Software Testing Controversies

Software Testing Controversies

There is considerable variety among software testing writers and consultants about what constitutes responsible software testing. Members of the "context-driven" school of testing believe that there are no "best practices" of testing, but rather that testing is a set of skills that allow the tester to select or invent testing practices to suit each unique situation. In addition, prominent members of the community consider much of the writing about software testing to be doctrine, mythology, and folklore. Some contend that this belief directly contradicts standards such as the IEEE 829 test documentation standard, and organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration who promote them. The context-driven school's retort is that Lessons Learned in Software Testing includes one lesson supporting the use IEEE 829 and another opposing it; that not all software testing occurs in a regulated environment and that practices appropriate for such environments would be ruinously expensive, unnecessary, and inappropriate for other contexts; and that in any case the FDA generally promotes the principle of the least burdensome approach.

Some of the major controversies include: