Testing

Software quality is the great white whale of the software industry. We often seek it, but are totally unprepared to do anything about it. As in the tale by Melville, we can point out our Captain Ahab’s who are driven towards the extremes in ensuring quality. We also have the rest of the world that gets by not even thinking about it, except to say we know someone who knows someone that heard someone else talk about it in the dark corners of tavern once. It is one of the most critical facets of a successful software project, yet most teams are willing to cut corners in quality to meet other goals. In my experience, quality is often the second area where team resources are cut, right after documentation.