CATCH A GLIMPSE OF OUR TESTER’S LIFE

Hi! I am Anjana Prakash and I am from Kerala. I am an optimistic and enthusiastic person who has an undying love for food and testing. I have completed my bachelor of computer application from CMS College of science and technology, Coimbatore.
I began my career as a tester trainee with Infosys, where I became a permanent employee after 3 months of training. From there, I shifted to RapidValue Solutions as a tester. And Testvox is my third abode.

HOW DID YOU END WITH TESTVOX

After rapid value, I came to Calicut in search of something from my own home land. That is when I found out about Testvox through LinkedIn. I followed them there. I have done my share of research. I discovered that it is a testing-only company.And for me, it was a jackpot hit to find the exact thing I wanted in my town.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS A TESTER

A tester basically checks the quality of an application. There are many applications available on the market which are untested or the developer tests some basic functionality and provides it to the client. But they won’t survive in the market for a long run because customers may find difficulty in working with them since it is not bug free.
So here comes the importance of a tester. We check the quality and inform the developers of the defects so that they can increase the functionality of the application.
I started my career in manual testing and then turned to automation testing.

HOW WAS YOUR CAREER SHIFT FROM MANUAL TO AUTOMATION ENGINEERING ?

Manual testing and automation testing are two entirely different concepts. We need more technical and analytical skills to do automation testing. So, the shift was not at all easy. But Testvox culture helped me adapt quickly to the arena. Also, they put effort into making sure that I learned.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF TESTVOX IN YOUR CAREER SHIFT

I have always wanted to try automation testing. I tried to learn about it all by myself, and that did not work well. After joining Testvox, I got a month-long training program which helped me learn automation. That training gave me a route map to learn about automation. They guided me well enough that I am super confident about my automation career now.

WHAT IS YOUR EQUATION WITH YOUR TEAMMATES

Unlike the other places I have been, the workspace of Testvox has a lot to offer.
Mostly, in companies, there will be one kind of project for a whole team for the whole year. That limits the interaction with other teammates. But at testvox, it's different. Here I know almost every tester, because we work as a team. We have different kinds of projects. There are auditing projects, short-term projects, and everyone contributes to those. That accelerates our bonding over work. Other than that, there are HR activities and weekly meetings that help us get to know each other. So, in short, we have an amicable work environment here.
Knowing everyone makes things easier as well.

WALK US THROUGH YOUR ‘MEETING A DEVELOPER’ EXPERIENCE!

As a tester, meeting a developer is an indispensable step. Developers differ from person to person. Some will be corporating, but there were bitter experiences as well.
There is this one particular incident I remember. That was when I was in Sign On. There were a few developer trainees, and one among them helped me learn about something I wanted. That was a generous act. They don’t do that often.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED AS A TESTER

Being a tester in itself is a challenge. Testing for bugs and identifying them is a tedious task. It is important to keep the requirement updated when there is a change or update.
Whenever people who are responsible for the requirement update fail, testers get the blame, and that is one challenge of being a tester. The next challenge is in dealings with the developers. We may tell them about the defect, but they won’t be treating its root cause. They just solve the issue that is on their face. Often, that affects other features and creates regression issues. That will cost our time.
And there are those kinds of people who want everything at a train's speed. They won’t give time for exploration, they request speedy detection from a tester and that is another challenge we face. Being a tester is not an easy job.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TESTING AS YOUR CAREER

I didn’t choose this career intentionally, I became a tester by chance. I went to Infosys to learn about things as a part of my college ritual. I have only an oblivious idea of the kinds of jobs in the field. A tester was nowhere near my thoughts. Infosys assigned me an operational executive job. During the training at Bhubaneswar, I got to know that what I was doing was coding.
But I am exactly where I am supposed to be. That’s the happy beginning of my testing career.

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR TESTING AND HOME LIFE

I am a person who wants both family and work to the fullest. Since I like testing, I don’t find it difficult to manage time. These two lives are a part and parcel of me. Hence, I enjoy being there for both my work and personal life. Working for testvox gives me enough time to concentrate on my personal well being and family.
I happily spend my evenings, sitting around, gulping coffee with my loved ones while doing what I am supposed to do as a tester.

WHAT ARE THE MEDIA YOU USE TO LEARN TESTING

I read blogs and articles related to the field. Another way I learn about testing is through YouTube.But mostly, I google. I search for what I want, and Google will direct me to various blogs related to that issue, and I have an immense amount of data within minutes.

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE WITH A TESTER ENTHUSIAST

Yes, there are two things I want to share with those who want to pursue testing as a career.
One, there is this talk in the market that we don’t need to know coding to become testers, which is wrong. That is fake publicity .Though we can try manual testing without basics , it is difficult to survive in the industry with that alone. There are many engineers and I T professionals in the field. It’s all about the survival of the fittest. It is better to update ourselves with technology.
To learn automation, you need to know coding.
Second, always ask questions. I never asked questions to my team leaders, and that resulted in unwanted misery in my career journey. If we have doubts, it is best to ask them. Continue to ask questions to whoever you want until you understand the concept completely.
To get domain knowledge and application knowledge, it is important to get the scenarios straight. For that, you need questions. Understand the application and test. Don't accept anything the DA says, analyse it and go through it.
Do your own research.