What skills set a tester apart?
Often, it seems to be skills that are difficult to articulate and demonstrate, a secret skillset, you might sayāa testing mindset, for one.
Iād love to know 1-3 skills that you think are essential in all good software testers.
To whom? Most likely during a recruiting process?
Once Iām hired I prefer āshow, donāt tellā. Showing the application of my skills by revealing the truth about the product, most likely by bringing up problem.
In my experience: At the very last once people have to discuss problems of the product, they stop discussing or challenging your skills.
Counter questions, as I like testing all kinds of statements and things not just softwareā¦
I feel this very hard.
(By tendency) pretending to test makes sometimes life easier than actually testing (revealing the truth, finding problems and raising question).
The messenger of bad news are often unpopular.
The best testers Iāve worked with ā as a peer and as their manager ā have respected and practised for reals, the following:
Iāve found these skills require effort and patience to develop over time ā with solid leadership to support them. And being brutally honest, some folks are more likely to succeed with these skills than others.
I look for the following:
Tenacity - if you arenāt 100% sure dig deeper. Maybe the developer, or the BA, or the user wasnāt sure either.
Suspicion - donāt ābelieveā, find out. If you canāt find out, say āI donāt knowā. Belief has no place in science, and what we do needs to be scientific.
Honesty - if you feel you have to lie, for example to a boss, get out and do something else. Just because they canāt handle the truth doesnāt mean you have to lie.
Empathy - being able to see the viewpoint of others, whether this is communicating defects, thinking about the needs of the users.
At Boing I guess being submissive to not create to much stress for the management. 
Being good in creating a testing show, pretending you tested while you actually did not, so that management feels save to cut costs.
Being unafraid to ask dumb questions.
Asking the dumb question just to be 100% sure about understanding something has almost no risk - the people that know the answer will clarify, and everyone can move on with their day. This will happen most of the time.
But every now and then - often enough that that dumb question is always worth asking - it turns out the question isnāt dumb, and fundamentally changes the teams understanding of what a particular story/feature needs to achieve.
Ask the dumb thing early enough, and you save everyone a lot of hassle and effort.
Some things in my opinion make a good tester, in the context of an environment where the tester is in a team of software engineers, that is quite technical (eg: teams doing mostly microservices), with fast-paced development:
To be a good tester, first learn basic testing skills and obtain relevant certifications. Key skills include attention to detail, strong analytical abilities, and technical knowledge of programming and testing tools. Effective problem-solving and clear communication are essential, along with curiosity and creativity for discovering hidden defects. Patience and persistence ensure thorough testing, while domain knowledge helps anticipate user behavior. Collaboration with team members and continuous learning keep testers updated with the latest methods and tools.
On skill/technique I thought about lately is:
Pick a people from a team, that you are afraid, or simply does not feel like having a collaboration with them and force yourself to find a way to communicate with them, to make this fade away. It could be a pair testing session a deeper questions about requirements, asking for help with the automation, anything. Just something where you give some insights, not a chit-chat.
The most important skill that sets a tester apart from the others is a āTesting Mindsetā.
By this I mean the analytical skill to evaluate any software or product with an unbiased mind, without getting swayed by sentiment or buckling under pressure and having an absolutely no-compromise effort for quality.
As a good tester, these are the skills we should be having:
While quality is everyoneās responsibility, we as QA are the owners of quality. We should bring a positive influence on all departments to make them quality conscious.
Iād say Attention to detail Is a skill that often canāt be taught, but often becomes very clear when working with someone in a testing role, things to look out for could be:
Some of the skills that can turn testers into good testers are:
Being Proactive: A good tester should not limit themselves only to find bugs, they should use their mindset & experience and try to spot where the bug might occur before they actually do.
Curiosity: Great testers always ask questions like what if, why & how. They dig deeper into the software to learn more and uncover hidden issues.
Communication skill: Being able to explain things clearly to the dev as well as to stakeholders is super important for testers. Good communication helps them report issues and work better with the team, leading to personal growth.
Willingness to Learn: Technology is changing every day so testers should always be excited to learn new tools and techniques to keep improving how they test software.
I really loved your questions and have given them some thought, which I will definitely share in my company at some point 
Thank you for questioning things.
What skills set a tester apart?
From my experience, there are three main skills that really distinguish a good tester:
Critical thinking: Iāve learned to always think beyond the obvious. Itās not just about working through the test plan, but asking, āWhat could go wrong here that others might have missed?ā Often, I find issues hidden in the requirements or implementation that would otherwise go unnoticed without this mindset.
Attention to detail: Sometimes itās the smallest things that have the biggest impact on functionality. Iām someone who loves to dive deep into the detailsāwhether itās a tiny discrepancy in the user interface or a subtle logic error. I believe this attention to detail has often helped me identify problems before they lead to bigger consequences.
Communication skills: Iāve realized that finding bugs is not enough. The key lies in communicating them clearly and understandably, so that the development team can quickly identify and fix the issues. Sometimes itās a fine line to ensure feedback is perceived as constructive, not critical. Open and respectful communication makes a big difference here.
In what scenarios are they valuable?
In my day-to-day work as a tester, I would think these skills are especially valuable:
Critical thinking helps me, particularly in the early phases, when requirements are not yet fully refined. I often ask questions or point out gaps that could lead to bigger issues later on. I love being close to the product management and prove on concepts in the early phase of product development.
Attention to detail is essential during the testing phases. Colleagues often come to me when they need a āfinal touchā because they know I wonāt overlook anything.
Communication plays a major role when Iām collaborating with developers and product management. Good testers need to be able to convey their findings so that they are seen not just as bugs, but as opportunities for improvement.
How do I convey the value of these skills to others?
What has really helped me demonstrate my value as a tester is letting the results speak for themselves. I always try to use data and metrics to show how many issues were identified early on and how that saved time and costs in the long run.
Another approach is to share successes. For example, when we discover a critical issue that could have caused major problems in production, I make sure to highlight how important it was to catch this in the testing phase.
Lastly, collaboration is key: I aim to create an atmosphere of trust and openness, where my input is seen as helpful rather than criticism. In the end, we all share the same goal ā high-quality, error-free software. When thatās clear, the value of your work becomes evident.
Fortunately, I work in a (medium-sized) company where the role of software testing is highly valued and represents an important part of the development process, both before things go into development and afterward.