The most valuable asset a Software Tester can have is an attitude of gleeful problem discovery. Someone that loves to break systems, discover their imperfections, and explore their weaknesses makes a great tester. But, to be really good, a product tester really has to care about the quality of the product.
Software Quality Assurance (SQA) and Structured Software Testing (SST) are completely different fields. Every single book on the topic (textbooks, course materials, you name it) make this clear. In fact, most emphasize how important it is that these fields be completely separate. Consider: Quality Assurance is responsible for auditing and ensuring all aspects of work [...]
Testing, testing, testing. In a recent article by John Parkinson (Strong Signals, CIO Insight magazine) the value of testing is raised on par with the activity of design and coding itself: Testing is becoming as necessary a profession as design and coding. Skills and experience matter. Process matters. Tools matter. Let the tests begin. Our [...]