Common excuses a Developer makes when a feature doesn't work [And how to avoid them in the future]

I always feel that Developers should have an attitude for development, which I have detailed in the blog post Attitudes of a Great Software Developer.  But generally when it comes to issues, a lot of developers make excuses.  As long they are genuine, it is not a matter of concern however if it is really an Excuse, then it is a cause for concern for the entire team.  I am guilty of a few of those myself however when I saw the big picture, I rectified those and understood why people make those excuses and how we can avoid them in the future.  I am detailing a few in my below post.

1.  It works fine in my machine

Come on guys, this is the number one excuse that developers give.  We often have a feeling that testers or the customers have a magical computer which injects bugs into our code.  But that is far from true.

The only way to avoid this excuse is to be aware of the environments that are used for development, testing and production.  By being aware of those, the first thing you would probably ask is, what sort of configuration/environment it is and get more details about the issue and check if it is really a valid bug.  Another way to avoid this is to have a Continuous Integration environment, where with each and every code check-in, code is compiled and deployed in some test machines.

Image courtesy: cheatcc.com

Attitudes of a Great Software Tester

In my previous post, I explained in my own words the "Attitude of a Great Software Developer".  This post will focus on the testers.  Developers and Testers are two great personalities that work literally in the opposite direction but towards a common goal of producing good quality software.  One deals with the making aspect of the software and other with the breaking aspect of the software.

In this post, I will share the attitudes that a Great Software Tester should have, in my own views.

Attitude #1 - I want to break that software at any cost

Make no mistake about it.  A tester's job is to find out bugs and in the process, make the software better and better as time progresses.  A bug is a tester's best friend.  So his/her primary intent is to break the software at any cost, find the loop holes, find that best friend of his one way or the other.  Whether it is through a systematic process of executing test cases or adhoc testing or exploratory testing, the objective is clear.

If you want to be a Great Tester, your attitude has to be to "Break the software at any cost and find out that BUG".

Attitude #2 - Ms. Great Developer, I challenge you that I can find bugs in your code.

I seriously doubt how many testers have this attitude.  

But if a person wants to be a Great Tester,

Attitudes of a Great Software Developer !!!

Software development is an art, not just a science.  You can learn all the technicalities of software development, but you need to be absolutely passionate about coding and perceive it as an art to be extremely good at it.  If you are one such person, I will introduce you to the journey of becoming a "Great Developer".  The objective of a Great Developer, as i name him/her is to make his/her art as beautiful as possible and make it the best.

In my own thoughts, I will share some attitudes which a great developer should have apart from the general expectations of being technically and analytically sound, understanding requirements in detail, good design skills, etc.

Image Courtesy: minfullychange.blogspot.com

 

Attitude #1 -  A bug is a question of my ability to write good code

Fixing bugs is part and parcel of a software developer's activities.  A bug is obviously the worst enemy of a Developer.  But how many developers think in the following lines while fixing the defects

• What I could have done to avoid this bug in the first place?
• How did I allow this bug to escape my eyes?
• OK, something wrong has happened this time.  How do I avoid the same mistake next time? What steps do I need to take?

Truth is very few developers think on those lines.

A  person willing to be a great developer should consider a bug as a threat to his position, as a threat to his credibility, as a threat to his programming skills.  That is the attitude that will make him/her a great developer.

Attitude #2 - Mr. Tester, I challenge you to find bugs in my code

How many developers have this attitude?  Many developers think that the job of the testers is to find bugs.  Yes.  Obviously, but that doesn't mean as developers, we can take bugs for granted.

A great developer or a person willing to be a great developer should