Managing the Testing Process

An updated edition of the best tips and tools to plan, build,and execute a structured test operationIn this update of his bestselling book, Rex Black walks youthrough how to develop essential tools and apply them to your testproject. He helps you master the basic tools, apply the techniquesto manage your resources, and give each area just the right amountof attention so that you can successfully survive managing a testproject!Offering a thorough review of the tools and resources you willneed to manage both large and small projects for hardware andsoftware, this book prepares you to adapt the concepts across abroad range of settings. Simple and effective, the tools complywith industry standards and bring you up to date with the best testmanagement practices and tools of leading hardware and softwarevendors. Rex Black draws from his own numerous testingexperiences-- including the bad ones, so you can learn from hismistakes-- to provide you with insightful tips in test projectmanagement. He explores such topics as:* Dates, budgets, and quality-expectations versus reality* Fitting the testing process into the overall development ormaintenance process* How to choose and when to use test engineers and technicians,contractors and consultants, and external test labs andvendors* Setting up and using an effective and simple bug-trackingdatabase* Following the status of each test caseThe companion Web site contains fifty tools, templates, and casestudies that will help you put these ideas into action--fast!

About the Author.Acknowledgments.Introduction.1. Defining What's on Your Plate: The Foundation of a TestProject.2. Plotting and Presenting Your Course: The Test Plan.3. Test System Architecture, Cases, and Coverage.4. An Exciting Career in Entomology Awaits You: A Bug TrackingDatabase.5. Managing Test Cases: The Test Tracking Spreadsheet.6. Tips and Tools for Crunch Time: Managing the Dynamic.7. Stocking and Managing a Test Lab.8. Staffing and Managing a Test Team.9. The Triumph of Politics: Organizational Challenges for TestManagers.10. Involving Other Players: Distributing a Test Project.11. Testing in Context: Economics, Life Cycles, and ProcessMaturity.Appendix A: Hardware Testing Fundamentals: An Introduction forSoftware Testing Professionals.Appendix B: Bibliography, Related Readings, and OtherResources.Glossary.Index.