1. Cem Kaner, J.D., Ph.D.
Director
MISSION: Create effective, grounded, timely materials to support the teaching and self-study of software testing, software reliability, and quality-related software metrics.
Mike Andrews, Ph.D.
James Whittaker, Ph.D.
Pat Bond, Ph.D.
Scott Tilley, Ph.D.

3. Testing? Testing is often taught as a routine activity.
This misses the point
Testing is a technical investigation of a product
Complete testing would require infinite time
Instead, we have to apply judgment & skill
to develop the optimal set of tests and test documentation
within the project’s time, cost and reporting constraints
THIS is a much more challenging task,
to learn
to teach, and
to do.

4. Testing Techniques? Testing courses are often focused on
a miscellaneous collection of test techniques, plus
rules for doing the paperwork
Any technique addresses one or a few of these six issues:
Risk (what bugs we’re looking for)
Activity (how we do the testing)
Tester (who does the testing)
Coverage (how much of what gets tested)
Evaluation (how to tell whether the program passed the test)
Reporting requirements (needed outputs)
Our task is to apply the right techniques to
serve the specific needs of the project at hand
For that, we need to understand
techniques
context (the circumstances surrounding the project)
project requirements (how testing serves the project)

6. Black Box Testing Course
Professional version in development since 1992
Taught at wide range of companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Intel, Symantec, Postalsoft, Avid, BEA Systems, Cognos, California Dept of Transportation, Iomega, Peoplesoft, Rational, Cigital, Software AG, Safeco, many others.
Techniques taught / practiced in context of a sample application
Customizable
At your site (1-5 days)
Core learning objectives
Selection of topics and examples
Balance of lab vs lecture
(co-taught with your technical manager)
At Florida Tech (4.5 days typical)
Selection of topics
To lesser extent, lab vs lecture

7. Black Box Testing Course Materials
Oracles
Impossibility of complete testing
Techniques
Function testing
Domain testing
Risk-based testing
Bug taxonomies
Attacks
Scenario testing
Specification-based
User testing
Stress testing
Multivariable tests
Regression testing
Stochastic testing & high-volume automation
Exploratory testing
Scripting problems
Questioning strategies
Ad hoc models
paired testing
Testability
Bug reporting
effective advocacy
quality/cost analysis
Test documentation
doc components
analyzing requirements for testdocs
Test planning
Outsourcing
Legal issues
Role of test groups / mission of testing
Adapting testing to different lifecycles
Test-related metrics and measurement theory
Recruiting
Career planning
Evaluating staff performance

8. Possibilities for the Future
We’re glad to organize these if there is enthusiasm:
Homebrew test automation Available NOW
Bret Pettichord
Using / customizing the new generation of free software test tools
Test-driven development course Potentially now
project-driven, paired programming
extensive personal practice, feedback
Testing boot camp Summer 2005? Interest?
3 weeks
High teacher : student ratio
Mix of academic and practitioner teachers
Extensive personal practice/coaching
Lecture (a.m)
Coached practice (p.m.)
Group assignments (evening)