Testing is not the same as Test Execution
July 30th, 2008Some time ago I was convinced that Testing is “a process of exercising an application with a purpose to find errors.” But I found that this is incorrect; Testing includes a lot more than just finding errors. Before Testing there is Test Estimation, Test Planning, and Test Documents Preparation phases. Then there is actual Testing, when application’s functionality is being compared to functional requirements (“a process of exercising an application with a purpose to find errors”) and defects are being reported. After Testing, there is Test Reporting, Test Process Review, and Test Documents Preparation. Out of many definitions of Testing, I like Cem Kaner’s one, “technical investigation of a product, on behalf of stakeholders, with the objective of exposing quality-related information of the kind they seek”
Mike Girenko
