Testers learning requirements

When software testers talk about their job, they generally state that their task is to find defects as well as to ensure that no (major) defects exist in the main paths of business processes. They often add the comment they are doing this by checking the software (application under test) against existing requirements. Its common sense that testers should be familiar with understanding and interpreting requirements. But when it comes to creation and review of requirements testers are usually not involved. Now, taking into consideration that many errors in software development are due to improperly defined requirements, one might wonder if integrating testers directly into the phase of requirements creation would be a promising option. This lecture reports about a tester-specific training-program that directly touches that consideration. The training was held in practice for testers in the field of financial services in the year 2013 and 2014. It highlights the structure of the program as well as its benefits and practical value in the software development cycle. In addition commonly made shortcomings and their solutions are also covered.