I am a .NET developer (as my name suggests). We recently hired a lead test analyst (where lead implies there will be testers working underneath her), and, I am working under her/with her (I say under as she has the experience to mentor me and check my work). This relationship is fine, and I was put in this position because I have most of the skills a test analyst has (even though I am a developer, and a developer first, which says a lot about how strong I am).
Problem is, developer working as a tester, with a dedicated tester, causes problems. I do web testing using a certain tool and writing the code myself (as I can do things like loops and complex logic and I am a dev so write coding is like my natural instinct), and the tester uses another tool (no way near as strong), using the record/playback method.
Our project manager thinks it is best to be in sync and use a common tool and have a common approach/workflow, but I don’t see an issue in using seperate tools (especially as I know the tool the tester is using, but the API is weak). Does it really matter if the tools we use are not the same? As deadlines are tight, if I need to write code, I want to be at my most productive, which I won’t be.
Thanks
Being productive is of course a very important thing. Using separate testing processes while doing the same job has some advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the disadvantages:
If your tools satisfy two different techniques of testing, they will naturally be useful in their own right. Just because two things both “test” doesn’t mean they are the same thing. I would probably structure my response to management tailored based on what I thought was best for the project.