Customer Reviews

Testing Computer Software, 2nd Edition

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Testing Computer Software is one of the those rare books that has taken on the problems of the Verification Engineer. As all of us know, most books written today are targeted for the development audience and even many of these are either poorly written or try to cover too much area. This book however, though broad in its scope, does a good job of treating all of the important areas in verification and testing.

I have found Chapters 2, 3, 7, 11 and 12 to be the most useful and poignant to the average engineer. Not only is each chapter well laid out, but the authors also offer compelling arguments in each chapter to back up their arguments as well. I enjoyed particularly Chapter 3 the section on Path Testing, which conjures up horror stories from my development days. In this section the authors assert that 100% path testing does not imply 100% test coverage. They go on to argue with some rigor why the two are not necessarily the same. Many of you as I can probably claim that though all of the paths in their code were tested, verification was still able to find some condition that would make some part of the code fail. This chapter explains why this may be so and methodologies on how to attack testing those areas.

You will find the book well structured, informative and actually intuitive to navigate through. Each chapter builds on the previous chapters to provide the engineer with a clear idea of all the steps and intricacies involved in testing and verifying complex programs. It can therefore be used by the beginner as a source book for specific test applications, or by the team lead or manager who needs to know more about the actual scope and planning of a complex testing project. This book surely fills a great void in the area of publications software verification.

This book should sit on the desk of every software tester.

Many books will tell you how to test when you have enough time and cooperation. This book tells you what to do when the schedule is tight, the specification is missing, and the developers are tired of your focus on problems. It has sound advice and is a pleasure to read. I keep coming back to it. Feel like you have an impossible job? Read this book.

(Note: this book was published in 1993 and has not been updated since then. Wiley lists 1999 as the publication date because that was when they became the new publisher for the book, which is destined to become a classic.)

When I first read this book over eight years ago I was less than enthusiastic. At the time I felt that the approach was not rigorous enough. Over time I came to appreciate the pragmatism and how the approach in this book reflects the realities of software testing instead of a rigid, purist view as an unattainable ideal.

Everything the new or intermediate test professional needs to know is covered. The practices and techniques provided will foster sound QA practices and will step you through developing test strategies, and from those, developing and executing test cases. These are the real essence of testing, and this book covers them exceptionally well.

I like the coverage of testing systems and artifacts that are not software - documentation, hardware, and localization testing advice shows that testing is not limited to software. As importantly, the chapter on legal consequences of software defects will show testing in a perspective that is often overlooked, even by seasoned test professionals.

If you are new to software testing, or have some experience, but no formal training, this book will provide you with the right way to approach software testing, and will give insights that would take years to learn on your own.

One great testing book. What makes it great? It is pragmatic from start to finish. It addresses real problems in the world of software testing. And does so acknowledging that there's never enough time to do everything you want let alone trying to fulfill the overblown government perscriptions of ISO, SEI, and CMM.

This book provides an comprehensive guide to software testing. It covers all aspects of testing - e.g., test types, methods, plans, scripts, and cases. An excellent training and reference tool. It is useful to managers and experienced testers, and would be an excellent training tool for novice testers.

Lately I have read a lot of computer books. I have been in the software development business only about two and a half years. This is the best and most useful book I have read. I have tested, and am testing, software. This book is perfect for any tester or manager of testers. The authors are truly enlightned and experienced and best of all, they transmit their experience and knowledge to the reader in a most organized, logical and concise manner. A "must" for anyone involved in testing in any way.

I found this book very informative and helpful as a beginning software tester. The authors were very pragmatic and concise in defining different methods and systems to use for testing, and because of this, it is an excellent testing handbook for those people who do not have formal training and need to know where to begin and how to procede in a logical manner. It is also a great reference manual for testing terms that are new to a beginner. Overall, I would highly recommmend this as an excellent textbook for software testing.

One of the best computer books I have read. Very informative for software pros as well as novice software testers. Includes everything you need to know about testing and the National Software Testing Standards plus Dr. Kaner's legal comments. Lots of references to other publications. I believe it is a great time to republish this book with inclusion of the "Year 2000 software testing methodes". I would like to be first to know if authors decide to republish "Testing Computer Software".

I first read this text back in the early '90's and believed it to be incredibly incisive and perceptive. It seemed to illuminate problems before they existed for me! I felt I had an 'inside edge' on the other guys. However, as time went on, I began to realize that the text espouses placing my proverbial fingers in the holes of our crackling dam. I now use the book as a starting place on designing logical test cases. However, that is where the book stops. See, in producing software for the government, there are these things known as REQUIREMENTS which must be verified and validated via inspections and a traceability matrix, respectively. I suppose this situation is also prevalent in corporations who wish to sell software to the burgeoning EU, Japan, and Australia. With standards such as ISO 9000.3 and the CMM becoming more and more important, I would like to see Mr. Kaner et. al. attempt to incorporate these standards (which are ensconced in Quality control) into their up coming revision. Who knows? Maybe it is possible to actually perform great testing in both the logical-based and requirements-based arenas?

I've had the 2nd edition for about 7 years and still enjoy re-reading this book. Sure, the examples are getting dated now, but in some ways that makes it more interesting (the description of how to populate a printer test room by begging demo printers from the manufacturers always makes me smile). But don't be misled - the core text and concepts are absolutely as relevant today as they ever were.

Software testing and quality can be SUCH dry subjects, but the authors do a wonderful job of bringing them to life. This is a very practical book in the sense that testing processes are described from the point of view of someone who has tried almost everything and knows which approaches are great in theory vs those which actually work. Unlike many others, the book doesn't skirt around human resources issues (such as internal politics, motivation and staff retention) but tackles them head on in the last chapter (it really is worth reading cover-to-cover!).

It is not really a step-by-step instruction manual, more a series of ideas and tips bound together by a coherent story. Us readers really need to think about the topic and work out for ourselves which aspects to apply. That said, some parts are more like a cookbook - there's a good description of a bug tracking process, for example, with some example bug reporting forms and, as always, some excellent advice about cooking your own.

Testing Computer Software has been a great help to me in my role as a computer auditor dealing with numerous application development groups. Project teams rarely have the skills to plan and manage testing properly, and never (in my experience) get the resources to do everything that "needs" to be done before the product ships (just how many groups never really get around to completing the documentation they promised so many months before?). Testing comes at the most time-critical point in the project lifecycle, when everyone is under intense pressure to deliver, fast. This book helps the team plan ahead, preparing the testing organisation and processes to make the inevitable nightmare period pass as smoothly as possible. That includes the audit team, by the way!

The appendix lists 400 types of bugs with their descriptions. As I write this note, I'm using the list to think about tests planned by the project teams I'm currently auditing, looking for holes in their test coverage (no, not 'tick and bash' - I'm trying to help!).

The bottom line: a must read for anyone involved in releasing software.