Local Experiments with Global Certificates: How Russian Software Testers are Inventing Themselves as a Profession

Abstract

The above appraisal of software testing,¹ made by a self-described software enthusiast, points to a curious paradox that dominates this occupation in the Russian software industry today: the more software testers are in demand and the more testers themselves are eager to be recognized and formalized as a distinct profession, the more there is uncertainty within the wider industry about the content and boundaries of testing activity, its status among software developers, and the qualifications its practitioners should possess. This paradox is playing a central role in defining the emergent profession of testing in Russia, and because of it, Russian testers are particularly ready to experiment with various norms and techniques of professionalization developed in the global software industry. Testers in Russia are now referencing and drawing upon an existing, globally accessible, body of knowledge to articulate and formalize what they are already doing. This globally accessible knowledge, in the form of testing standards and procedures, is made available by the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB). The ISTQB, established in 2002, began by creating an international professional certification scheme and making widely accessible a set of educational and training materials devoted to it, in the hope that they will become universally accepted across national borders.

The central goal we are trying to achieve from the beginning is to establish the understanding of testing as a separate, serious profession with a serious background. The biggest problem in achieving this goal is that there is confusion about whether being a tester can be a distinct specialization; in fact, there are still no specialized courses or specialized training in testing.

(Project manager with a software firm in St Petersburg, Russia, 2008)