The success of any development project isn’t dependent on just the skill of the testers. It isn’t dependent on just the skill of the programmers. The success of most projects is dependent to a large extent on the relationship that is built between the test team and the development team.
Years ago I worked for a test manager who thought it was healthy to have an abrasive relationship between the test and development teams. He believed that this friction resulted in a higher quality of the delivered product. He assumed it was acceptable to have loud shouting matches with the development manager. He frequently stormed out of meetings with the development manager.
I would sit there watching the relationship between the development manager and the test manger evolve, or rather deteriorate. I would think; if I had that sort of relationship with my counterpart in the development team the developer would never feel like fixing any of the bugs I described to him.
“If there is conflict between test and development then you’ve lost the ability to work constructively together for the benefit of the whole team.”
I’m not saying you shouldn’t disagree with developers (you should if you think there is a serious bug that they are not paying enough attention to). What I’m saying is that if you have a constitutive, positive relationship with your counterparts in the development team then you stand a much better chance of working together to do what is right to deliver the right product, to the required quality levels, within the specified time scales.
Software testing and development may be distinctly different aspects of any project but the ability to work together usually dictates the end result.