Perfect Software: And Other Illusions About Testing - Softcover

Weinberg, Gerald M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0932633692 ISBN 13: 9780932633699

Publisher: Dorset House, 2008

Synopsis

Everyone has a role to play in software testing -- even people outside a project team. Testers, developers, managers, customers, and users shape the process and results of testing, often unwittingly. Rather than continue to generate stacks of documents and fuel animosity, testers can cultivate rich opportunities and relationships by integrating an effective testing mentality into any process.

Jerry Weinberg, author of The Psychology of Computer Programming and more than forty nonfiction books, sets out to disprove destructive notions about testing and testers in Perfect Software And Other Illusions About Testing. With a blend of wit, storytelling, and jaw-dropping insight that has won him fans around the world, Weinberg deftly separates what is expected, significant, and possible in software testing. He destroys fallacies and steers readers clear of common mistakes.

We test because people are not perfect, and simply testing more does not guarantee better quality. This book guides test strategy development that's scalable for any project.

Topics include:

- Why Not Just Test Everything?
- Information Immunity
- What Makes a Test Good?
- Major Fallacies About Testing
- Determining Significance
- Testing Without Machinery
- and much more.

About this title

About the Author

Internationally respected for his innovative thinking on both human and technical issues, Gerald M. Weinberg focuses on ways to help people improve their productivity. A highly influential author, lecturer, and consultant, he draws on experiences gained in all three roles, as well as from a long technical career as a software developer and researcher. Jerry has written on topics ranging from computer systems and programming to education and problem solving -- and most recently, on writing, itself, and fiction. He is the author of more than forty books.

Review

Finally! A book about software testing written by someone who actually understands software testing. I consider Jerry to be the greatest living tester. Jerry tests everything. Jerry tests me. . . . Read this and get your head straight about testing. --James Bach, consulting software tester, author of Lessons Learned in Software Testing

This concise and cogent book -- a gift to testers -- explodes myths about what testing can and can't do. We'll each want at least two copies -- one for our own bookshelves, and another to hand to our clients so that they can better understand precisely how we can help them. --Michael Bolton, tester, trainer, and consultant, DevelopSense

Edition details

• Publisher: Dorset House
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0932633692
• ISBN 13: 9780932633699
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 200