Software Testing Foundations, Second Edition
Andreas Spillner, Tilo Linz, Hans Schaefer
Rocky Nook, 2007
288 pps., $44.95
ISBN-10 1933952083
Certification in the software testing community is one of those polarizing issues where people are either all for it or completely against it with big names in both camps. If you are in favor of certification, things get a little more complicated when faced with choosing which certification to choose from. One of the prominent certifications available today is the International Software Testing Qualification Board (ISTQB) Certified Tester. This particular certification is further broken down to three levels: Foundation, Advanced and Expert.
Software Testing Foundations Second Edition by Andreas Spillner, Tilo Linz, and Hans Schaefer corresponds to the requirements for the Foundation Certificate. So what content is required for a certified foundation in software testing?
- Some basic testing terminology.
- Types of tests and where they fit in the into the software lifecycle.
- Static testing types and techniques.
- Dynamic testing types and techniques.
- Test management.
- An overview of types of testing tools.
For a foundations level course I found in depth coverage on static testing and test management refreshing. Too often introductory testing books focus entirely on techniques for doing black- and white-box testing and neglect to mention the quality improvement that can be made without actually running the application.
One thing that concerned me was the amount of references to IEEE and ISO standards. Too often new testers fall into the trap of doing something "because the standard says I should." Victims of this can find themselves maintaining documentation for documentation sake, and not because it is adding value to the testing. I would much rather that my testers spend their time testing than writing 94 pages of test plan documentation that is going to largely do unread. I also found the use of "-->" to denote something is mentioned in the glossary as distracting and at first thought it was a typographic error.
Overall, if you are relatively new to the field of testing this book will provide value to you by clarifying concepts you might have taught yourself and show you some new ones. Also, if you are considering pursuing an ISTQB certification, this book is pretty much required reading as all the questions on the exam will be drawn from concepts explored within. However, for more experienced testers who are not going down the certification route, I recommend you spend your book budget elsewhere.
