Go Sleuthing with the Right Test Technique

Although much information is available on test design techniques, very little is written on how to select which techniques to use for the job at hand. Derk-Jan de Grood believes that many testers find it difficult to select the right techniques and very often use a technique simply because they know it. Instead, the best reason is that the technique is likely to discover the most important errors quickly. Derk-Jan shares his insights on test technique selection and poses three questions you should ask yourself when selecting a technique: What types of errors do I want to find? What impact do these errors have in production? Is the needed information to perform these tests available? He then lays out a list of common test techniques and discusses which error types they are most likely to discover. Take back a new understanding of test technique choice and selection to become a better software defect sleuth.