QA Tester, QA Engineer, QA Automation Engineer, and SDET. What’s the difference?

original article medium.com/@JohnnyV_5G

When it comes to software quality assurance (QA), the titles can get pretty confusing. Let’s break it down.

QA Tester

Think of QA Testers as the chess pawns or frontline soldiers of the QA world. They primarily focus on manual testing. Their job? To execute test cases, hunt down bugs, and make sure the software does what it’s supposed to do. They dive into exploratory testing, regression testing, and usability testing. No coding skills required — just a sharp eye for detail and a knack for understanding how users might interact with the application.

Responsibilities:

• Executing Test Cases: QA Testers meticulously follow predefined test cases to validate that the software functions as expected.
• Bug Hunting: They identify, document, and track software bugs, often using bug tracking tools.
• Exploratory Testing: Beyond predefined tests, they explore the application to discover unexpected issues.
• Regression Testing: They re-test functionalities to ensure new changes haven’t broken existing features.
• Usability Testing: QA Testers evaluate the software from a user’s perspective to ensure a seamless user experience.

Tools They Use:

• Bug Tracking Tools: JIRA, Bugzilla, Mantis
• Test Management Tools: TestRail, Zephyr, Quality Center
• Collaboration Tools: Slack, Trello, Confluence

Example Task:

Imagine a new e-commerce website feature where users can apply discount codes. A QA Tester would manually test different discount codes to ensure they apply correctly, checking various scenarios like expired codes, minimum purchase requirements, and stacking multiple discounts. They would document each test case in TestRail and log any issues in JIRA, providing detailed steps to reproduce the bugs.

QA Engineer

QA Engineers take a broader approach. They design and develop test plans, create test cases, and can dabble in both manual and automated testing. These folks are all about improving the QA process. They work closely with developers and stakeholders to ensure everything runs smoothly. They’ve got a solid understanding of QA methodologies and maybe some basic scripting skills to help out with automation.

Responsibilities:

• Test Planning: Creating detailed test plans to ensure comprehensive coverage of all software features.
• Test Case Development: Designing both manual and automated test cases.
• Process Improvement: Continuously refining the QA process to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Working with developers, product managers, and other stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver quality software.
• Basic Automation: Implementing simple automated tests to complement manual testing efforts.

Tools They Use:

• Test Case Management Tools: TestRail, Zephyr
• Bug Tracking Tools: JIRA
• Automation Tools: Basic frameworks like Selenium WebDriver, Postman for API testing
• Continuous Integration Tools: Jenkins, GitLab CI

Example Task:

For a mobile banking app, a QA Engineer might create a comprehensive test plan that includes both manual and automated tests. They would test features like login, balance checks, fund transfers, and bill payments. The QA Engineer would use Selenium to automate the web interface tests and Postman to automate API tests. They ensure these tests run automatically on every code change using Jenkins, providing quick feedback to developers about any issues.

QA Automation Engineer

Now, QA Automation Engineers are the automation gurus. They write and maintain scripts that automate the testing process. This means they need strong programming skills and experience with tools like Selenium or Appium. They’re the ones integrating these automated tests into the CI/CD pipeline, ensuring the tests run seamlessly every time the code changes. They’re all about efficiency and making sure that tests provide thorough coverage of the software requirements.

Responsibilities:

Script Development: Writing and maintaining automated test scripts to validate software functionality.
Framework Implementation: Building and maintaining the automation framework.
CI/CD Integration: Ensuring automated tests are integrated into the continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline.
Test Coverage: Expanding automated test coverage to include new features and regression tests.
Efficiency Optimization: Continuously improving the automation process for faster and more reliable test execution.

Tools They Use:

• Automation Frameworks: Selenium for web applications, Appium for mobile apps, Cypress for JavaScript applications
• Test Frameworks: TestNG, JUnit, Mocha
• CI/CD Tools: Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI
• Version Control Systems: Git

Example Task:

Automating the login functionality for a web application. The QA Automation Engineer would write a Selenium script that inputs various user credentials, checks the login outcome, and reports any failures automatically. They would integrate these scripts with Jenkins so that the tests run every time a developer pushes new code. This automation ensures that any changes to the login feature are instantly validated, reducing the risk of bugs making it to production.

SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test)

SDETs are like QA superheroes with a developer’s mindset. They write code to test code, often building complex test frameworks and tools from scratch. They have strong software engineering skills and work closely with development teams to improve the overall quality of the codebase. Their expertise spans deep testing methodologies, test automation, and test-driven development (TDD). Think of them as the bridge between development and QA.

Responsibilities:

Framework Development: Building sophisticated test frameworks that can handle complex testing scenarios.
Code Quality Improvement: Collaborating with developers to write testable code and improve overall code quality.
Advanced Testing: Implementing advanced testing methodologies, including TDD and behavior-driven development (BDD).
Scalability Testing: Ensuring the application can scale and perform under high load conditions.
Infrastructure Management: Using tools like Docker and Kubernetes to create and manage test environments.

Tools They Use:

• Development Tools: IntelliJ IDEA, Visual Studio Code
• Testing Frameworks: JUnit, TestNG, NUnit
• Automation Tools: Selenium, Appium, Postman for API testing
• Infrastructure Tools: Docker, Kubernetes, AWS for cloud environments

Example Task:

Building a custom testing framework for a cloud-based application. An SDET might create a suite of integration tests that simulate thousands of users interacting with the system, ensuring scalability and performance under load. They would use Docker to create consistent testing environments and Kubernetes to manage these environments at scale. The SDET would also write complex API tests using Postman or a similar tool, ensuring the application’s backend can handle high traffic and large data volumes.

So, what’s the bottom line?

• QA Tester: Manual testing expert focused on executing test cases and finding bugs.
• QA Engineer: A blend of manual and automation testing, with a focus on improving QA processes.
• QA Automation Engineer: Specializes in automating the testing process with strong programming skills.
• SDET: Combines the skills of a developer and tester, creating robust testing frameworks and ensuring high-quality code.

Each role plays a vital part in delivering reliable, high-quality software. Whether manually running tests, automating them, or developing sophisticated testing tools, they are each a key piece of the development puzzle.