An essay on software testing for quality assurance – Editor’s introduction

Abstract

This volume resulted from a call for papers to “... explore the state of the art of software quality assurance, with particular emphasis on testing to measure quality.” It is my belief that software testing as a discipline is ripe for theoretical breakthroughs. Researchers are considering the right questions, and there are promising new approaches and exciting new results. It seems that new understanding of the testing process can lead to practical tools and techniques that revolutionize software development. I don’t believe that testing will become easier or cheaper; rather, it will be more rational in the sense that expending effort will more dependably lead to better software. In this introductory essay I provide a personal view of testing, testing research, and their roles in software quality assurance.