Who is a Quality Assurance Tester?

1. Software Quality Assurance Engineer and Tester Career

Welcome to the Quality Assurance (QA) tester Pathway with Unity. There are may roles within Quality Assurance.

Watch the video to learn all about Software Testing.

Now that you have general overview of all aspects of Software Quality Assurance and testing careers, to be clear, this QA Testing pathway will specifically focus on the role of being an entry-level QA tester. A QA Tester is the last line of defense between the consumer and a broken product. They’re a vital part of a development team who tend to work long hours and crunch as much as everyone else.

To be a successful QA tester you need to understand there are two parts you need to constantly think about and do when testing:

1. Check the expectations that we have on how the software should work based on what the users want and need from the software.

1. Investigate unknowns and different kinds of risks that might affect the user's experience and value of using the software. 

2. Types of QA Tester Roles

There are many kinds of QA Tester roles, but common across the primary responsibilities are:

• Checking new software products, such as those for gaming systems or mobile applications, for defects or issues.

• Running various tests on software to ensure it meets all standards and guidelines and is ready to be marketed to consumers.

• Identifying issues and run debugging programs as needed.

• Generating reports, work with software developers to correct issues, and upgrade databases as required.

A typical day in a life of a QA Tester will consist of:

• Run Tests on New Software and Applications - In their main role, QA testers run various tests on new software products to ensure that programs satisfy all specifications and requirements. They identify any problems and run debugging programs to fix issues. Once issues have been resolved, QA testers run additional tests before products are issued for sale to consumers.

• Record Defects and Issue Reports - QA testers record all defect details, creating and distributing reports outlining the types of defects found and the steps taken to resolve these issues. Maintaining documentation, such as change logs, regarding software and application defects helps QA testers recognize similar problems in the future and to provide quick resolution.

• Assist Software Developers with Design Processes - QA testers apply their knowledge early in the software development process. They work closely with developers to recognize the potential for any operational issues, assess risks, and resolve issues before the new software is complete.

3. Traits of Successful QA Testers

We interviewed a variety of current and former QA testers and here's their advice:

• Obsessive attention to detail and good recall - If a bug ends up in a released product, a user will find it. A QA tester’s job is to find them before users ever have the opportunity. They have to think about what a user will do, what they might do, what they might think about doing, and what they might accidentally do. Is there a background element that’s not meant to be reachable but looks particularly interesting? A player is going to try and find a way to get to it. The QA tester has to figure out what they’d try to do to get to that spot, and what will happen when they try to.

• Know the scope and use documentation - developers will provide testers with a list of every single mechanic or system the user can interact with. The detailed documentation should be easily accessible and modifiable so when external testers are testing they can use it as a reference. The documentation needs to be detailed because you will definitely need other people to have a look at it

• Communication, Communication, Communication - QA Testers MUST be able to write descriptive, coherent reports. You will not be hired as a QA tester if you cannot communicate through written reports, no exception. QA testers are expected to write reports that any developer on the team can understand, without any other context or communication outside of the report itself. Any need for clarification wastes time! By the same hand, it’s also important that the QA tester remember that they aren’t a developer of the software/application/game, and they shouldn’t overstep their bounds. If they come across a bug where they definitely know what’s occurring, there’s nothing wrong with stating it, however, a tester should avoid speculating too deeply on things when the solution isn’t readily apparent, given that they aren’t the ones with access to the code. The worst thing that a QA tester can do is send a developer off to chase down a problem in an area where it doesn’t actually exist. A good tester helps the developers get to the solution to the problem by giving them as much data as possible about an issue, untarnished by opinions. 

• Project Management Tool - QA Testers need to know how to properly use project management tools, like JIRA and GitHub, because when running the test you will need to keep track of a lot of things! 

• Prioritization is critical - Because you are listing a lot of feedback, you will need to be very disciplined with your prioritization to let the developers know what is a critical bug that needs to be fixed vs. a bug that is a nice to have and the software could be operable and shipped with out the change.

• Pro Tip - Did something weird just happen? A good QA tester is always aware of what they’re doing, and can retrace their steps to understand what got them to that weird result. Then, they can recreate those steps again exactly, dozens or hundreds of times, in order to establish whether the event they saw was a one-off issue (to still be reported, because nothing ever is a one off), a random bug, or a consistent bug that can be recreated every time. Once the devs mark their bug as fixed, the QA tester must recreate these steps again to ensure that the issue is truly gone. 

Joy Horvath a former QA Tester with EA Games shared the following specific tips for being a Games QA Tester:

Joy Horvath

• A good understanding of the way the software/application/game they’re testing should work - For games, a QA tester needs to know how all of the players are supposed to work, how the NPCs are supposed to respond, how navigating the game world is supposed to feel. They should know when a game is supposed to be icy, and therefore the character should have a more slippery feel than in the fire level before, and so on. This can happen in a few ways -- sometimes the testers will have access to the Game Design Document, or a write-up for the level. Sometimes they'll be provided with samples (videos, etc) of how things should work, so they have a point of reference when they don’t. 

