Software Testing Question:

Know the Application.
That's the other side of the knowledge coin. The ideal tester has deep insights into how the users will exploit the program's features and the kinds of cockpit errors that users are likely to make. In some cases, it is virtually impossible, or at least impractical, for a tester to know both the application and programming. For example, to test an income tax package properly, you must know tax laws and accounting practices. Testing a blood analyzer requires knowledge of blood chemistry; testing an aircraft's flight control system requires control theory and systems engineering, and being a pilot doesn't hurt; testing a geological application demands geology. If the application has a depth of knowledge in it, then it is easier to train the application specialist into programming than to train the programmer into the application. Here again, paralleling the programmer's qualification, I'd like to see a university degree in the relevant discipline followed by a few years of working practice before coming into the test group.