RecordMove

User experience analyst to digital games tester

A user experience analyst already meets 33% of what the digital games tester role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From user experience analyst

Distant match

To digital games tester

16 You already bring

8 Still to learn

38 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

66.4/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a digital games tester is expected to do is already part of a user experience analyst’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the digital games tester role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A digital games tester role treats 1 of its required skills as things a user experience analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

application usability

What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A digital games tester role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a user experience analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held software interaction design information and communication technologies (icts)
already held measure software usability constructing
already held human-computer interaction information and communication technologies (icts)
already held application usability information and communication technologies (icts)
already held LDAP information and communication technologies (icts)
already held MDX information and communication technologies (icts)

All 16 carried skills, including the 1 the digital games tester role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 22 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 5 supplementary

still to learn provide software testing documentation required
still to learn address problems critically required

optional, not held compose digital game story optional
optional, not held create concept of digital game optional
optional, not held demonstrate functionality of video games optional
optional, not held develop ICT test suite optional
optional, not held develop automated software tests optional

02 working with computers 2 required, 5 supplementary

still to learn execute software tests required
still to learn replicate customer software issues required

optional, not held create game testing software optional
optional, not held conduct ICT code review optional
optional, not held debug software optional
optional, not held perform software recovery testing optional
optional, not held use scripting programming optional

03 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn levels of software testing required
still to learn software anomalies required

optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional

04 arts and humanities 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn digital game genres required

optional, not held principles of animation optional

05 information skills 1 required

still to learn report test findings required

06 management skills 1 supplementary

optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a digital games tester role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 16 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held application usability knowledge
already held Agile project management knowledge
already held ICT project management methodologies knowledge
already held LDAP knowledge
already held LINQ knowledge
already held MDX knowledge
already held N1QL knowledge
already held Process-based management knowledge
already held SPARQL knowledge
already held XQuery knowledge
already held human-computer interaction knowledge
already held lean project management knowledge
already held measure software usability skill
already held query languages knowledge
already held resource description framework query language knowledge
already held software interaction design knowledge

14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held compose digital game story optional
optional, not held create concept of digital game optional
optional, not held create game testing software optional
optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
optional, not held conduct ICT code review optional
optional, not held debug software optional
optional, not held demonstrate functionality of video games optional
optional, not held develop ICT test suite optional
optional, not held develop automated software tests optional
optional, not held perform software recovery testing optional
optional, not held principles of animation optional
optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional
optional, not held use scripting programming optional
optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional

29 held skills the digital games tester role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
not needed by the target role World Wide Web Consortium standards knowledge
not needed by the target role analyse business requirements skill
not needed by the target role apply systemic design thinking skill
not needed by the target role assess users' interaction with ICT applications skill
not needed by the target role behavioural science knowledge
not needed by the target role cognitive psychology knowledge
not needed by the target role conduct qualitative research skill
not needed by the target role conduct quantitative research skill
not needed by the target role conduct research interview skill
not needed by the target role create prototype of user experience solutions skill
not needed by the target role create website wireframe skill
not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
not needed by the target role execute ICT user research activities skill
not needed by the target role forecast future ICT network needs skill
not needed by the target role identify ICT user needs skill
not needed by the target role identify technological needs skill
not needed by the target role interactive media knowledge
not needed by the target role manage localisation skill
not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
not needed by the target role online moderation techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role perform market research skill
not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
not needed by the target role software metrics knowledge
not needed by the target role test system accessibility for users with special needs skill
not needed by the target role use access control software skill
not needed by the target role use experience map skill
not needed by the target role visual presentation techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role web analytics knowledge

6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn digital game genres required
still to learn levels of software testing required
still to learn software anomalies required
optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
optional, not held principles of animation optional
optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional

Index

Other moves recorded from user experience analyst

Full index of moves from user experience analyst

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a user experience analyst become a digital games tester?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A user experience analyst already covers 33% of what a digital games tester is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 1 of which the digital games tester role treats as required.

What skills does a user experience analyst need to become a digital games tester?

8 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is digital game genres.

How hard is the move from user experience analyst to digital games tester?

Its learning distance is 66.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.