"Good police catch criminals. Great police prevent crimes."
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One of the most effective methods of preventing errors is for the development team to write functional specifications. This ensures that each developer understands what functionality is expected of them, and knows what to expect from their peers.
Once functional specifications are available, one of the most effective things the test engineers can do is to write descriptions of each test they intend to write. Developers should review these test design specifications. This is the equivalent of a professor handing out the final on the first day of the semester. If developers know what is going to be tested, they stand a much higher chance of passing the tests. Developers are also more likely to ask for additional test cases once they see the list of what is planned.
Copyright 1998 Anne Powell