Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-Driven Approach

"Lessons learned in software testing" provides 293 lessons the authors learned during their many years working as software testers, test managers and consultants. This book is perhaps one of the most insightful books on testing ever written. It covers a broad range of testing issues and most of the topics are relevant outside the world of testing. To give an example, the authors discussions related to documentation, standards or licensing are not limited to testing. They clearly explain their thinking behind their arguments and parts like these are useful reads for anyone! The book is organized around 293 lessons which are a paragraph to a couple pages long. The lessons are organized around eleven chapters. At first, I was annoyed by the structure of the book, but as I got used to it, I started to appreciate the structure in different lessons. Especially since it helped the authors in expressing conflicting thoughts well. The first chapters cover the most basic questions. The first is about the role a tester has and already here the authors present a perhaps controversial view on testing as a service as opposed to as a quality police, which is often seen in larger organizations. The second chapter relates to how to think as a tester. It provides interesting references in completely different knowledge areas which might help testers become better. The third chapter is somewhat misplaced in the book, though still useful. It's a chapter that covers different testing techniques. It doesn't cover it thoroughly, but that is not the purpose of this book. For more thorough coverage of testing techniques, its probably better to pick up another book. The fourth chapter is about writing bugs. Its insightful since it especially clarifies a lot about the role of testing from the authors perspective. The fifth chapter covers test automation and makes important observations related to test automation... especially that test automation is not the same as automated manual testing. I found the wording insightful and again stresses the role of the tester and especially the skill of testers. Chapter six is perhaps one of the more controversial ones about documenting testing. As a logical conclusion from the focus on the role of tester (mentioned earlier), it makes sense to limit the documentation somewhat. Documentation is not a substitute for skill. However, they provide a balanced view and do not recommend to throw your documentation out of the window, but instead analyze your particular situation and create only the documentation that is needed. The next three chapters relate to working with other persons. First how to work with programmers, then how to manage a testing project and how to manage a testing group. Chapter ten relates to building a testing career. Also here, some of the advise is general to "a career", not specifically a testing one. The last chapter about strategy seemed to me somewhat odd. The book would have ended well with the manage your testing career and its not totally clear to me why the authors added this chapter still. It's not useless, just doesn't seem to fit in very well. All in all, the book is a good read! It's funny and very insightful and sometimes controversial. I was considering a rating of four or five stars. I was thinking about four since I did not always agree with the authors for example, on their views on test automation. Though, lots has been learned about that the last years! On the other hand, I do not know any more insightful book related to this subject. And, I'd even recommend it to people who do not do software testing at all! So, therefore I decided to go for five stars! Well worth reading!

I'm often asked to recommend a good book about software testing. Sometimes I'm even asked what I think is the best book about software testing. I usually hesitate to ever say "best", since I believe the best for me may not necessarily be the best for you. But if I had to pick just one book that I think would prove to be the most valuable across the widest range of readers, it would be Lessons Learned in Software Testing by Cem Kaner, James Bach, and Bret Pettichord. Lessons Learned is a terrific compilation of 293 "lessons" - short, real-world, easily-readable treatments of a range of topics relevant to new and seasoned testers, developers, managers, and executives. These lessons, culled from the experiences of the authors, are arranged in chapters addressing everyday topics you might face: - The Role of the Tester - Thinking Like a Tester - Testing Techniques - Bug Advocacy - Automating Testing - Documenting Testing - Interacting with Programmers - Managing the Testing Project - Managing the Testing Group - Your Career in Software Testing - Planning the Testing Strategy Of all the testing books I have on my bookshelf, this is the one I find myself coming back to time after time. I've even gone as far as purchasing a copy of this book for each member of my Test Team, and using it in group discussions. We find ourselves disagreeing about some of the points made in the book (as you will too), but we have found that virtually all of the lessons lead to a lively discussion about software, testing, and our profession. Books that are this thought-provoking are rare. I'm convinced that every software tester who reads this book will find at least a few gems that are particularly relevant for their individual situation. And I believe that most folks will find most of the book extremely valuable.

Highly recommend for senior QA. This book tells the story of my life as a QA.

