Observations of the Software Test Process

"You can observe a lot just by watching."

Yogi Berra

I've worked as a quality engineer since 1986. Even during the years when I was nominally working on hardware, a large part of what I was testing was really embedded software. I've been responsible for training many new college graduates in the science and the art of testing.

Using the menu at the left, I invite you learn from my experience. I hope these pages will prove useful to those new to the field, and maybe occasionally to the "old timers". I've divided the pages into three main topic areas:

Roles

The roles of quality engineers can vary widely. Most QE's will do some or all of what's discussed here.

Inputs

The old rule of "Garbage in garbage out" applies to the test process as much as anything. Knowing what you need as input is half the battle.

Outputs

Quality engineering is more than just a big list of bugs.

Copyright 1998 Anne Powell