A Bible for Software Testing? 34
An anonymous reader asks: "I'm soon to be starting a position in software testing and wondered (well hoped) if Slashdot readers had recommendations for reading, in terms of dealing with testing from the trenches and management of the process. I've read a number of general software engineering texts, but what I'm looking for is a specific 'bible' on software testing that will get me in the right mindset, before I begin."
get certified, don't worry too much (Score:5, Informative)
By the way, I'm a software tester, and I hate my job. And don't worry about being too over-prepared for your job. All the testing jobs I've had (4 now) have been pretty simple. The first day on the job, you'll be introduced to your new computer, and if you are lucky, your co-workers. After that they will give you a bunch of documentation to look through and in about 2-4 weeks you will begin testing from scripts. It's the easiest, most mind-numbing job for a computer professional. Not fun if you ask me... If you are detail-oriented, and not problem-solving oriented, it might be a good match for you. But don't expect to do much thinking on the job...
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2)
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2, Funny)
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:1)
Actually I've been over and over that topic with management at my various jobs.
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2)
On my last few projects, I did both automated unit tests and automated end-to-end tests, right from the beginning of the project. Developers are the ones in control of the unit tests, but I like the product managers and/or QA to be in control of the end-to-end tests.
In my experience, having test suites like t
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2)
I just got to see a presentation from him this past Saturday. He's a sharp guy.
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2)
"Debugging : the nine indispensable rules for finding even the most elusive software and hardware problems"
Here's some reviews [programming-reviews.com]
This lays out some rules incredibly clearly... some of the rules will cause you to say "Duh, that's obvious" but there will be others that make you say "Doh, I should have been doing this already!"
My 0.02
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2)
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:4, Interesting)
If you want to continue in QA I suggest you look into getting some experience with automated tools. You will do a lot of coding and problem solving with those. It is a good fit for someone who enjoys coding but either is not good enough or just doesn't want to be a full time developer. Also there is a big demand for these skills.
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2, Informative)
If you are unhappy with the level of challenge at work, then I suggest you improve your skillset and look for work elsewher
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:get certified, don't worry too much (Score:2)
My experience 'only' took a week but was just so mindless - if you do QA fo
Certified, shmertified (Score:3, Informative)
By the way, I'm a software tester, and I hate my job. And don't worry about being too over-prepared for your job. All the testing jobs I've had (4 now) have been pretty simple.
You must be a contractor. I have been in software testing for 11 years now, and it can get very complicated. Of course, every place you work looks at testing different
Re:Certified, shmertified (Score:2, Informative)
Nope, not a contractor. I was a contractor for 2 of the 4 positions, but the first and last jobs were straight up jobs. I never got certifi
Re:Certified, shmertified (Score:2)
Actually, I have found that it has helped me. You know what colleges turn out? Programmers. I got a BS-CS, so I did my share of programming. My job out of
Re:Certified, shmertified (Score:3, Interesting)
Second that! I may want to swear at some of our testers when they send my "fixed" bugs right back at me, but they do find important defects (and just as important, they will document the steps & environment necessary to duplicate them). We the developers suggest test cases, but the better testers go well beyond that and design their own test cases that really stress the system.
It's not a job I would want (did enough hardware testing early in my ca
Testing Computer Software (Score:5, Informative)
by Kaner, Falk, Nguyen
You can't go wrong with this one.
Testing Computer Software (Score:5, Informative)
by Cem Kaner, Jack L. Falk, Hung Quoc Nguyen, Jack Falk, Hung Q. Nguyen
If you plan on doing this as a career I am sure you will encounter something by James Bach, IMO he is overated and a bit of an ass (sent me outside a classroom because I didn't have any questions for him?! So I came up with a lame question I already knew the answer to and proceeded to fall asleep for the rest of the lecture).