• Have a technical understanding of how games are created [Optional, but SUPER valuable] - Being able to speak the language of development allows for better communication with the devs in your bug reports, which can speed fixes. This doesn’t have to be engine specific, although that in itself is helpful as well. Knowing how games work also gives the QA tester insight into how or why things are breaking.
  EXAMPLE:  “The carpet in the office level is producing a lot of visual noise in the distance," is less effective than: “The carpet texture’s mipmapping doesn’t look like it was configured properly. It looks like it’s set to Kaiser, which is making banding appear after several meters. The other floor textures don’t have this issue -- is everything else set to Box?”

4. A Day in the Life of a QA Tester

James Turnage-Lannan, now a Content Producer on the Unity Education Team, started his career as a Games QA Tester. He shared with us how he felt when he started on his first day and a snapshot of a day in the life of his first QA testing job.

James Turnage-Lannan

On my first day, I arrived with both excitement and skepticism. I still didn't truly understand what I was getting myself into as I only had my research findings as reference. I was introduced to the Quality Assurance team and they were some of the nicest people I've met. A lot of them were close to my age and had a strong interest in video games, like myself, so it was easy to make connections. My manager brought me up to speed on the games I'd be working on and their process behind QA testing them. If at any point I felt like I was lost or had a question, my colleagues were there to help which was reassuring.

As a QA Tester my job consisted of:

• Having a least 1 solid playthrough of a game to understand all of the game mechanics and what to expect.

• Replay specific sections/levels of a game assigned to me and purposely try to break the game.

• Write down all potential bug encounters, the steps taken to reproduce the issue, and triage them (low, medium, high, game-breaking).

• Test the game across multiple platforms to see if the same bugs were reproduced.

• Input all found bugs in the internal bug tracking software that gets pushed to developers to fix.

• Rinse and repeat with each new build of the game until release.

During my time as a QA tester, there was a lot of replay-ability involved, however, there were also occasional smaller projects that popped up to help break up the monotony. Lastly, while my contract did end at the completion of the main project I was assigned to, there were several follow up opportunities that I had the chance to partake in. Being a QA Tester for games was just like any other job, it had its ups and its downs. However, it was also the perfect entry-level job for someone like me with no experience that helped me get a jumpstart in my career within the video game industry. Also, I will say that when I first saw my name scroll by on the credits screen of the game I spent months testing, I realized that working in this industry is exactly where I wanted to be.

5. Getting started in QA Testing

In all of our research and interviews a common theme we've heard, and what you heard from James above, is that often QA Testing roles begin as "contract" positions, especially in the gaming industry. Contract positions are employment arrangements that do not involve the same level of commitment as as full-time employment. Contract employment usually means an individual has been hired to perform a specific job at a defined rate of pay. Typically, contract employment is limited to a set duration of time. A contract employee is not considered a permanent employee and they do may not become a regular addition to a company's employee staff.

By the end of this pathway if you are offered a contract role you will need to weigh the pros and cons of taking such a role. Joy Horavth shared :

I get a lot of questions around the viability of getting a QA Tester job as a means to break into the industry, as for a while there was a perception that the role was somewhat dead-end and not respected. However, I’ve never found that to be the case, but there are a few factors that contribute to this idea sticking around. QA roles are very often contract positions, even in larger companies that could afford to have permanent staff. The way things tend to go for QA testers who want to move through the ranks is as follows:

1. Get first contract QA tester job

1. Stay for full contract period (usually 6 mo)

1. Apply for more contract QA positions, hopefully land one to align when you will be laid off from the first

1. Ship several games as a QA tester to get game credits

1. Apply for QA Lead/QA Manager positions (these are normally the non contract positions)

1. Continue your role in QA or begin building relationships in other departments

You can of course begin building other relationships in other departments at any point. The goal for the QA tester who wants to work in other aspects of games is to get into a studio and start making industry contacts.

Beyond the world of gaming one logical pathway sees people moving from Customer Service and Support to Testing. The Ministry of Testing stated in their article Navigating a Career Path in Software Testing:

This is usually one of the first places companies look for technical specialists to promote into testing. This is a great career step for folks that are looking to use their customer knowledge to prevent defects before they get to customers. There are careers in customer services as well, but for someone looking to extend their technical knowledge, this a great career opportunity. For Development Directors, looking at your Customer Service folks, along with others in Marketing, Business Analyst, or even Sales might be a good way to get fresh eyes and perspectives onto a development team. Having folks from more diverse backgrounds and with different perspectives can always help a team. 

If you are a Tester recently recruited from one of these areas, you’ll likely start with manual or functional testing to learn the ropes. Once you’ve become comfortable with this skill, branch out quickly into other skills. Start learning coding basics. Understand the tech stack. Reach out for more training and opportunities to work with other roles on your team. This is only the start of your career, there is so much more out there to learn.

Whatever your current role, QA Testing is and can be accessible. By following this pathway you may too become a QA Tester!

6. Recap

Now that you understand what a QA Tester is and does, you will begin to learn about how QA testing works. Note that this pathway is unique in that while you learn how to code with C# you will also be introduced to QA processes. In following this method, you will miss out on the teamwork and communication between developers and testers.

Pro Tip: It is recommended that you join the Unity Learners Online Community. Use this community, as well as the commenting feature here on the Unity Learn Platform, to try and find follow learners going through this pathway and see if you can QA someone else's personal project.