The Top 5 Most Important Skills for Quality Assurance to Have

It's no secret that the field of software development has been growing rapidly lately. For confirmation of this, one simply needs to divert their attention to the vast number of development startups that have been springing up in Silicon Valley.

Along with this rapid rise in software development comes the need for knowledgeable software QA, or expert IT automation testers. In this article, we will explore the top 5 most important skills for automation experts to have when moving into the QA and automated testing industries.

A software development cycle can experience many problems, such as development drift. Thus, CM tools such as Puppet or Chef that help automate management processes and keep development teams on the same page have become increasingly important in the software development industry.

Without these types of tools, it can take an exorbitant amount of time to manage software development projects, as well as additional resources. Knowledge of popular CM software lets IT automation testing experts more accurately assess where problems have arisen in a development cycle.

Of course, part of the job description of any good software QA or IT automation testing expert is known in the area of troubleshooting. A good QA automation testing expert not only knows how to use automated tools in order to troubleshoot a project but also which tools to use in specific situations. This requires an in-depth knowledge of what type of troubleshooting specific situations will require.

Processes and standards such as ITIL and DevOps philosophy attempt to let IT testers combine several different systems into their testing processes in a natural and effective manner. Having a methodology behind your testing processes and knowing all of the different aspects that contribute to that methodology, will help to greatly increase your efficacy and professionalism as an IT tester.

Yes, there are certain programs like UpGuard that can let you avoid needing to know every programming language under the sun. However, these types of coding language translation programs do not always work. In order to become a successful IT tester, it's recommended that you learn one or two major programming languages — for example, JavaScript and Python — and then stick to QA testing software written in those languages only.

The good thing about the IT testing field is that software development is booming. This means that, even if you only specialize in one or two coding languages, you shouldn't struggle to find work. Get a niche and work in it. You'll have better results to show for it, and so will your clients.

Just as is the case with any profession, certification is important. Common certifications for the IT testing/software QA fields include MCSA, CCNP, VMP, and PMP, as well as certain more specialized certifications such as CompTIA Server.. Investing the time in getting these certifications will almost certainly blow up your profit margins and increase the business you get dramatically.

And there you have it, folks! The top 5 skills that you need in order to become an IT automation tester or a software QA tester. Do you work in either of these industries? What would your tips be? We'd love to hear from you!