Good Beginner Text (Score:2, Informative)
Here's what's on my bookshelf (Score:5, Informative)
Lessons learned in software testing [amazon.co.uk] - A good introduction
Software Testing [amazon.co.uk] - A whole load of thing you'd never think off
Software test automation:Effective use of test execution tools [amazon.co.uk] - A bible for implememting automated testing
How to break software [amazon.co.uk] - crashing apps by forcing error conditions
How to break software security [amazon.co.uk] - similar to above, but with security in mind
How To Break Software (Score:5, Informative)
How To Break Software [howtobreaksoftware.com] by Dr. James Whittaker.
I was able to attend a "virtual lecture" by Dr. Whittaker thanks to a former employer. He not only understands the root causes for most bugs, but understands the core competencies that the best software testers have.
The Art of Software Testing (Score:3, Informative)
Sure it costs a fortune, and its old, but the stuff in it stands the test of time. Definatly a must have if you're testing any software that just cannot have a critical failure.
Software Testing in the Real World (Score:4, Informative)
If you're not at a managerial level and need more localized nuts-and-bolts information, I'll second the recommendation everybody else is making - Testing Computer Software [amazon.com] by Kaner/Falk/Nguyen.
If you want to get certified, you can find out about that here [softwarece...ations.com]. As part of running tests to certify people, the Software Quality Institute maintains a current list of books here [softwarece...ations.com] for Certified Software Test Engineers and here [softwarece...ations.com] for Certified Software Quality Analysts.
(I'm signed up to take the CSTE next month.)
Re:Software Testing in the Real World (Score:2)
I feel your pain. I'm to sit for my CSTE in September. The study guide from QAI is one of the most bloated, poorly-written books I've ever had the misfortune of reading.
And since the CSTE isn't like an MCSE, there's not a plethora of other (read:better) study guides on the market to turn to.
Re:Software Testing in the Real World (Score:2)
I guess I'm glad I didn't buy it, then! My plan was just to review the various and sundry QA-related books I've bought in the past (including the two I mentioned in my post) and buy one or two new ones. If I take their claims about the test at face value, combining that sort of review with my relevant industry experience should suffice for the CSTE.
The C
From the Software Testing Bible ... (Score:2)
Ok. Cheap joke. I know.
Depending on the type of testing... (Score:3)
What you'll need depends on what the corporate culture is for QA there and how much initiative and experience you're bringing to the table. Several people have suggested good books on testing and breaking software already, so just a few things I'd recommend on the practical...
If you're taking the programmer angle, take a look at "Building Secure Software" by Viega and McGraw. If the product runs on Windows, I'd also suggest "Debugging Applications for .NET and Windows" by Jon Robbins.
Whether you code or not, I'd also recommend GUI Bloopers by Johnson - there's a lot more to testing software than just finding where it crashes, and GUI issues are one place where problems are often swept under the rug. Look for inconsistencies in how the software responds to the user, and point those out to developers.
Use revision control software like CVS and keep any scripts and automation projects you do in there - they can be almost as important as the product's code. Also make sure there's a way to track bug histories available - I've walked into some shops that did it all purely by email and word of mouth, which is a great way to ship forgotten bugs. Bugzilla and Mantis are the two I've used.
Remember that the developers and management should strongly appreciate it when you find problems with the software, but more often than not they'll be behind schedule and a bit bitchy when you do your job well and find issues with their code - it's part of being in testing. They'll likely want to brush off things they find 'minor' entirely near ship date - you can keep those marked as low priority, but get them into the bug tracker!
Try to learn how to let people know there's a problem w/o being abrasive, and if you're working with a good team you'll likely find the developers are happy to help you out if you need anything to make your process smoother. Don't be afraid to ask for features that make testing easier.
And probably most importantly - when you do find a problem, make sure you know *exactly* how to repeat it or do your best to find out and let the developers know. That can mean the difference between a 5-minute fix by a developer and a few days of developer time before a fix. There are a couple of QA guys I've worked with that I wish I could drag with me whenever I switch products/companies simply because of how detailed their bug reports are.
Just my $0.2...
Careful with that QA moniker (Score:2)
Software Testing Class Site (Score:1)
http://www.eng.mu.edu/corlissg/198.2001/
good book not quite bible level (Score:2, Informative)