Software Testing Techniques: Finding the Defects that Matter (Charles River Media Programming) [Paperback]

Scott Loveland (Author), Geoffrey Miller (Author), Richard Prewitt (Author), Michael Shannon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004 | ISBN-10: 1584503467 | ISBN-13: 978-1584503460 | Edition: 1

Reliability and continuous availability have become crucial for computer software in the information economy. Well-publicized failures from both industry and government have underscored the need for mission-critical software to be thoroughly tested before being released into the marketplace. When it comes to industrial-strength reliability, no computer system is more renowned than the mainframe. But for years the actual approaches used to test mainframe software have been kept under wraps. What techniques are used? How do the teams in mainframe development labs test their systems to ensure they will deliver such extreme levels of robustness? How can these lessons be applied to other software projects? Software Testing Techniques: Finding the Defects that Matter answers these questions and provides practical testing techniques for achieving robust reliability with any large-scale software project. Written in a friendly, accessible style, the book highlights areas such as devising attacks to validate data integrity, wreaking havoc to ensure recoverability, exploiting virtualized environments to improve test efficiency, the tug of war between finding defects and meeting schedules, and approaches for emulating customer environments to find the most critical defects. Focusing on real-life techniques illustrated through examples and case studies gleaned from the authors' experiences with large server testing and operation, software engineers will discover tried and true techniques that are used for testing multimillion-dollar commercial software products.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Loveland is a Senior Technical Staff Member in the z/OS development laboratory. Geoffrey Miller joined IBM in 1982 and is a Senior Technical Staff Member in the z/OS development Laboratory. Richard Prewitt is a Senior Software Engineer in the z/OS development laboratory. Michael Shannon has worked as both a software debugger and z/OS system programmer in the z/OS System Test group.

Product Details

• Paperback: 362 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584503467
• ISBN-13: 978-1584503460
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Software Testing Techniques" could very well be the modern day companion to Kaner, Falk, and Ngyuen's "Testing Computer Softwar, August 1, 2005

By 

a reader (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Software Testing Techniques: Finding the Defects that Matter (Charles River Media Programming) (Paperback)

A GREAT REVIEW FROM StickyMinds.com:

Description:

Learn the Secrets of Mainframe Testers! Reliability and continuous availability have become crucial for computer software in the information economy. Well-publicized failures from both industry and government have underscored the need for mission-critical software to be thoroughly tested before being released into the marketplace. When it comes to industrial-strength reliability, no computer system is more renowned than the mainframe. But for years the actual approaches used to test mainframe software have been kept under wraps. What techniques are used? How do the teams in mainframe development labs test their systems to ensure they will deliver such extreme levels of robustness? How can these lessons be applied to other software projects?


Software Testing Techniques: Finding the Defects that Matter answers these questions and provides practical testing techniques for achieving robust reliability with any large-scale software project. Written in a friendly, accessible style, the book highlights areas such as devising attacks to validate data integrity, wreaking havoc to ensure recoverability, exploiting virtualized environments to improve test efficiency, the tug of war between finding defects and meeting schedules, and approaches for emulating customer environments to find the most critical defects. Focusing on real-life techniques illustrated through examples and case studies gleaned from the authors' experiences with large server testing and operation, software engineers will discover tried and true techniques that are used for testing multimillion-dollar commercial software products.




Covers multiple phases of testing that are relevant to large-scale projects, with an emphasis on the system-wide testing that is critical to establishing the reliability of enterprise-class software

Provides practical testing techniques for achieving robust reliability with large-scale software projects

Focuses on real-world issues, problems, and solutions

Emphasizes approaches for finding and removing the defects that matter most to customers

Highlights techniques for devising attacks to validate data integrity, wreaking havoc to ensure recoverability, developing effective test programs, exploiting virtualized environments to improve test efficiency, and emulating customer environments to find the most critical defects.



Keywords: Software Development


StickyMinds.com Review: by Martin FensomeBack to Top
The title of this volume is definitely apt. This book's focus is on the major areas and challenges one faces when finding the defects that matter most to the company and especially to the users of the software.
The authors begin with a review of the issues surrounding testing and testers. Then the focus shifts into discussions on the software and its environments, as well as how this exponentially increases the number of variables to be considered when planning and executing tests. After discussing the differences between development and testing and how to build good relationships with our "coding cousins," the book presents ideas and suggestions for test preparation. Some very specific ideas are given on how to learn the utmost about the software and how teams of testers can work together to deal more effectively and speedily with the complexities presented by software and environments of the 21st Century.

The early parts just whet your appetite for more, and the book delivers. Later sections cover such topics as test planning, recoverability testing, test preparation, automation, data corruption testing, tools, test execution, test management, and beta tests. The authors' knowledge of testing is extensive, albeit from a mainframe environment, which shows clearly in the examples they detail.

The book has something for almost everyone. Testers, test managers, and leads--as well as developers--can gain from reading this book. The writing style is very down to earth, never preachy or repetitive. I feel that the content is well covered. Though at over three hundred pages, it's not a "quick read," it is a rewarding and worthwhile one. Unlike some books on testing that focus more on process, this book really targets the testers in the trenches.

Reading the table of contents, you may be tempted to think this book is filled with rehashed information. It's not. Having read many articles and books on testing, I believe this is one of the best.

"Software Testing Techniques" could very well be the modern day companion to Kaner, Falk, and Ngyuen's "Testing Computer Software." The Kaner classic shows its age, but still focuses on the basic nuts and bolts of finding and reporting issues. The author discusses some of the modern complexities and how to overcome them through planning, organization, logic, and hardware/software. I highly recommend "Software Testing Techniques" to anyone interested in finding the defects that matter when testing software.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every software tester should read this book!, September 7, 2005

By 

Quilt Scraps "Jan" (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Software Testing Techniques: Finding the Defects that Matter (Charles River Media Programming) (Paperback)

This book is a very comprehensive guide to software testing on the mainframe. It would be beneficial for both experienced testers and those new to the testing profession. The authors have done a great job of describing the tasks facing software testers, and the unique (and important) role that the test process plays in delivering world-class software. The book is very readable--it covers a lot of important information in a straightforward manner. You can't test quality into a software product, and you can never find EVERY bug. This book helps place the focus on what's really important--finding the defects that matter!

2 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, November 17, 2004

By 

Go PSU (Endicott, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Software Testing Techniques: Finding the Defects that Matter (Charles River Media Programming) (Paperback)

This Book is a must read! Loveland, Shannon, Miller and Prewitt know what they're talking about. This book would make a great stocking stuffer for all of your software engineer friends!