One of the key concepts from my grade-12 science fiction class was that of archetypes. For those not familiar with archetypes, wikipedia defines it as a generic, idealized model of a person, object, or concept from which similar instances are derived, copied, patterned, or emulated

As a person in a QA/Tester role there are a number of archetypal roles that can be adopted.

  • Sheriff – Bringing order to the wild west. Chaotic development processes are roped in and consistency and discipline instilled in the vacuum
  • Cheerleader – Pumping the team up to be more than they are. ‘Better unit tests? Way to go!’
  • Cop – More or less the opposite of the Cheerleader. While typically you get more flies with honey, sometimes you do have to bring out the vinegar
  • Negotiator – An active role in figuring out the trade-offs between development and test
  • Marketer – A longer-term variation of the Negotiator which uses more subtle techniques for furthering agenda
  • Coach – Strategist and morale support

That’s a quick list generated on the train this morning. The trick with all these is to know which one(s) you are both expected to perform and which one(s) you are good at. And recognize that those might be two very different lists.

Which ones am I missing?