t errors.” Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. The concept of requirements–you know, the reason we developed the software in the first place–is finally becoming part of the definition.
I wonder how significant it is that Mr. Fewster and Ms. Graham both hail from the United Kingdom, as, of course, does the British Computer Society. Perhaps we can persuade them to colonize the software testing industry here in the United States?
While it may seem academic to obsess about how software testing is defined, the impact is highly practical. Well-meaning experts–who espouse definitions that lead testers to discard tests that work–are setting the testers (and their companies) up for failure. If software isn’t proven to do the basics, who cares whether it fails to do the obscure? //
Linda Hayes is CEO of WorkSoft Inc. She was one of the founders of AutoTester. She can be reached at [email protected].