The Angels and Devils of Software Testing

It's never been easier to fool your manager into thinking you're doing a great job testing! Does that sound tempting? Some would rather spend time playing Spider Solitaire, Foosball, or watching online videos of cats begging for cheeseburgers instead of doing their testing work. Jonathan Kohl and Michael Bolton discuss the types of test fakery that are out there-and that you need to avoid. These temptations include banishing critical thinking, using misleading test case metrics, generating impressive looking but useless test documentation, maintaining obsolete tests (so we have something to count and display), engaging in methodology doublespeak, tinkering endlessly with expensive test automation tools, and taking credit for a great product that would have been great even if no one had tested it. Jonathan and Michael present these and other testing fakery temptations using a format of a tester's tempter (the little devil on your shoulder) and a tester's conscience (the corresponding little angel).

• Testing--a service, not an obstacle to delivery
• Metrics as a tool for deception
• Critical thinking to reduce self-deception