First time QA Tester

Cage1 · January 2012

Hi all,

I've been a fan and lurker for years, and I'm hoping there are some people out there with software testing experience that can give me some pointers (hopefully more specific and less scary than the Trenches).

I've just been hired as an in-house QA tester for a casual/mobile gaming company. They outsource most of their work, and I am the first in house hire. I've never done a job like this before - all I know is what I've read from being a gamer all my life about the testing world.

Could anyone give me some best practices, basic procedures, or a good online resource? I need a beginners guide to this job : ) Any and all help would really, really, really be appreciated, as this is my first gig after a long and painful job hunt, and I'd like to kick ass.

Thanks all,

JHunz · January 2012

Three words: consistent repro steps

If every bug you report has some steps in it that will consistently reproduce the bug, that will put you in about the 80th percentile of QA testers that I've ever worked with right there.

Fireflash · January 2012

If I understand correctly you'll be the only tester at their studio? Did they actually hire you to simply play the game and find bugs or do they expect you to manage the bugs that come from the outsourced team?

cmsamo · January 2012

1. Be very thorough - Try and do everything you can think of with the software -play it, break it, exploit it
2. Be very diligent - record EVERY step you take and write down every action
3. Be very clear and concise - report things in as few words and with as clear a meaning as possible

neville · January 2012

@JHunz and @cmsamo give good advice.
As someone who spent 8 years in QA and QA management before moving into development, I will echo their sentiments.
If you're worried about being a good tester, I'd get "Testing Computer Software" by Cem Kaner.

It is a bit dated currently, but still has a wealth of knowledge about test fundamentals, areas to test, etc.

Maguano · January 2012

Document everything you can (screenshots, if possible, aka cover your ass) and remember, you won't catch 100% of the bugs all of the time, no matter how hard you try. There will always be some whacky scenario that someone will try that you won't think of. Try to minimize the impact, by ensuring the the perfect case scenarios work (ie, you've tested x number of scenarios, that cover x% of the situations that normally occur).

Skunty · January 2012

Cage, gratz on the job. Have you had any indication as to what kind of software you'll be testing and what platforms it will be on?

Cage1 · January 2012

Thanks so much for the feedback and insights, everyone. They offered me the job a few days ago but made it clear that I had until yesterday to reply. I replied yesterday, grateful and excited, and they called me today telling me that they've filled the position. Apparently some testers that used to work with them when they had a social games division were brought back on.... a 'no brainer' she called it.

Times are freaking tough. Months of this job hunt have been really draining. In truth, I wasn't excited by this position (it was with a casual games company in SF), although I was excited by a job. I hope something works out soon. I suppose there's no use in dwelling... gotta move on and start applying again : )

Thanks again, everyone, for the replies.

TheKoolEagle · January 2012

QA is a tough job, I worked for activision for 4 years testing and it took a lot out of me, 12 hour work days for 6 months, then 6 months of no work. If they give you a call back to bring you on still I would assume you would have a lead of some sort, usually the process at activision was doing several grids for gathering items, running into walls, mashing buttons, etc etc. and can catch quite a few bugs, you could spend an entire day running into the same wall and as you can guess, it can get very boring.

I've seen so many new hires doze off on the job because of this, so its important to be prepared mentally for it. Make sure you aren't sacrificing precious sleep time to fit in your own entertainment if you end up working 12+ hour days.

Hopefully they will have a chance to bring you on still, I know Activision hired throughout the year if projects were getting behind (which they always are)

quinnte · January 2012

I worked as a QA tester for THQ years ago, and the most frequent mistake I made was not recording what I was doing. They had VCRs set up at each station to record while we were playing, and so often I would forget to start the tape. If you aren't provided one, find a method of recording while you play. It makes it SO much easier to recreate what you did.

Penny Arcade

Quick Links

First time QA Tester

Posts