Critical Testing Processes: Plan, Prepare, Perform, Perfect

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by: Rex Black

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On-line Price: $83.95 (includes GST) Paperback package 608 20%Off Retail Price You save: $21.00 TBA - Subject to Change. Price/availability/options for all orders will be confirmed by reply email before processing.	Retail Price: $104.95 Publisher: ADDISON-WESLEY,2003/08/01 Category: SOFTWARE ENGINEERING Level: /I/A ISBN: 0201748681 ISBN13: 9780201748680
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Summary

      The advent of agile methodologies and test-driven development has brought software testing to the forefront of application development. Yet in today's harried rush-to-market development environment, organizations must find a delicate balance between product release and product quality.

  In Critical Testing Processes, the author distills knowledge gained from 20 years of testing experience into twelve critical processes. These include highly visible processes by which peers and management judge competence, and mission-critical processes in which performance affects the company's profits and reputation.

  After each process is introduced, the author demonstrates its use through an engaging case study. Instead of cumbersome regulations, this book provides checklists--lightweight, flexible tools for implementing process-oriented testing, gathering metrics, and making incremental process changes. By demonstrating critical processes in various organizational, operational, and technological contexts, this book shows readers how to:

      Handle recurrent tests efficiently and consistently

Develop a cohesive, cooperative team that sidesteps redundancies

Build a reputation for reliability through the effective communication of test results

Define the focus of tests for maximum customer satisfaction and organizational success

  Because testing is a collaborative process with the participation of staff throughout the organization, the author discusses interpersonal and cultural issues in depth. This book also devotes ample coverage to the often-overlooked areas of planning and perfecting tests. Whatever your role in testing--from test engineering to managing hundreds of test engineers--Critical Testing Processes will offer valuable insights into what you do, why it's important, and how you can perform better.

          0201748681B04222003

Table of Contents

Preface.

Introduction.

  I. PLAN.

      1. Start with the Big Picture: Put the Testing Role in the Broader Context.

  A Testing Process.

Understanding Operational and Organizational Context.

Introducing the Sumatra Project and the SpeedyWriter Test Team.

Testing within the System Development Lifecycle.

Organizing the Testers and the Testing.

Management Dimensions.

Beyond Testing Process Context.

      2. Focus the Effort: Analyze Quality Risks.

  A Quality Risks Analysis Process.

Jamal Introduces the Team to Quality Risk Analysis.

Recognize a Good Quality Risk Analysis Process.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

      3. Gaze into the Crystal Ball: Estimate the Work Ahead.

  An Estimation Process.

An Index-Card Approach to Building Work-Breakdown-Structures.

Jamal Predicts the Future.

Using Rules of Thumb for Rough Estimation.

Effort, Duration, and Dependencies.

Moving on to Dollars and Cents.

      4. It?s Not What It Costs, It?s What It Saves: Budgets and Return on Investment.

  Analyzing Return on Investment for Testing.

Calculating Defect Costs, by Ed Weller.

Jamal Prepares the Bill?and the Justification.

Do the Fast Always Eat the Slow?

Moving Forward, Then Looking Back.

      5. From Estimate to Baseline: Obtain Commitment to Realistic, Actionable, Truthful Estimates.

  Selling the Estimate.

Jamal Makes His Case.

Recognize a Good Estimation Process.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

      6. Gain and Communicate Insights: Plan the Test Effort.

  A Test Planning Process.

Jamal Has a Plan.

Beyond the Process: Key Considerations for the Test Plan.

Getting Everyone On-Board.

      7. From Suggestion to Commitment: Assemble Stakeholder Support for Good Test Plans.

  Jamal Makes His Pitch.

Recognize a Good Test Planning Process.

What About Cookie-Cutter Plans?

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

  II. PREPARE.

          8. Bring on the Great Testers: The How and Who of Hiring.

  A Team-Building Process.

Variations on the Team-Building Process.

The Sumatra Test Team Grows.

Identifying and Managing the Critical Test Team Skills.

Regarding Test Technicians.

Test Team Staffing Variations: Temporary Assignment, Rotation, Farm Team, and Backwater.

Education, Training, Certification, and the Professionalization of Testing.

Attitude Matters Too.

Beyond the Obvious Interview Questions.

Hiring in a Nutshell, by Deborah McCandless.

From Adding People to Growing Skills.

      9. Grow Excellent Test Teams: Skills, Attitudes, and Career Paths.

  Jamal And Lin-Tsu Discuss Skills Growth.

Using Skills Assessment as a Career-Growth and Team Management Tool.

The Critical Skills Spreadsheet: Open Record or Private Personnel Information?

Recognize a Good Team-Building Process.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

      10. Archimedes Bathtub: Design and Implement Test Systems.

  A Test System Design and Implementation Process.

Emma Creates Stress on the Job.

Three Crucial Considerations.

Shifting to the Management Picture.

      11. Fill the Bathtub: Test System Coverage and Quality.

  A Brief Survey of Test Coverage Analysis Techniques.

Jamal Assesses Coverage.

Recognize a Good Test System Design and Implementation Process.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

  III. PERFORM.

          12. An Essential Handoff: Manage Test Releases.

  A Test Release Process.

The Big Build Hits the Test Lab.

Recognize a Good Test Release Process.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

      13. Assess Quality: Execute Test Cases.

  A Test Execution Process.

Test Tracking Worksheets.

The Attack on the Big Build.

Recognize a Good Test Execution Process.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

  IV. PERFECT.

          14. Where Quality Falls Short: Report Bugs.

  A Bug Reporting Process.

A Big Bug in the Big Build.

Beyond the Failure Description.

Recognize a Good Bug Reporting Process.

Handle Challenges.

Should We Use Test Scripts or Procedures in Bug Reports?

Implement Improvements.

      15. Illuminate the Fourth Element: Report the Test Results.

  A Test Results Reporting Process.

Jamal Defines a Dashboard--and Reports on the Big Build?s Test Results.

Recognize a Good Results Reporting Process.

How to Waste Time and Money on Useless Status Reports.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Improvements.

      16. Leverage Opportunities to Learn: Manage Change and Its Effects on Testing.

  A Change Management Process.

Jamal Makes a Case--and Accommodates.

An Interconnected Process.

Recognize a Good Change Management Process.

Handle Challenges.

Implement Changes.

      17. Return to the Big Picture: Perfect the Testing Process.

  A Testing Process.

Recognize a Good Test Process.

A Case-Study in the Effects of Inconsistent Process Maturity on a Medical.

Software Team Merger.

Handle Challenges.

Incremental Process Improvement.

A Martial-Arts Process for Process Improvement.

Implement Improvements.

Jamal Brown Looks Back--and Looks Forward.

Conclusion.

      Glossary.

Bibliography.

Index.