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Automation is key for an effective testing process. Every test case we devise here is later automated via a testing framework such as JUnit. Let me clearly distinguish between test case design and test case execution. Once a test case is written, a framework runs it and shows reports, failures, and so on. This is all that these…

I have been using two words to describe how I expect a developer to test: effectively and systematically. Being effective means we focus on writing the right tests. Software testing is all about trade-offs. Testers want to maximize the number of bugs they find while minimizing the effort required to find the bugs. How do we achieve this? By knowing…

You may be thinking that forcing developers to apply rigorous testing may be too costly. Figure 1.4 shows the many techniques developers have to apply if they follow the flow I am proposing. It is true: testing software properly is more work than not doing so. Let me convince you why it is worth it:

Now that you have a clearer picture of what I mean by effective and systematic software testing, let me debunk a myth. There is a perception among software developers that if you design code in a simple way, it will not have bugs, as if the secret of bug-free code is simplicity. Empirical research in…

I find it liberating to focus separately on developing and testing. When I am coding a feature, I do not want to be distracted by obscure corner cases. If I think of one, I take notes so I do not forget to test it later. However, I prefer to focus all my energy on the…

While the previous description may sound like a sequential/waterfall process, it is more iterative. A developer may be rigorously testing a class and suddenly notice that a coding decision they made a few hours ago was not ideal. They then go back and redesign the code. They may be performing TDD cycles and realize the…

I propose a straightforward flow for developers who apply effective and systematic testing. First, we implement a feature, using tests to facilitate and guide development. Once we are reasonably happy with the feature or small unit we’ve coded, we dive into effective and systematic testing to ensure that it works as expected (that is, we…

I hope the difference is clear between the two developers in the previous section. Eleanor used automated tests and systematically and effectively engineered test cases. She broke down the requirements into small parts and used them to derive test cases, applying a technique called domain testing. When she was done with the specification, she focused on the…

It is late on Friday afternoon, and John is about to implement the last feature of the sprint. He is developing an agile software management system, and this final feature supports developers during planning poker. Planning poker Planning poker is a popular agile estimation technique. In a planning poker session, developers estimate the effort required to…

The developer community no longer needs to argue about the importance of software testing. Every software developer understands that software failures may cause severe damage to businesses, people, or even society as a whole. And although software developers once were primarily responsible for building software systems, today they are also responsible for the quality of…