Software testing is the process of checking software, to verify that it satisfies its requirements and to detect errors. Software testing is an empirical investigation conducted to provide stakeholders with information about the quality of the product or service under test[1] , with respect to the context in which it is intended to operate.
Like never before, everyday life has become dependent on software and software-based systems. Most of today’s appliances, machines, and devices are completely or at least partly controlled by software. Administrative proceedings in state agencies and industry, too, rely to a large extent on highly complex IT systems. Examples are the management of insurance
policies, inventory control systems, biometric characteristics in passports and ID cards, and the electronic health chip card.This strong dependency on software requires ever higher investments in quality assurance activities to enable IT systems to perform reliably. Software testing is developing toward a specialized, independent field of study and professional discipline within the computer sciences.
Within the discipline of software testing, “test management” is of particular importance. Test management comprises classical methods of project and risk management as well as knowledge of the appropriate use of well-defined test methods. With this stock-in-trade, the test manager can select and purposefully implement appropriate measures to ensure that a defined basic product quality will be achieved. In doing so, the test manager adopts an engineering approach.