Introduction

The Industrial Revolution is commonly said to have started with the invention of the steam engine in 1712, which means that this book was written shortly after the 300th anniversary of the Industrial Revolution. This period has been one of ever-accelerating technological progress, a period that has brought with it tremendous increases in human health, wealth, convenience, and life span. We are truly fortunate to live in such times, when many people take for granted things that even the emperors of Rome, Egypt, and China could not obtain.

At the beginning of the last quarter of this 300-year period—that is, 75 years ago—Konrad Zuse built what is arguably the first computer. It was primarily mechanical rather than electrical, but it was a programmable computer nonetheless, which meant that it had a program. It carried out calculations on data stored in memory, based on software, and read from a paper tape. Sadly, history does not record whether the world’s first software program contained a defect.

Over the last 75 years, software has grown in size, complexity, interconnectivity, and influence on our lives as perhaps no other innovation has. Software has truly been one of humankind’s most remarkable inventions, even in the context of this remarkable period of human progress.

In spite of that growth—or perhaps more accurately in part because of it— the software colossus we have built for ourselves nevertheless has feet of clay. Software is built primarily by manual effort. True enough, the effort is a mental one, not a physical one. However, like all work done by fallible human beings, the manual creation of software inevitably leads to defects in that software, the outcome of mistakes made by the people creating the software. At some point in the future, the means of engineering software may catch up with the other forms of engineering in which we humans engage, but for the moment we must contend with the fact that the software that is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, solving ever more complex problems, comes out of the creation process with a lower level of quality than is needed.

Testing has been one response to these quality problems. While aphorisms such as “You can’t test quality into software” are certainly true, it is also true that no one has yet devised a software development process that does not include software testing and still delivers a high level of quality. Software testing is an essential element of any reasonable software quality strategy.

While testing simple software is relatively simple, testing complex software is complex. As with any complex activity, it is not sufficient to unleash dozens of people without any structure, process, or methodology, even if those people are very talented software testers. Testing of software and systems, especially complex ones, must be managed.

If you are one of those lucky people managing testing, especially testing as part of large, complex projects or even programs, this book is for you. We will discuss defining the objectives and strategies of testing; managing testers, test teams, and testing service providers; working effectively within the larger organization; applying project management best practices; evaluating and reporting test results to project teams; the various business domain and project contextual factors that influence testing; and how to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the testing process.

Naturally enough, this book is for experts. We assume that you have been in the software business for a number of years and involved in managing software testing for five years or more. We expect that you have been involved in multiple projects, or even programs, all the way to their completion. If you’re like most of us seasoned test managers, you have seen some of those endeavors succeed, while others have failed. Some of these failures may have resulted from quality problems that remained submerged and unseen until testing started, and if so, you know all the drama and disappointment that can accompany such doomed undertakings.

This book will help you navigate future projects, including those that don’t go as planned. The topics covered in this book will help you see problems coming earlier, respond more effectively, and alert others to the unfolding situation. After reading this book, you’ll know why practices that worked in one situation might not work in other situations, and you’ll know how to tailor practices, templates, and methodologies to a given situation. You’ll know how to manage your relationships with colleagues, peers, and superiors. You’ll know how to inspire, lead, and manage your teams. You’ll know how to measure the success of your testing processes and how to identify opportunities for improvement.

In addition to serving as a guide to better test management, this book follows the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Expert Test Manager syllabus, version 2011. As such, it is a natural sequel to one of Rex Black’s other books on test management, Advanced Software Testing: Volume 2, 2nd edition (Rocky Nook, 2014). That book follows the ISTQB Advanced Test Manager syllabus, which is the prerequisite to the Expert Test Manager syllabus. If you have read that book, you will find familiar concepts expanded upon here. However, this book is a standalone entity, and you need not have read Advanced Software Testing: Volume 2to benefit from reading this book. We do assume, though, that you are an experienced test manager who has applied industry best practices to your work and that you are looking to further advance your knowledge and practices.

Because of this book’s alignment with the ISTQB Expert Test Manager syllabus, it is also an ideal resource for people who are preparing for the ISTQB Expert Test Manager exam. Rex Black is one of the primary authors of that syllabus, as well as the chair of the ISTQB working group that produced it, so he has a deep understanding of the material. We’ll make sure to discuss the key points for each chapter in depth. Each chapter includes sample exam questions that cover all of the learning objectives defined in it, and each of the 63 learning objectives is covered by a question. Like the actual Expert Test Manager exam questions, many of the sample questions in this book are based on realistic scenarios, where you have to assume the perspective of a test manager in a given situation. For convenience, these scenarios are named in the book. The scenarios are also numbered. Please note that the number assigned is the order in which the scenario was introduced in the book, and remains constant across all chapters.

To make exam preparation easier, we have generally followed the organization of the ISTQB Expert Test Manager syllabus. However, in certain cases we found we could improve the flow of the material or combine material presented in two or more sections into a single section. So, the mapping of sections of this book to the syllabus is not identical, but the chapters and the major sections do correspond.

In addition to the other resources, there is an appendix that describes the exam and discusses the official ISTQB Expert Test Manager sample exam provided by the ISTQB. The authors of this book were involved in the sample exam project (Rex was one of the authors), and we have used our experience creating Expert Level questions to build this additional resource for you. This appendix opens with a description of the different levels of learning objectives present in the Expert Test Manager syllabus and an explanation of how they affect the exam. If you are using this book to prepare for the exam, we recommend you read that first section of Appendix A before you start reading Chapter 1.

Whether you are reading this book to pass an ISTQB exam or simply to learn more about being a better test manager, we hope you find the resources you need in the following pages. One of the nice features that software has brought us is the possibility of reading a book as an interactive experience. If you want to discuss this book or topics in it with us, simply send an email to [email protected]. Try to be as specific as possible in your question or comment. We’ll respond to you and the wider testing community on our blog on http://www.rbcs-us.com/blog. We look forward to hearing from all of you, our fellow expert test managers.