If there is one job that many software analysts and programmers cannot stand, it is testing software on the path to launch. The grinding concentration and repetitive nature of the tasks serve to drive many techies around the bend.
Testing—due in no small part to the resistance it meets in some cubicles—is often treated as an afterthought at immature IT organizations, says HBS professor Robert Austin. Yet this attitude is unwise, because the sooner bugs are caught, the easier and cheaper they are to correct.
But who is best suited to control and manage the tests? The surprising answer may be found in a group of people previously thought to have a crippling condition: autism spectrum disorder (ASD).