Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
As the complexities of software development and implementation have increased over the past decade, the importance of software testing has become more readily apparent. No longer is it OK to put out minimally tested software. It is widely known that even heavily tested software will have bugs. Most likely a lot of them!
According to the authors, there are few machines or facilities that are not controlled by software or at least contain software. Whether it is your DVD player, your microwave or your car, it has software in it. Do you really want the breaking system in your car to have bugs in it as you are driving your family on vacation next summer?
Many companies are beginning to realizing the importance of taking an organized, systematic approach to improving their software. They are doing this by creating quality control departments whose job it is to ensure the reliability of their software before it gets into the consumers hands.
The new trend is to require these departments to have formal training in the methods of quality testing. Within the last 18 months more than 40,000 people worldwide have taken the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Foundations Level exam, 10,000 alone in the last 4 months. The ISTQB has developed a universally accepted, international; qualification scheme aimed at software and system testing professionals, and has created the syllabi and tests for the "Certified Tester".
Andreas Spillner, Tilo Linz, and Hans Schaefer; who are among the founding members of the ISTQB, have created Software Testing Foundations 2nd Edition so that you can gain all of the necessary knowledge to pass the "Certified Tester – Foundations Level" exam. This updated edition also contains more recent topics, such as test-first approach and risk-based testing.
The books seven chapters cover all aspects of the exam. Starting with "The Basics of Software Testing" which gets you started with terminology and the fundamental testing process and finishing with the psychology of testing and general principles.
"Testing in the Software Lifecycle" explains the role of testing in the entire lifecycle using the general "V-Model". The V-Model holds that development and testing are of equal importance and are corresponding activities. The chapter explains component testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing as well as generic testing.
"Static Testing" covers structured group examinations and static analysis. "Dynamic Analysis" handles black box testing as well as white box testing.
"Test Management" gives insight on how to organize test teams, which team member qualifications are important, the tasks of a test manager and which supporting processes must be present for efficient testing. The final chapter "Test Tools" explains the types of testing tools that are available and how to select the appropriate tool for testing. There are also three appendices covering the exam it self as well as exercises to help you get ready for the exam.
If you are wanting to pursue taking the ISTQB test and you want to make sure that you have all of your bases covered, Software Testing Foundations will give you that head start. It will provide a solid foundation for your study of software testing.
