Customer Reviews

Advanced Software Testing - Vol. 1: Guide to the ISTQB Advanced Certification as an Advanced Test Analyst (Rockynook Computing)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The book covers the minimum of the ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst exam but it does it in a chaotic way. The book is mainly written as a poem, not a technical book. It does not help organize the knowledge we gain while reading.

Chapters 1 and 2 are quite ok (however, experienced testers will not find anything relevant here).

Chapter 3 (Test and Risk management) is quite acceptable however there are too many repetitions from ISTQB Foundation on every page.

Chapter 4 (Test techniques) is much too long, there are some errors in the examples (the same one through the whole book - this is irritating and too schematic) and the reader needs to go through a lot of information that are very subjective and specific only to the writer's company experience. Despite that I think that certain techniques (like cause-effect graphing or boundary value analysis) have been shown quite well and are quite easy to understand even for the novice.

The rest of chapters is acceptable but the way the book is written makes it very user unfriendly.

The examples on which the author tries to explain testing techniques are too 'heavy' - no one on the exam will generate state-transition table with 78 rows or a classification tree with 43 combinations simply because each exam question is given 3 minutes on average to answer.

The book is worth buying mainly for the sample exam questions that come along at the end of each chapter.

I wouldn't have bought this book if I had had a chance to browse through it.

If you are like me, you read the reviews and then get confused because some are glowing and some are 1-stars. I'll try to add a little perspective. First, the intended audience for this book is the person studying for the ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst exam. If that is not you, then you may well wonder what makes the information advanced.

This book follows the new ISTQB advanced syllabus closely. If you are studying on your own, you will find this book covers all the topics that will be on the exam. I used this book to prepare for the advanced test analyst exam and credit it for helping me pass.

I have over 20 years software testing experience, have written over 50 training courses in software testing, and am the co-author of Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing: A People-Oriented Approach. Yet, I still needed the ISTQB perspective on boundary value analysis, state-transition testing and defect management. I could have taken the test cold, but due to the slight variations in terminology understanding and other subtle details, I probably would have failed.

Rex was closely involved in the creation of the new advanced syllabus, so the information is about as close to the source as you can get.

The sample exam questions were also helpful. I liked the readability of the book and frankly didn't see the negatives the other reviewers wrote about.

I don't think any testing book is perfect, but this one will get you where you want to be in preparing for the ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst exam.

Rex Black's book provides the much needed details and relevant and realistic examples that the ISTQB exam syllabus just cannot provide. What better source of information for passing the exam than ISTQB executive member Rex Black who is instrumental in designing the exam itself! Thank you for this book!

The book is well organized and laid out graphically, so that it is easy to pick out the parts that can be skimmed, the tough parts to spend time working through, and the glossary terms and lists to memorize. The examples are very relevant (this person writes the actual test, folks), and give good feedback as to whether the reader is ready or not to pass the exam. All relevant analysis methods are covered complete with diagrams, tables and matrices, and narratives.

Personal experience verified that Mr. Black was accessible when I had issues with the book. The email address he provided on the copyright page of the book was used to contact him, and he responded promptly, having looked into the issue and resolved it within half a day. Bravo! I would not expect this type of response from anyone running a business, serving on international boards, and producing multiple, lengthy, technical books each year.

Rex Black's books provide us professionals who want to take the ISTQB exams a great value. Thank you for writing them. The syllabus does not provide enough to study from and courses are inconvenient and cost too much money. Rex Black's books are just what we needed! They are also well written and easy to follow, and well organized.

I'm the author of the two books in the Advanced Software Testing series. I wrote it primarily for ISTQB Advanced Test Manager and Advanced Test Analyst candidates, using RBCS' accredited Advanced Test Manager and Advanced Test Analyst courses as the basis. As such, it has some features I included especially for such exam candidates:

- Extensive sample exam questions, written according to ISTQB exam question style guides and based on the same learning objectives that serve as the basis for all ISTQB Advanced exams
- A running project, HELLOCARMS, that serves as the basis of realistic exercises (with fully worked-out solutions), just like those required for accredited live and e-learning training courses
- Chapters and sections that exactly follow the breakdown of the Advanced syllabus for Advanced Test Manager and Advanced Test Analyst topics (rather than forcing the reader to use a complex traceability matrix to map back to the syllabus for exam preparation).

