Software development, including software testing, involves human beings.

So human psychology plays a vital role in software testing. As a tester, it

may be required to communicate with the client directly, with the test

managers, with other testers, with developers as well.

When a tester/QA finds some gaps or mismatch with the requirements, or

identifies failures, it may be perceived as criticism of the product or of its

author.

Developers and testers think differently. Developers expect their code to be

correct, they have a confirmation bias that makes it difficult to accept that

their code is incorrect. It’s a common human trait to blame the bearer of

bad news, and testers often contain bad news. That’s why some people

may perceive testing as destructive.

So testers must need to have some specific communication skills to deliver

the defects, failures, test results, test progress, and risks.

● Start with collaboration rather than battles.

● Focus on the goal of better quality, but in a very polite way.

● Communicate test results and other findings in a neutral way without

criticizing the person who created the defected item.

● Try to understand how the other person feels and the reasons they

react negatively to the information.

● Offer your work to be reviewed too. Confirm that the other person has

understood what has been said and vice versa.

● Different situations may arise during the test. For instance, the

detection of a large number of errors may cause a more significant

delay in the shipment of the product. It can lead to a tight situation

between testers and other development teams. The tester must

balance this relationship. It should not happen at the expense of

errors. Testers should convince and defend the intentions of

"attacking software issues but not software developers"

Lastly the mindset of the team members, the communication between

them, and most importantly the test independence while performing the

testing is crucial and needs great consideration. Therefore, if you want your

software testing to be free of any hurdles, do consider the psychological

aspects stated above.