Myths of Software Testing

What is a Myth?

Myth is a traditional story concerning the early history of explaining natural or social phenomenon or people.

 Myth 1:

Testing is too expensive:-

Testing is very expensive; it is a myth, whereas the fact is, during software development the cost for testing is less when compared to cost incurred due to maintenance or correction later. Since it is known that early testing in many aspects saves both cost and time. However, cost reduced without testing may lead to improper design of software application and a useless product may be the outcome.

 Myth 2:

Testing is time consuming:-

Testing consumes lot of time, it is a myth, whereas the fact is, during SDLC of testing are never a time consuming process, however fixing the error which are identified during proper testing, consumes more time but it is a productive activity.

Myth 3 :-
Testing starts only after the product is fully developed:-

Testing is started only after the product is fully developed, it is a myth, whereas the fact is, though testing depends on the source code, the reviewing and developing of test cases is independent from development of code. Incremental and Iterative models are examples for reducing dependency of testing on fully developed software.

 Myth 4:-

 Complete Testing is Possible

Exhaustive testing is possible, it is a myth, whereas the fact is, there is possibility of testing all paths by the team but occurrence of exhaustive testing is not possible. During software development life cycle there might be some scenarios that are never executed by test team or the client and may be executed once the project has been deployed.

 Myth 5: -

If software is tested, then it should be bug free:-

If Software is tested, then it must be free from bug, it is a myth, whereas the fact is that even a tester with excellent testing skills has tested the application, there is no one to say with absolute certainty that software application is 100% bug free. It is a common myth which most project managers, clients and management team believe in.

 Hence to become a good tester, he should have a good idea on myths, and how can that be helpful in testing the product successfully, as “quality” is that which matters at the end of the day.

Post by :- Geetanjali