Through a series of nearly 300 "lessons", the authors share their accumulated wisdom about how to test application systems - not so much which buttons to press but more how to establish and manage a test team, plan the work and dynamically adjust the testing process according to what is found and how much time is left. The chapter titles ably illustrate the book's scope: 1. Role of the tester; 2. Thinking like a tester; 3. Testing techniques; 4. Bug advocacy; 5. Automating testing; 6. Documenting testing; 7. Interacting with programmers; 8. Managing the testing project; 9. Managing the testing group; 10. Your career in software testing; 11. Planning the testing strategy; [Appendix] The context driven approach to software testing. I would definitely encourage anyone who thinks `test automation' is a great idea and is perhaps contemplating the purchase and use of automation tools, to read chapter 5 before they commit the budget and finalize the project plans. The authors eloquently explain the advantages and disadvantages of common automation techniques such as user input replay tools, providing a real-world counter to the tool vendors' optimistic sales pitches. They don't say "Forget it", rather "If you can live with these significant drawbacks, automated testing may be useful for a certain subset of testing activities". This is a good example of the pragmatism and wisdom found throughout the book. The book is not an academic treatise full of theoretical constructs/models and testing methodologies. Nor is it a step-by-step manual on how to test a system. It is an excellent read for testing practitioners who are seeking or at least open to advice on how to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. "This book is for anyone who test software, anyone who manages testers, and anyone who has to deal with testers in their software development projects. That includes project managers and executives." The hints and tips plus career development advice are valuable for testers, especially if they have a few years testing under their belts already. The technical content is minimal and should be readily understood by any IT professional while the management advice should be appreciated by those with management experience or who aspire to become managers. The book strongly encourages testers to work with developers and project managers, becoming an integral and valuable part of the team rather than an impediment to progress and a threat to delivery deadlines (lesson 12 is typically direct: "Never be the gatekeeper"!). The subtitle's reference to being `context driven' introduces a dynamic approach to testing, relating test activities to the development lifecycle and promoting those that will be of most help to the project at any point. The approach is described further in the appendix but is only subtly referenced elsewhere, unlike certain other books that insist on pushing their One Big Idea down the reader's throat at every possible opportunity. All three authors clearly have solid testing experience, some 60 work-years between them. There are also numerous (but not intrusive) citations to other helpful resources, further demonstrating the authors' pedigree. Cem Kaner, a consultant and IT professor at Florida Institute of Technology, was the lead author of Testing Computer Software, 2nd Edition , one of my all time favorite IT books. Cem also practices law. James Bach is the founder of a software testing and QA company with silicon valley experience. Bret Pettichord is an independent consultant who edits the Software Testing Hotlist and founded the Austin Workshop on Test Automation. The "lessons" format leads to a somewhat disjointed flow in places although overall the book is well-structured. At times, successive lessons are directly contradictory, again emphasizing the need for readers to be both alert and open-minded. This is another example of being `context-driven'. Which lesson you choose to follow depends on the circumstances facing you, a form of contingency planning if you will. Unusually for a published book, several critical comments from reviewers of the draft, as well as occasional differences of opinion or approach between the three authors, are included as footnotes or asides. The authors openly acknowledge the ambiguities and leave the reader to think about them and make the final decision - I like that. This is a book for grown-ups. There are valiant attempts to describe and promote `the tester's nose', that seemingly innate ability of experienced and successful testers to sniff-out aspects of the system that are likely to harbor serious bugs and to design targeted tests that will reveal them. The advice on unstructured `guerilla testing' is not quite so useful, in my opinion, but I'm impressed that the book even tackles such ephemeral concepts. Even if you only learn something new from a few of the lessons, this book is well worth the purchase price. Testers relatively new to the profession will learn more than grey-beards but even they will probably find some of the suggestions make them re-think long-established ways of working (habits) and subconscious assumptions (prejudices). In the main, the lessons are pragmatic. Some are a bit contentious, perhaps deliberately, and most are both thought provoking and helpful. Bottom line: recommended for any thinking person involved in application testing including development project managers and IT auditors.

I am a professional software tester. I found this book to be very good, full of great advice. I followed their advice of reading a little bit at a time - every day I read the book for 10 minutes. I was able to finish the book in just under 2 months. Would recommend this method for reading this book, because it is quite long. The book changed my philosophy on testing. I was starting to get a bit bored at my job because I am asked to run the same set of tests over and over. Now, instead of looking at those tests as just a list of tests I have to run exactly the same each time, I look at each test as a jumping off point to explore the application in more depth and find more bugs. I think the thing that I loved the most about this book is how the authors are so interested in testing and different methodologies. They are kinda like the "cool" teacher you had in high school, they make testing seem interesting! (I mean, it is, but after a while in testing, if you are at the wrong company, it can seem less interesting). If you've gotten burnt out on testing, this book can give you your spark back! The only small criticism I have is that the way the sections were organized seemed a little odd. Oh well, definately not enough to give this book any less than 5 stars!

This isn't my first copy of the book, nor the first time I've "read" the book. Why "read"? The book is a series of smaller lessons across the broader topic of software testing. Sometimes I'll read all the lessons in a chapter; other times I'll read just a single lesson: it depends on the context of the challenge I'm currently facing.

Condition of the book seems good and brand new but the cover of the book was dented.

This is the first book any tester should read, as it will prime them to think the right way about what it is that we DO! If you are truly interested in increasing your skill-craft as a tester, then you should be heavily involved in the context-driven testing community, or which James Bach is the leader. The thing I love most about this book is that it does not have to be read from start to finish. It is divided up into over 200 lessons that are somewhat related but mostly can stand alone. These can be read in 5-15 minutes each, so a tester could digest these topics in their downtime or off-hours if you are really interested in becoming a better tester. Start with this book, then read James Bach's 'Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar' and Daniel Khaneman's 'Thinking Fast and Slow'. You'll be off to a good start, then dive into the blogs (satisfice.com, developsense.com, etc.) and the rest of the community.

Me lo estoy leyendo con tarjetitas al lado, para anotar cosas importantes o llamativas, y ya he escrito en unas cuantas. Tiene alguna que otra lección muy útil y aprovechable. Yo estoy empezando en esto del testing, y me está ayudando a acomodar la cabeza. Ahora, no sirve para aprender qué tipo de testing hay y cuándo usar cada uno, para eso hay otros muchos libros (e internet). En fin, que lo recomiendo, para leer un par de "lessons" cada día. Además, como las secciones son temáticas, puedes irte a la que te esté dando más problemas cada día (¿qué hago con estos malditos desarrolladores que no me hacen caso? ¿automatizo esto?) y sacar algún consejillo. Es, de hecho, como hablar con alguien que controla y te aconseja.

Bon produit

Leitura essencial para testadores. Tem tudo que você precisa saber.

I have received the book on time which is very good. The paper of the book is not high quality.

This book is written from testers for testers. And that is good. Therefore it shows the realy important things which are relevant in daily practice working as tester, in test management or in test automation. For example when you think that testing is only executingof well prepared script based testcases you're completely wrong! 'State of the art' testing is much more - espacially in daily practice. After reading the short 'lessons' of this book, I bet it will change your mind about everything you heard about testing before! To do the testing work WELL (including test management and test automation) I would strongly recommend to read this book! From my point of view every 'lesson' of this book is its money worth! kind regards from Germany, Ralf