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Peter Farrell-Vinay

"Manage Software Testing"

These processes and outputs are the result of the application of a number
of (sometimes painfully-acquired) principles:
??? The purpose of all quality activities is to minimize risk. Risk involves the probability of something
happening, the results (including the cost) if it does, and the actions to be performed to either
remove or minimize the risk or cope with the results. All project activities need to be judged
against this criterion, and the related quality activity begun. A bug represents a kind of risk.
Story
here was once a project manager from an agency. He ran a small project in a Big
Corporation. He believed in spreadsheets. The Big Corporation had an ethos of planning
badly, optimistically, without tools, and then lying when they were found out. All the
senior staff saw the project manager coming, and he saw them.
So when at these immensely-jolly meetings they loved holding, they tried to get him to commit
to some date, he always told them that he would check his spreadsheet first, and just occasionally
he agreed.
This made all the Big Executives inwardly wrathful, and they made Terribly Amusing Jokes
about how he planned to make love to his wife with the aid of his spreadsheet. To his face. And
he made no sign of having heard them.
His project finished a week late, and theirs finished 24 weeks late. He had several children.
T
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Manage Software Testing
??? The purpose of testing is to find bugs.


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