The Test Pilot

Just because you...
    ...designed the airplane...
    ...built the airplane...
    ...managed the design, construction, and testing of the airplane...
    ...flew on an airplane once...
    ...played an airplane video game...
    ...have a cousin that flies airplanes...
    ...read a book about flying airplanes...
...doesn’t mean you know how to fly the airplane!

I cannot emphasize this enough: testing is a skilled trade - whether it's testing an airplane or testing a website. The project manager for the the design and construction of a new airplane would not think twice about trying to fly the plane himself. Instead he delegates that responsibility to someone that knows how to fly the plane.

But just because you...
    ...know how to fly the plane...
...doesn't mean you know how to test the airplane!

Testing goes well beyond normal use. Test pilots need to be able to conceptualize the abnormal, the extreme, the emergency, even the absurd situations and have the skill to execute on them. Yes, every pilot should be trained to handle emergency situations but being forced into an emergency is far different from intentionally stepping into one.

Testing websites and software shouldn't be any different. There are certainly valid scenarios for the project manager or the client to do some testing but having them do the heavy lifting will lead to poor results.

Now this isn't to say that testing is an exclusive club by any means. You learn testing by doing. You really can't go to school to get a degree in testing. Attending a three-day seminar won't make you a good tester. Getting an expensive certification from ISTQB won't make you a good tester. You become a good tester with practice, by having an open mind, by challenging the status quo, by thinking, by being independent.