Ever wondered what it takes to become the top tester? Well, now is your chance to find out! We’d like you to meet Zerwikaptur from Germany, currently dominating the Top Birds list with 13.350 experience points. You’ll also find a picture of him in his testing gear: a Testbirds t-shirt we awarded him after he reached 10.000 experience points.
In his words
In the Nest I am known as Zerwikaptur. I’m 28 years old and live in Duisburg, Germany with my wife and two children. During my East Asian studies I started my own company supporting Asian entrepreneurs who started (or wanted to start) their business in the Ruhrgebiet part of Germany.
Testbirds in magazines
Since most of these companies were involved in the mobile devices sector in one way or another (and I did not know too much about that stuff back in 2011), I began to learn about relevant hardware and software by reading different magazines. In one of these magazines I read about Testbirds, so I signed up and did my first test of an app. I had an iPhone 3GS back then, but did not really use it much. I wanted to change that and learn more about how I could benefit from its functions and maybe even learn something for my own business.
Hunting for Bugs
During my first test I was completely lost and without the support of my Birdmaster I would have ended my testing “career” right at that point. The support was (and still is) this direct, quick, and friendly support, which makes it fun to test for Testbirds. Nevertheless, back then I was not so sure if I’d like to do this kind of work middle to long term. But, as I always do, I set myself the goal to complete at least 50 tests before making a final decision. After my first 20 tests I was still very confused and often said to myself “Is this a bug?”, “How can I record it quickly?”, “Oh no, again another Bird was faster than me in submitting that Bug”. Then, I slowly started to use different tools and got a faster internet connection, and my productivity went way up. With that raise in productivity the fun came, and more and more of my Bugs were approved. Having already tested and reviewed a lot of apps, it also became easier to formulate usability feedback. While in the past I did not know what to write, today my sentences write themselves more or less on their own.
Bug-Testing
And one day it became a real addiction and still is: It doesn’t matter so much what kind of app or website I’m testing, it has just become a great feeling to find Bugs (especially critical ones!) and to receive an email with the “Your Bug has been approved” message. However, the “disadvantage” is that now even in my free time I “screen/test” every app and website I use for Bugs or usability issues.
Top Birds
When I saw my name on the Top Birds list in the Nest, I was well over my goal of completing at least 50 tests, so I decided to set myself new goals: the first was to be in the top 10 Birds… Then top 5… Top 3. And then I started to think that the Bird “GPS89” was at the top for way too long and I checked after each approved test and Bug how many experience points I was still behind “GPS89”. At the end of 2014 I was finally on top! Obviously, I will not give up the first place again. And I’ve set myself a new goal: To test an app or website for Testbirds which is perfect. One that is completely user-friendly and has no Bugs.’Till this day I keep testin’Thanks for sharing your story with us Zerwikaptur! We’re glad you’re a part of our tester community, and we look forward to seeing you in next tests. 
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About the author
Josephine cares for our Spanish & English speaking crowd and is bringing some Latin spirit into the team. She is improving her German on a daily basis and surprises us with tricky words such as “Brandschutzbeauftragter”.
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Testbirds specialises in the testing of software such as apps, websites and Internet of Things applications by using innovative technologies and solutions. Under the slogan, “Testing Reality”, the company offers various testing methods to its clients looking to optimise the user-friendliness and functionality of their digital products. With over 250,000 registered testers located in 193 countries, Testbirds is one of the world’s leading crowdtesting providers. In addition, the IT service provider utilises cloud based technologies to support customers in the optimisation of their digital products. The combination of the two testing methods delivers a unique and extensive portfolio that takes the quality of software to the next level. Testbirds was founded in 2011 by Philipp Benkler, Georg Hansbauer and Markus Steinhauser. Today, the company has over 100 employees. Other than its headquarters in Munich, there are now offices in Amsterdam, London and Stockholm, franchises in Hungary and Russia and sales partners in Italy.
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