Whether you use these books for exam preparation, or just as an advanced book on test analysis and/or management, you should expect to invest a lot of time in the sample exam questions and especially the exercises. If you are looking for a casual read on entry-level testing topics, this book is definitely not for you.

I hope you find the book a useful study guide and/or reference.

Regards,
Rex Black
President, RBCS

O livro Chegou conforme Prazo estipulado, Rápido Bem foi.
Livro em perfeitas Condições e Sendo Exatamente Como o Descrito Pelo Vendedor.
Obrigada.

Rex Black's `Advanced Software Testing Vol. 1' book starts off with brief overview of testing in SDLC process and different type of test, and how to plan, implement, execute and do reporting on the test result. Risk based testing has been covered in detail displaying how to analyze the risk in project and plan the testing based on the identified risk. Lot of examples has been used throughout the book explaining each topic. Good half of the book is used to explain specification based testing or black-box testing and structure-based technique or white-box test design technique.

As a senior tester I felt that the book title didn't reflect the book and personally didn't feel like reading the book added to the testing knowledge that I already have.

Although I would definitely recommend this book to junior and mid-level tester since it does a good job explaining everything with lot of examples.

This book is aimed to help people take the ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst exam. And as such discusses all the standard subjects like test techniques, testing within the development life-cycle and relevant international standards. To me the material didn't seem optimally organized. This concerns both the way in wich the book is organized into chapters and the way the chapters are organized into sections. In my opinion the author followed the ISTQB advanced syllabus too closely in structuring the book (even though this book is supposed to help people prepare for the exam). However Rex Black writes in a clear style and thoroughly elaborates upon complex subjects. I think this book is abundant with good ideas and deserves to be rated as such.

The title says it all. Only chapter 4 (Testing Techniques) was particularly useful. Its also very frustrating the author does not list a way to get feedback from readers (email, blogs, etc). Of course, I could have missed it in the 400+ pages, but I do not think so.

In either case, it is troubling that a book on software quality cannot verify its own quality by hearing what the readership has say.

PS -- Amazon does not count since there is not mention of that in the book either. ;-)

Are you a test analyst? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Rex Black has done an outstanding job of writing the second volume of a book with a focus on the material and learning objectives for the advanced test analyst.

Black, begins with an overview of contextual and background material that influences some of the basic aspects of software testing. Next, the author discusses the process of testing and the activities that occur within that process. Then, he discusses test management activities from the start to the end of the text process and introduces the considerations of risk for testing. He continues by focusing on test analysts and technical test analysts. Next, the author discusses the tests of software characteristics based on the taxonomy of quality characteristics described in the ISO 9126 standard. Then, he introduces you to reviews and covers strategies for effective and successful reviews. The author continues by using the IEEE 1044 standard to focus on incident lifecycles and the information testers should gather for incident reports. Next, he focuses on introducing a number of international, national, and domain-specific standards. He continues by providing a solid conceptual background for test tools and automation. Next, the author discusses the skills of the individual tester; as well as, the internal and external test team dynamics. Finally, the author shows you what you need to know in order to prepare for the ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst exam.

This most excellent book follows the International Software Testing Qualifications Board's (ISTQB's) Advanced Level syllabus, with a focus on the material and learning objectives for the advanced test analyst. More importantly, it can help you prepare for the ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst exam.

The book is poorly written and contains lot of repeated information. The style of writing is not at all interesting. As I did not take the Advanced Test Analyst exam, I can not say how this book helps to pass the exam. But, my guarantee to you is that you can not enjoy reading this book. Not at all recommended to learn the subject.

The book written by Graham Bath and JudyMcKay is very neat and interesting to read. Once again, I can not tell you which book helps you to clear the ISTQB exam(Advanced level).