At the Google Test Automation Conference 2011, the opening keynote was presented by Alberto Savoia, Director of Engineering and Innovation Agitator at Google. He believes that software testing as we knew it is dead – or at least moribund – in which case we should stick a fork in it and proactively take it out of its misery for good.
In this opening keynote of biblical scope, he casts stones at the old test-mentality and will try his darnedest to agitate you and convince you that these days most testers should follow a new test-mentality, one which includes shifting their focus and priority from “Are we building it right?” to “Are we building the right it?”
Video Producer: Google Test Automation Conference
And what else could we expect in the era of continuous delivery? Kind of obvious that the developers are being more and more responsible for quality of the software on every level.
The idea of “building the right thing” rather than “building it right,” even if IT may not necessarily be what we need has been known for almost a half of the last century. In fact, these paradigms occur quite naturally in real world. The use of high-level specifications is geared towards an early identification of the essence of the “What is to be done.” Software Analysis, proving and testing are needed to achieve high level of consistency of the implementation of the specification, the “How.” Needless to say, the process is of iterative nature, until exhaustion (“there is always one more bug.”)
“The rumors about my demise have been greatly exaggerated.” (Marc Twain).
There are multiple levels of software testing. It will never go away. Once we make the right “it” there will still need to be the testing of the software. True it is important that Quality Assurance be involved at all levels but I am personally more interested in making sure “it” was built right rather than was it the right thing to build.
I guess you must not underestimate or demotivate testers at all. If testing is dead then technologies dead. No one cannot predict and uncertanity. Well testers are well aware of all the situation, pros-cons.
Instead development and senior management must think Are we building the scope right it?, Are we managing the right management? Are we building the right people? etc…
Well
Why don’t google come up with such a product where he uses concept as stated above . I believe Software Testers Community will have a lot of surprises for him .
This presentation is only providing one perspective or solution to a certain set of problems. Not sure if cost of fixing bugs later (as compared to finding them earlier) was ever considered, seems to me like a one-sided view of a problem. Looking forward to its implementation (and scale).
Why don’t we ask Technical Support, the Sales team, Customers, HIPPA and FDA if they think Testing is dead? It’s just arrogant to think Customer’s are OK testing something they just paid good money for and full of bugs. Ask developers’ who would they rather have reporting errors, their peers or the customers. What a waste of time. Lost respect for Google.