Classic Mistakes in Testing: Revisited

Some common testing practices seem appealing ... but rarely seem to actually work. Yet software development organizations choose them again and again. Project behind schedule? Just shorten the testing phase! Testers pointing out too many problems with the requirements? Kick the testers out of the room! Many of the software testing gurus suggest adding new "best practices" to the test process. Matt Heusser suggests that test process improvement should start by eliminating worst practices instead of adding extra work through new practices. Matt recounts the existing body of classic mistakes offered by Brian Marick and Steve McConnell. Then he offers a new wrinkle: Mistakes often come from a specific root cause such as short-term thinking. Instead of battling over the specific mistake, teams are better off correcting that root cause.