Recently I have been thinking about certification of software testers, for no particular reason other than it's been on my mind. I've been thinking along the lines of 'what lessons can certification learn from the evolution of the driving test?'
So it came to me very late one night, the process of gaining a certification in software testing has many similarities to gaining a driver’s license. Regardless of the level of the license (Learners, Provisional or higher) it's just the beginning of greater learning (through experience and further training).
If you think back to when you first got your license, it would have involved some study (hopefully!) of the road rules, a test -maybe written, online or practical; or all combination of all of three?
After you 'made the grade' you were allowed with some varying level of supervision on to the open road. Yes, the police and road rules are a form of supervision!
So, what does this have to do with software testing? Well I've come across many a tester who has a certification and believes that that puts them ahead of the pack. But if we compare this to the newly licensed driver - in the same way the certification identifies you as having a 'known' level of understanding in the subject area. It doesn't mean you know it all, and it most certainly doesn't mean you shouldn't continue learning :-)
The other aspect of the driver’s license analogy I thought a lot about was how the process of getting a license has evolved. I recall a conversation with a developer some time ago when I was going through the process of getting my motorbike license. He said back in the day when he got his license the process involved meeting up with the local policeman and demonstrating that he was able to start, stop and turn the bike. The final part of his test was conducted in a car park which had a gravel surface - just to mix it up little! All in all this process lasted about 30 mins. When I compare this to my experience they are worlds apart. The process I went through to get my learners involved a full days training - the quarter of which we didn't even sit on a bike, let alone ride it. Once I passed that course I was allowed to ride a little bike, at a restricted speed - I now had my learners.
So the point is? Well the evolution of the license tests, including extended learning before the granting of a license is traced directly back to the correlation between the level of driver training and the frequency of accidents. I believe that sometime in the future, that certification in software testing will evolve to be more practical as we realize that being certified doesn't guarantee testing results.
It's my belief that as an industry embracing certification how we need to evolve our thinking and take some lessons from other industries and certification processes. The lesson I'd like to see taken up are that newly certified testers should be paired with an experienced mentor to help them grow into polished professionals :-)
