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My sample is not complete, but I will say that testing books, like Cem Kaner's Testing Computer Software , can be practical and speak to the person planning and doing the testing; or can be methodology-oriented, such as Productive Software Test Management by Michael Evans (now out of print).
Software Testing in the Real World , by Edward Kit, is similar in approach to a textbook, but lacks the exercises and complete tutorial coverage that would make it the main textbook in a college course. The book is not laden with examples, but does speak well to the state of practice in the industry, without pushing any one product or method. And Kit very clearly communicates his conviction that improving the testing process will lead to better products for the customer.
Some of the main ideas of the book are:
Verification examines the documents that are "deliverables" early in the timeline of a project: requirements and functional specifications. Validation works with code, when the project has progressed enough to have an implementation that can be demonstrated. Validation, testing working code -- often with a black-box approach -- is what many of us think of when we think of testing.
Software Testing in the Real World , which is part of the ACM Press imprint of Addison-Wesley, is clearly written and cleanly edited. But I wish this book had done two things better than it does. I wish Kit had fleshed out the sections that draw on his personal experience, and that there had been examples of how to accomplish certain tasks, especially writing a test plan. If Kit had written my own test plan for me, that would have been best of all! (I must say there are good examples of a verification techniques and walkthroughs provided in the appendix.)
Kit has ample consulting and seminar-leading experience and -- with his low-key style -- could have offered more personal experience without falling into the "chatty technical author" trap or endless stories about how Microsoft succeeded or failed with such and such a development tactic.
Fleshing out some of the information (often provided in bullet-list form), could have supported the "real world" in the book's title and added more value. And, since Kit has worked with many software companies in addition to Microsoft, this would have provided a welcome change from testing and development books that draw many of their examples from Microsoft.
Whenever Kit does provide useful personal experiences and asides, it works; such as detailing how management may not always sign on to early testing, or how recipients of walkthroughs feel to be on a "hot seat" and become defensive. (All inspections and walkthroughs should be approached not as a criticism of the producer but rather of the product.)
One strong area for examples is the appendices, containing example checklists for code and manuals, and an example of how experienced testers would provide comments while walking through a requirements document. The book is also strong on providing references to other literature in the field.
I like Software Testing in the Real World . Sometimes Kit's definition of "real-world" is different than mine, and some of the text depends upon IEEE standards that the reader might not have immediate access to. Despite these minor flaws, Software Testing in the Real World would be good as background reading in a course or for professional development.
-- Doug Nickerson (dougnickerson@yahoo.com)
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Explanation of ERCB rating scale:
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