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0 pointspixl972y ago0 comments

>Good QA people are hard to find

In general, I'd say that's because it's a position that's shit on.

You're apt to be paid far less than actual dev positions. If you're a QA manager you're always pushed on by upper management to outsource and lower costs. There is none of the prestige of being a "QA 10xer" that you'd see heaped upon a dev in the same position. And I see little training/courses pushed out for QA like is typically seen for dev.

It seems like QA in most companies is a necessary evil that management would take out back and shoot the first moment they could.

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a_wild_dandan2y ago· 1 in thread

Developers are artists and QA is critique. Worse, you must entertain their complaining, and pay for the privilege! The vultures. (This implicit bias would explain the treatment disparity. But it's a baseless hypothesis. It just seems like the simplest behavioral explanation.)

chfalck2y ago

It’s semantics, but thinking of QA as refinements rather than criticisms goes a long way. Everyone is reasonable until their mental defenses are activated I believe. I think it’s worth making even great efforts to communicate improvements or requirements without using phrases which make someone feel bad. If the goal is to actually persuade and make a positive impact rather than just point fingers to feel superior, finding the way to say things without assigning shame is almost always the way to get things done.

Good QA will be sensitive to this when creating feedback, and good Devs will understand that tunnel vision from submerged in the product full time every day will typically lead to a built experience that isn’t amenable to large portions of their users.

Providing QA feedback tactfully is an impressive and appreciated skill, as is receiving feedback gracefully. Everyone should aspire to do both.

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