Understanding Problem Solving in Software Testing: An Exploration of Tester Routines and Behavior
Paper in proceeding, 2023

Software testing is a difficult, intellectual activity performed in a social environment. Naturally, testers use and allocate multiple cognitive resources towards this task. The goal of this study is to understand better the routine and behavior of human testers and their mental models when performing testing. We investigate this topic by surveying 38 software testers and developers in Sweden. The survey explores testers’ cognitive processes when performing testing by investigating the knowledge they bring, the activities they select and perform, and the challenges they face in their routine. By analyzing the survey results, we provide a characterization of tester practices and identify insights regarding the problem-solving process. We use these descriptions to further enhance a cognitive model of software testing.

Software Testing

Test Design

Problem Solving

Author

Eduard Enoiu

Mälardalens högskola

Gregory Gay

University of Gothenburg

Jameel Esber

Mälardalens högskola

Robert Feldt

Chalmers, Computer Science and Engineering (Chalmers), Software Engineering (Chalmers)

Testing Software and Systems. ICTSS 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14131.

0302-9743 (ISSN) 1611-3349 (eISSN)

Testing Software and Systems. ICTSS 2023
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Subject Categories

Software Engineering

Computer Science

Computer Systems

DOI

10.1007/978-3-031-43240-8_10

More information

Latest update

6/13/2024