Managing the Testing Process: Practical Tools and Techniques for Managing Hardware and Software Testing

by Rex Black

An updated edition of the best tips and tools to plan, build, and execute a structured test operation

In this update of his bestselling book, Rex Black walks you through how to develop essential tools and apply them to your test project. He helps you master the basic tools, apply the techniques to manage your resources, and give each area just the right amount of attention so that you can successfully survive managing a test project!

Offering a thorough review of the tools and resources you will need to manage both large and small projects for hardware and software, this book prepares you to adapt the concepts across a broad range of settings. Simple and effective, the tools comply with industry standards and bring you up to date with the best test management practices and tools of leading hardware and software vendors. Rex Black draws from his own numerous testing experiences-- including the bad ones, so you can learn from his mistakes-- to provide you with insightful tips in test project management. He explores such topics as:

Dates, budgets, and quality-expectations versus reality Fitting the testing process into the overall development or maintenance process How to choose and when to use test engineers and technicians, contractors and consultants, and external test labs and vendors Setting up and using an effective and simple bug-tracking database Following the status of each test case

The companion Web site contains fifty tools, templates, and case studies that will help you put these ideas into action--fast!

Genres: Technical, Computer Science, Computers, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Reference

528 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I have not finished reading the whole book, and have only read the most relevant chapters here and there.

However, this is an excellent book from what I've read thus far.

Rex Black provides a breakdown and practical techniques on how to navigate the end-to-end testing process, including on outsourcing and how much to test. (Since it's not feasible to test everything.) The book is also well-structured.

Thankful for this high quality book, which was immensely useful even for someone not trained in software engineering like I am.

[Shenrx48 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good advice, but takes the perspective of the value of an independent test team that supports waterfall practices. Discusses Agile practices, but not a focus.

[Keith]

I have only read the introduction to the 1999 edition, so I don't think it would be fair to apply a star rating on that basis; however, that was enough for me to know and to note here that this original edition of the book is no longer practically useful as anything more than a historical marker of testing practices at the end of the 20th century. Try a newer edition, of which there appear to be several, if you're interested in the topic on a modern footing.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for software developers, testers and managers to gain a better understanding of how the testing process should be managed. This book comes out in straight forward way describing what is to be done and who is to do it and how.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this would be more useful for someone with a little more experience that I have... Plus, I don't have time for QA anymore. :(