiter to study the climate and surface changes. The ground-based software team produced an output of non-SI units (pound-seconds) rather than the metric units which uncompensated and unconverted the units causing the thrusters to be powerful to a limit the orbiter couldn’t take.

The result was that the orbiter entered the Mars atmosphere at a wrong angle rather than entering the planets orbit. It was the responsibility of the engineers to check for the computer program’s compatibility.

12. The Morris Worm– November 1988
The Morris Worm

The Morris worm was one of the first worms that were introduced into computer systems with an intention being completely harmless. The program was developed by Robert Tappan Morris, who was a student at Cornell University. The worm spread across thousands of computers almost crashing systems due to coding errors. The news made the headline in no time.

The cleaning up of this mess had gone as high as around $100 million. Morris was of the thought that the worm would help improve the computer’s security features, which it did not.

Conclusion

Today, the advancements in information technology have huge resources to bring down any instances of a software bug that could affect our daily lives. But learning from history, it is important to keep a check on the software and test it to perfection with the help of an established software testing company so that you will not encounter any loss.

Roles & Responsibilities in a Software Testing Team

Software testing is an essential part of the software development life cycle (SDLC). Playing a significant role in defining the success rate of a particular product, owing to the same reason the software testing team plays a crucial role even after the product’s development is completed
Therefore, it is important to ensure that this software testing team includes a perfect mix of talented as well as capable professionals who are also domain experts.
Being experts in the problem domain make it easier for them to create such test scripts that make it easier to identify the problem in the product.
software testing team
While every company follows a different structure of the testing team, there are a few members who are common in every structure and fulfill the expectations of the team. This includes:
1. QA Leader:
QA Leader is the most important member of the testing team. While it is extremely crucial for him/her to have a clear understanding of the testing process or methodology. It is also essential for him/her to be familiar with the varied test-program concerns such as test environment and data management, trouble reporting and resolution, etc.

The Main Roles and Responsibilities handled by the QA leader are:

  • Acts as a point of contact for inter and intra departmental interaction
  • Represents the software testing team as well as enables customer relationship
  • Deciding the test budget and schedule
  • Identifying the testing activities for other team members like testers or test engineers
  • Planning the entire testing process
  • Checking the availability of the resources to execute testing activities
  • Identifying if the process of testing is going in sync with the software development
  • Preparing the status report of testing activities
  • Sharing updates on testing with the project manager
  • Planning pre and post-test meetings

Salary of A QA leads leading IT booming countries

  • India – Rs. 659000 – 1230000 / year
  • USA – $50,000 – $ 104,000 / year
  • Singapore –  S$ 3000- S$ 6,000
  • Canada – CA$65,000 – CA$97,000
  • Hong Kong – HK$58,000

2. Test Lead
With a clear understanding about the applications business area and its requirements, a test lead is a person who is also familiar with the varied test-program issues such as test data management, test design, and test development.
His/her expertise in numerous technical skills such as programming languages, database technologies, and computer operating systems also enable him/her to deliver the best at his/her job.
The Major Role and Responsibilities of a Test Lead include the following:

  • Technical expertise related to the test program and approach.
  • Provides support for customer interface, staff planning, and supervision, as well as progress status reporting.
  • Validating the quality of the testing requirements such as testability, test design, and script, test automation, etc.
  • Staying updated about the latest test approaches and tools
  • Assisting the software testing team to be aware of the latest trends in the world of software testing.
  • Arranging walk-through for test design and procedure.
  • Implementing the test process.
  • Ensuring that test-product documentation is complete.

Salary of Test leads in IT booming countries

  • India – Rs. 549,000 – Rs. 1525,000
  • USA – $73,000 – $92000
  • Singapore – S$103,000
  • Canada – CA$42,000- CA$105,000

3. Test Engineer
The role of a test engineer is to determine the best way to create a process that can enable one to test a particular product in the best possible manner.
Test engineers can have different expertise based on which they are assigned a role in a company.
Some of the common test engineers working in an organization are as mentioned below:

Know More: 21 Best Programming Movies Software Testers must watch

a) Usability Test Engineer
These engineers are highly proficient in designing test suites as well as have a clear understanding of the usability issues. With excellent interpersonal skills, they are also skilled in test facilitation. Some of their common job roles include:

  • Designing the usability testing scenarios
  • Administering the process of usability testing
  • Developing test-product documentation
  • Participating in test-procedure walk-through

  b) Manual Test Engineer
With a clear understanding of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) design and its standards, manual test engineers are highly proficient in designing test suites and various testing techniques. Some of the major responsibilities of these engineers include:

  • Using associated test data to design and develop test procedures and cases
  • Manually executing the test procedures
  • Attending test-procedure walk-through
  • Following the required set standards


  c) Automated Test Engineer
 Also known as Automater/developer, these engineers also have a good understanding of the GUI design and software testing. They can also be relied upon for designing the effective test suites as well as efficiently working with test tools. Some of the common roles handled by them are:

  • Designing and developing test procedures on the basis of requirements
  • Following rest-design standards
  • Attending test procedure walk-throughs
  • Executing the tests and preparing reports for the same.

Salary of Test Engineers in IT Booming Countries

  • India – Rs. 284,000 – Rs. 799,000
  • USA – $ 71,000 – $ 107,000
  • Singapore – S$46,000 – S$75,000
  • Canada – CA$49,000 – CA$85,000

4. Network Test Engineer
With a high level of proficiency and expertise in a variety of technical skills such as programming languages, database technologies, and computer operating systems, network test engineers are good at product evaluation and integration skills.
Their Major Roles at an Organization include:

  • Performing network, database, and middle-ware testing
  • Developing load and stress test designs, cases and procedures
  • Implementing the performance monitoring tools on an ongoing basis
  • Conducting load and stress test procedures

Salary of Network Test Engineers in IT booming countries

  • India Rs. 477,000 – Rs. 946,000
  • USA – $56,000 – $91,000
  • Singapore – S$39,000 – S$52,000
  • Canada – CA$58,000

5. Test Library and Configuration Specialist:
 This job role requires one to have a network, database, and system administration skills along with expertise in technical skills including programming languages, database technologies, and computer operating systems. Their major job roles include the following:

  • Managing the test-script change
  • Maintaining test-script version control
  • Upholding test-script reuse library
  • Creating test builds, wherever required

6. Tester
Having a sound knowledge about various concepts involved in test designing and execution methodologies, a software tester is the one who is able to interact efficiently with the development team. His/her major roles as a part of software testing team includes:

  • Designing the testing scenarios for usability testing
  • Analyzing the testing results and submitting the report to the development team
  • Creating test designs, processes, cases and test-product documentation
  • Conducting testing as per the set standards and procedures
  • Ensure that the testing is carried out as per the defined standards and procedures

Salary of Testers in IT booming countries

  • India RS. 184,000 – Rs. 782,000
  • USA – $39,000 – $87,000
  • SingaporeS$31,000 – S$69,000
  • Canada – CA$36,000 – CA$81,000


 Conclusion
While it is crucial for every member of the testing team to fulfill his/her job responsibilities diligently, it is also important to ensure that the software testing team is properly structured and has well-defined responsibilities. Making testing a fun task instead of a serious job responsibility.

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