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Mission Statement, Definition of Software Testing, and Goals of Software Testing

Why I blog?
What’s the difference between a good tester and a great tester? I think the main thing is the ability to think for yourself and to be able to incorporate your experiences as a tester back into the context of your testing practices.  I think that if you look at the software testing community and pay attention to who has good ideas and who does not, you’ll find that the vast majority of people with good ideas emphasize their experience, what they have learned from it, and how they incorporate that back into their testing.

Writing about my thoughts and experiences in software testing provides an opportunity for me to take a critical look at what I thought about a subject, assess it in the context of experience and information gained since I first came to think that way, and then update or reaffirm my thoughts on the subject. It also allows me to share my thoughts, experiences, successes and failures with others, creating an additional feedback loop. That, to me, is one of the real benefits because it keeps my thoughts and beliefs relevant rather than dogmatic.

What is Software Testing?
So, if I'm planning to write about testing software, I guess I should start with what that means. If a software product is a solution to a problem, then software testing would be the activities we undertake to ensure that the solution not only addresses the problem, but that it addresses the problem correctly. Software testing transcends the traditional concept of just running test scripts on applications, and I think that’s what William Hetzel was getting at in The Complete Guide to Software Testing, when he said “testing is any activity aimed at evaluating an attribute or capability of a program or system and determining that it meets its required results.” Testing includes the analysis we perform on an oversimplified user story to find out what the meat of the story really is, the acceptance criteria we help establish, the conversations we have with the development team or product owner as the code is being written, on and on. I could even go a little on the heretical side and suggest that software testing is every activity that a tester performs that contributes to the dialog about the solution to the problem that we are trying to address.

My Purpose of Testing?
·         To ensure that the problem that is to be addressed is understood.
·         To ensure that the solution to the problem is understood.
·         To start and maintain a conversation about the problem and the solution with all involved parties while the solution is being developed.
·         To ensure that the final solution does indeed address the problem for which it was created.
·         To ensure that the problem is addressed in a complete, consistent and traceably correct manner.

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Comments

  1. Michael LarsenAugust 25, 2013 at 5:53 PM

    Wonderful opening salvo :). I'm curious to see where it leads. Good luck with this new adventure.

    --Michael

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael CorumAugust 25, 2013 at 9:46 PM

      Thanks, Michael! I truly appreciate your support and encouragement!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousAugust 25, 2013 at 6:33 PM

    Congratulations on writing your first blog post!

    I like that your description of testing that is focused on a solution to address a problem. I'd guess that your style involves working closely with developers as a team to meet a common goal, and I look forward to reading more about your experiences.

    Kim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael CorumAugust 25, 2013 at 9:50 PM

      Thanks, Kim.

      Yes, working closely with developers, BA's, SA's, PO's, and everyone else that is involved in the project for internally developed apps, but we also support COTS and hybrid projects as well, so it's quite the mixed bag. Plenty to come, so stay tuned and thanks for checking out the initial post.

      Delete
  3. aaronnssdJanuary 12, 2021 at 11:45 AM

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