Often we hear questions like,
- Is there a need for a specialized tester?
- Why do we need to employee an additional person only for testing?
- Do we really need a tester?
Now, I really don't know if there a real need for a separate person to be employed on a project only dedicated to testing it. Then again, every time I hear something similar to the questions above, it reminds me of something I learned during a lecture of English literature in 10th grade;
Eyes cannot see themselves, they need a mirror to reflect the image.
Maybe employing a person who would only test the software is extra cost and it could be cut down as well. BUT, there getting an additional eye to review the work done is always a good option. How many a times, have you thought that the code you have written is right and has not problem at all? I bet the answer will be, too often. When we finish writing code we feel its all good, but then, it goes into testing and here come the bugs! Why does that happen? Why couldn't we catch those bugs while we were writing the code?
Well, eyes couldn't see themselves! Its really difficult to find fault in our own work. So does that mean prove you need to employee extra people who would only test the software? One may still argue that there is no guarantee of 100% bug free software and the answer may be a no for tester, but you will always need testing. Getting an unbiased opinion from another person is really a good thing to see if what is developed is really as it was intended. That person may be your friend, another developer, your superior, client or one or more of the actual users of your software. So, you may not deliver a 100% bug free software, but with testing and the actions taken on the result of testing you will definitely deliver a satisfactorily usable software.
So, all I have to say here is,
You may not need a tester, but you will always need testing.
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