[ISTQB] 1.5 The psychology of testing (K2)

LO-1.5.1 - Recall the psychological factors that influence the success of testing (K1)

Success is based upon:

• defined and clear testing objectives.
• a balance of self-testing and independent testing activities.
• Separate roles between the developer and the tester. 

Indeed, it's very difficult to step back and find our own mistakes. There are 4 possible levels of independence listed in the book:* "tests designed/performed by the person who wrote the item under test".
* "tests designed/performed by another person within the same team, such as another programmer".
* "tests designed/performed by a person from a different organisational group, such as an independent test team".
* "tests designed/performed by a person from a different organisation or company, such as outsourced testing or certification by an external body". 

• recognition of courteous communication and feedback on defects. 

Staying factual, communicate in a timely fashion with the management and board. 
Work positively and constructively with developers is also a very important aspect of testing psychology. 

LO-1.5.2 - Contrast the mindset of a tester and of a developer (K2)

A tester requires necessarily to be critical with what the developer has made and delivered. 

A developer requires to perform unit tests on his code but can't make a business and functional analysis.