A good mix of skills is important within a project. We must however consider the skill set for the team. The following are a useful reminder of the sort of skill set we will need in order to facilitate good testing.
Technique Specialists – Specialize in the use of test design techniques such as Equivalence Partitioning and Boundary Value Analysis. They can then become the source of knowledge, advice and guidance for the rest of the team
Automation Specialists – Specialize in the test automation field. They require programming language, as automation tools are based on programming languages.
Database Experts – Everyone in the team should have an understanding of the underlying database, but not everyone needs know the intricate details of the database environment.
Business Skills – Having key people in the test team with business knowledge is essential for testing from a business perspective
Usability Experts – We have already seen that testing for usability is often poorly done because it is often poorly specified. Test (and development) teams could benefit by having specialised expertise in this area
Test Environment Experts – Maintaining test environments is crucial for successful testing and this task should not be underestimated in terms of its complexity and sensitivity
Test Managers – Essential people who encourage, motivate and protect the rest of the test team.
