Acknowledging the increasing importance of quality and reliability when it comes to software, Microsoft has launched its Tester Center, a web site that underscores that testing is an integral part of the application lifecycle.
According to James Whittaker, a security architect who is the "owner of the reliability pillar" at Microsoft, the Testing Group within Microsoft builds a lot of very cool stuff that they use internally and the Tester Center provides a "vehicle for getting information [about testing] out to the development world." He went on to say that "at the Tester Center, our goal is to provide a community where software testers can share knowledge and learn from each other about testing, our day-to-day job functions, processes, the tools we use, and the various roles we play."
In addition to tools, the Tester Center will serve as resource site where software developers and testers can view videos, read technical articles, and interact with Microsoft testers via blogs and forums. and other information.
Whittaker shared his testing philosophy and thoughts about the role of testing in software development in this Dr. Dobb's interview. He has also co-authored several articles for Dr. Dobb's, including Red-Team Application Security Testing and Rethinking Software Security. It is also worth noting that Michael Hunter, a senior tester in Microsoft's testing group, writes a blog entitled The Book of Testing for Dr. Dobb's.
