The Mis-education of Software Testers: Rethinking and Relearning Software Quality

The role of the software tester is continuing to evolve, becoming more complex and more technical. As new methodologies, technologies, and platforms emerge, testers are bombarded with new, so-called "best practices" on how to do their jobs. The problem is that testers have heard the same songs with different lyrics for more than twenty years now. Clint Sprauve takes a contrarian’s view of testing and the quality assurance industry. He examines some of today’s typical testing "best practices"-keyword-driven testing, requirements traceability, the tester’s role in agile development, quality reporting, tool expertise, and quality certification programs-while providing alternative approaches for how to view each practice. If you and your organization are not satisfied with how testing is done, how the rest of the organization views testers, or the perceived value of testing, join Clint and your colleagues to challenge conventional wisdom of how testing should be done.