Where does the tester's work end and the developer's work start?

Or

Some words about working together.

In most cases, testers find bugs and report them to developers. If you're a tester, there are situations sometimes when you know the problem cause and can suggest a pretty good solution to it. If there is a serious bug that requires special knowledge, you can talk to the developers in person to discuss the problem and find a solution faster.

If you have the skills and the project source code, you might be able to solve the problem by writing some code, but coding bug fixes is almost always the developers' prerogative. So, if you understand the nature of the bug, you describe it and provide good examples, which helps the developers find a solution faster. This kind of cooperation is a key to successful testing. Testers shouldn't try to do everything by themselves.

There's often no need to discuss each minor bug with the developers. The bug-tracking system is more helpful in this case. Just create a bug report with a detailed description and the issue should get handled by the normal process. Sometimes, though, you recognize that no delay is acceptable. So, log the bug in your tracker and than go discuss it in person with the developers. That can also help you to gain authority as a qualified specialist.

There are so many ways to communicate that team members on the same project may not have much personal contact and, as result, problem reports are often misunderstood. Success depends on how well team members communicate to achieve their common goal. Testers and developers should respect each other's opinion to help them find and fix bugs fast and effectively.

There isn't a simple answer to the question of where a tester's work ends, but communication and respect will make your work easier and more appreciated.