So let's talk about the universal standards of software testing...
There's a lot of buzz around the world these days about the software testing standards. I open any testing community site or forum or twitter or LinkedIn or whatever I see the title of an article with ISO 29119 written in it staring at me. Some big shots in testing have in past formed some standards for software testing and what it is, and defining the best practices and standard processes for testing software.
There's been quite a few such standards like the IEEE-829 and ISO 29119 along with international certifications like the ISTQB. There maybe a few others which I'm not aware of.
So what these days standards basically do is, that they define the universally accepted standards for testing a software, or do they? Well enough about all the nightmares. Now let's wake up talk about the fact.
The true fact is that there is only one standard for testing software, which in my words goes something like this - "There is no standard/best/perfect/one way to test a software". Software testing is like psychology, every case is unique and should be dealt with in a different way. Of course certain things will be similar for more than one software but it will never be the same for each and every software.
As James Bach says there is no best practice for software testing, there is only good/better practices relevant to the software under test. So for all those delusional testers (who thought they have figured out testing and decided to sit down and draw the perfect methodologies and standards and are trying to impose it on the world), I have just one thing to ask - can you draw the standards or the perfect method for psychology? If not please stop selling the hoax which they call the software testing standards and stop misguiding/misleading others how are willing to take up testing as a career.
Testing is an art practiced to make the world better and safe for people to live in. Creating the illusion of the international standard is taking this art in the opposite direction and it is because of this that most of the testers are actually suffering at jobs. It would be great if people realise the danger of the false education that is being spread by tutors and certifications. It is in no way helping people to become better testers.
In the end for all the learning testers around the globe please practice testing as an art and try to get better at it each day with practice and following real testers like James Bach, Michael Bolton, Gerald Weinberg, Pradeep Soundararajan and many others. And another good way to get better at testing is to question every thing. Even question what all these people mentioned above have to say and discuss it with them and I bet you will learn a lot while doing that!... I myself got certified as ISTQB-CTFL in February and after I completed the 2 hour exam in 30 minutes(which I passed with flying colors) I realised that it didn't teach me anything that I had not already learnt with the 12 months of work experience as tester before the exam. Fortunately for me someone else paid for the exam fee :) and I read somewhere that ""one should take risks, if you succeed you can lead and if you fail you can guide"". So here I am requesting all the testers not to fall for the illusion of standards and certifications. Explore your art of testing by writing and talking about it, doing it and discussing it...
Petitions have been formed by some good minds to stop these standards here and here. They need our support, and I have signed up for it. If you feel the same about standards in testing show your support by signing up with these petitions."
