What is software testing?
Many have raised this query and for sure have received a multitude of replies. Well it is just checking if the software work..well the end user also checks that then why do we need who are paid big money need to test the software. Why do we have specialized testers ?? Big trouble.. Well lets put it this was application development is a complicated process especially if you are dealing with complicated applications involving large teams located in most cases in various geographic locations..Since times immemorial we always had specialist, people with a given set of qualities and attributes that make them extremely useful to do a particular set of task and over time doing the activity they get better and better at it. So for the software industry investing big bucks on application development it was imperative to have specialized hands that could test the software before they put it into the market where it fails all hell can break loose. Well loss of reputation, bad publicity, litigations and what not.. So ‘What exactly is software testing?’ Well to put it straight forward ‘It is a set of activities carried out by specialized hands to make sure that the software works out as per pre-defined requirements and criteria to the satisfaction of the stakeholders’..Well that brings up the question ‘So do software testers ensure there are no bugs’ Well hell no.. they can’t and if somebody claims that be wary of them. Especially for complex applications even the most strenuous and thorough testing cannot guarantee the absence of bugs. All that a systematic testing approach can deliver is that there will be no bugs in the most frequently used and critical regions of the application. So why do bugs remain after thorough testing with specialized hands.. Well it is because for any project there are budget and or time constraints and these constraints drive how much testing will be done (unit as well as independent testing) and for a fact no amount of testing can promise the absence of bugs.. Yes as the saying goes “Bugs are always there, its just that you are not getting the steps to expose them” .Good for testers you can say “They will always have jobs..”
