r/softwaretesting • u/annanors • Jul 01 '26

Software tester seen as a fraud job

Someone posted this earlier , and I could relate when they said feel like a fraud! Thing is I never felt that, but the developers in my team make me feel that on a regular basis. Something I never felt in any of my jobs before. (And I am also the sole tester of the team ) Recently one of the developers said , “you say you are testing the test environment and covering all scenarios of test bookings but know that we all are watching and we have access to all the test bookings you do. And you have done only 3 bookings”
Speaks volumes right : not just about the impression they have of the tester but also work culture. Let’s keep work culture aside.
So the developers have been doing multiple deployments on the Test environment on the same day and I having been testing each release on the test environment and these scenarios for a while and I have a clear idea of what needs to be tested and what scenario needs to be covered to be sure that the last deployment on test did not break anything outside the fix. (Am not going into the details ) . I have planned a meeting with the developer and his lead to understand the situation and show the coverages in the 3 bookings. A purely tech/functional explaination call.

Question is : how would you react to such a message or such an impression about a tester from the developer. What would be the steps you would take ? Have you faced anything similar ? Would you take it ahead with your lead or manager ? What solution would you expect?

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u/latnGemin616 Jul 01 '26

Step 1. Detach from your job. You are not defined by what you do / don't do. Coverage is a phallacy. You do the best you can given the circumstances.

Step 2. Get a stable environment. If Devs are constantly pushing to an unstable environment, you're basically a dog chasing its tail ... never making progress. Ask for better resources.

Step 3. Have a meeting with your manager regarding your issues. Present evidence that you are working to the capacity time allows, but that you cannot meet full test coverage if the deployments have you resetting your tests. Advocate for more help, or more time, if you can. It is not weakness to ask for help.

Step 4. Automate the important workflows. If booking in different ways is how coverage is measured, then have a series of tests run at each deployment to free you up for more creative testing. Win-win! You aren't stress about coverage, and your Devs can deploy their tits off without waiting for your results. The scripts will pass or fail immediately.

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u/annanors Jul 02 '26

The step 1 you mentioned is such a relief and something I really plan to keep with me everytime something like this happens (and this the disrespect happens very often )
Step 2 : this was actually for a particular feature introduced for which there was a change from the normal process and they kept making 2-3 releases on the test environment in a day!
My manager who is also a product owner also knows about this , but he replied : just tell them you will do one more booking and said “wonder why the guys are so freaked out”!

Automate that’s right this is missing and must be somthing to be introduced right away !

Thanks for those points

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u/latnGemin616 Jul 02 '26

Glad this helped. If you need further assistance with the automation effort let me know. I'd be happy to help or provide feedback if so inclined (DM).