It's disheartening to find that when you buy some new software or hardware you're unwittingly becoming an unpaid member of the supplier's R&D team. With the product running in your 'live' environment, it's now within your interests to report all the bugs that they didn't have time to iron out in the rush to market. Clearly the testing methodology used by even high-profile software houses and hardware manufacturers can be improved Managing the Testing Process aims to explain how.

Written for fledgling test project managers, the book starts by defining the foundations of a test system and discusses the FMEA (failure mode and effective analysis) approach for defining quality risks. Next, you're shown how to develop an effective test plan with a template the author has frequently used, broken down into areas such as the scope and definition of the test project; schedules and milestones; test configurations and change history.

A discussion on test-system architecture follows, which helps you build an effective testing environment and decide what you should be testing for. The author is adamant, rightly so, that good reporting at all levels is paramount to a project's success. You need to keep track of every defect identified by the testers so they can be reproduced by the developers, isolated and then fixed. The author also looks at staffing and managing the project team, although these are mainly hints and tips. There are some interesting first-hand experiences, but staff management is a skill in its own right that a single chapter can't possibly cover in depth.

Throughout the book, the author uses his own experiences as a project and quality-assurance manager to help clarify points and isn't afraid of admitting his mistakes. The flow is maintained nicely, with the same hardware and software projects used as examples throughout the book. The author clearly has plenty of field experience and his approach to a potentially dry subject stops it becoming boring.

Failure is rarely an option with project management and Managing the Testing Process provides enough proven tools and techniques to help you deliver a fully-tested product to market on schedule. The only irony is that it's published by Microsoft.

Dave Mitchell