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1. Test early. The later you wait, the more expensive it gets. The initial testing start at the initial meeting of the companys founders, keep on having small tests as early as possible.
2. Testing show precense of defects, not absence.
3. Exhausive testing is not possible within reasonable economical terms.
4. Defects lump together. Find a defect: Look around it as well.
5. Pesticide paradox: Bugs become imune against repeated tests.
6. Testing is context dependant.
7. Absence-of-errors-fallacy. No errors found during testing, proves only that none of the errors were found during testing.

Preventative versus Reactive

A preventative approach is when the testers are involved from the beginning. Test planning and test design will start as early as possible. The test manager can really optimize and reduce testing costs.

A reactive approach is when the testers are involved late, and a preventative approach cannot be chosen.

One very successful strategy, when the reactive approach is chosen, is called exploratory testing. This is a heuristic approach in which the tester explores the test object and design, with concurrent execution and evaluation.

Analytical versus Heuristic

Analytical: Test planning is founded on data and mathematical analysis of these data.

Heuristic: Test planning is founded on experience of experts, and rules of thumb.

Several pairs of eyes see more than a single pair, this is true in manysettings – and an (almost) absolute truth in software development. It is the main principle for the reviews performed for checking and improving quality.

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Some definitions, testing in the software lifecycle

The general V-model defines basic test leverls: Component test, integration test, system test and acceptance test. It distinguishes between verification and validation. Here are some definitions.

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