Is it extremely rare during the software lifecycle to jettison most of the automated test tools, and then?

What are the various tools and standard practices for Software testing for custom software development and for independent verification and validation of QA test results?

• Hi, I am trying to update myself on areas such as: > Software testing for custom development / maintenance / package implementation over lifecycle. > QA documentation and metrics. > Idependent veriication and validation. > Practices for total quality management and analysis of quality metrics. > Practices for creation of test cases and scripts. > Various tools and software products available for various aspects of testing. Thanks!

• Answer:

  I subscribe to the principles of http://context-driven-testing.com/. Quoting from the linked page: Ultimately, context-driven testing is about doing the best we can with what we get. Rather than trying to apply “best practices,” we accept that very different practices (even different definitions of common testing terms) will work best under different circumstances. So...everything that I do, from the choice of a test strategy, to the choice of practices and tools, to the level of result review required (independent or not) comes back to the details of the specific situation in which I'm asked to operate. I operated much differently when I worked in FDA-regulated environments than I did when I worked in a more commercial environment, in large part because the regulations themselves impose certain restrictions on what can and cannot be done (albeit not as many as some people think they do). I would recommend that you educate yourself not on tools and practices, but on developing your skills and your judgment, and on learning about the people and the projects in the environment in which you will be working. http://www.satisfice.com/articles/et-article.pdf by James Bach explains exploratory testing. In it he lists the critical skills that a good tester has: test design; careful observation; critical thinking; diverse ideas; rich resources The last of these covers the tools and techniques of testing, but the first four areas cover the skills that a tester should develop apart from learning about tools and techniques - most of which you perfect by doing, not by reading how someone else has done it (in a problem space that isn't often close to the one you find yourself facing). If your goal is to improve your testing skills, http://www.satisfice.com/ has a lot of resources available on the Satisfice Web site, and I'd also suggest that you take a look at http://www.developsense.com/ site along with http://xndev.com/creative-chaos/.