Software Testing: A guide to the TMap Approach (Hardcover)

~ Martin Pol (Author), Ruud Teunissen (Author), Erik Van Veenendaal (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book will:*Introduce you to the method and take you through it step-by-step*Enable you to address and deal with organizational issues, including functions within a team, training, consulting and administration of the process*Cover practical infrastructure issues, like the option of using an automation tool to aid the test process*Outline the different development situations in which TMap has been used, for example, client server, GUI, Object-Oriented, ERP and web-enabled scenarios, and give tips on what problems to look out for in each one

From the Back Cover

Testing is an essential part of the software development lifecycle, focusing on issues that must be addressed before the information system goes into production. Have all parts and characteristics of the information system been checked sufficiently? Have issues such as suitability, performance and security been looked at? Have all defects been corrected without any new ones being introduced during the re-work process? It is crucial that these questions are not left unanswered until the final stages, so therefore a well-structured and reliable test process is required.

TMap (Test Management approach) is a well-established and internationally proven methodology, having been developed in the Netherlands and Belgium by IQUIP Informatica B.V, a software testing specialist. It will help save your company time and money by producing well-designed, reliable quality systems. As the method is non-proprietary and is independent of any development method and platform, you can adapt it to suit your organization and its specific requirements.

If you are directly involved in the test process, Software Testing: A Guide to the TMap(R) Approach is for you. It will:

• Introduce you to the method and take you through it step-by-step
• Enable you to address and deal with organizational issues, including functions within a team, training, consulting and administration of the process
• Cover practical infrastructure issues, like the option of using an automation tool to aid the test process
• Outline the different development situations in which TMap has been used, for example, client server, GUI, Object-Oriented, ERP and web-enabled scenarios, and give tips on what problems to look out for in each one

Features:

• A running case study, including a test plan using a real-life example
• A companion website containing updated examples, test case templates, documentation and checklists
• Foreword by Dorothy Graham

0201745712B12142001

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (December 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201745712
• ISBN-13: 978-0201745719
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #639,761 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally in English!, May 18, 2002

By	Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

My first introduction to TMAP was in "Test Process Improvement: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Structured Testing" which the author co-authored. It piqued my interest, but unfortunately all of the literature on TMAP was written in Dutch. This book makes this powerful test management approach available to English speaking readers, making it invaluable.

First, a little about TMAP to explain why I think the approach is important and useful: It views testing as a process instead of a collection of procedures. The advantage is that once a process is in place it can be stabilized and improved upon. The key to testing is repeatability, and without a process there can be no repeatability. TMAP consists of four elements that combine to form a cohesive test management model:
(1) Testing life cycle that is aligned to the development life cycle. This life cycle is encapsulated within a planning and control framework that easily fits into the project management activities of the development life cycle.
(2) Testing techniques - not the techniques used in the execution of test cases, but the techniques employed for defining a test strategy, developing test specifications, and the associated artifacts. This book does cover some basic test execution techniques, but they are not the focus of the book and are not covered in great detail.
(3) Infrastructure and tools - addresses what are the minimums for an effective test process in the form of environments and tools. If you're establishing a test organization this aspect will be invaluable.
(4) Organization - how the test organization is structured and how it relates to external functions, such as development, configuration and release management, project management and other major stakeholders.

Each of the above elements and their parts are covered in great detail, resulting in a sound framework for test management. That alone makes this book invaluable, but there are some additional gems that I especially liked:
- Test point analysis and estimation, which is an estimating method for test effort that is based on function point analysis. This is incredibly valuable because accurate estimation is one of the shortfalls in testing. This alone is reason to buy the book.
- The wealth of checklists - I especially liked the comprehensive list of quality characteristics.
- Testing in maintenance situations - probably the most common situation for software testing and this book covers it well.

This book and the related one titled "Test Process Improvement: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Structured Testing" combine to give a complete picture of test management and test process improvement. I recommend both, as well as "Systematic Software Testing" by Rick D. Craig and Stefan P. Jaskiel which lays the foundation for, and is consistent with, both TPI and TMAP.