"Software Testing Strategies: A testing guide for the 2020s" - a book review

This weekend, I finally finished reading the “Software Testing Strategies: A Testing Guide for the 2020s” book written by Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen .

So I want to say a few words about this book - whether you should read it.

What’s a book about?

Generally speaking - it is a book about software testing. More than that - it is a book on how to test better and when and how to talk about testing to other people in IT.

Part 1: The Practice of Software Testing

The book's first part discusses the different kinds of tests we perform and provides some tips on how to do them better.

It starts with test design techniques, moves through the layers of ancient pyramids (if you know what I mean), and finishes with thoughts on test data management.

I really loved the parts about automation and how it goes wrong in most organizations. Special thanks for the examples of exploratory testing using games.

Part 2: Testing and Software Delivery

The second part of the book is dedicated to testing as part of delivery processes. It provides a great history of software delivery models and a set of practical approaches to communicating test results and strategy planning.

It taught me even more about the value of risks in testing.

Part 3: Practicing politics

The book's final part is more about how to talk about testing with business people: how to survive in politics, how to find proper words, and how to test ethically correct. The most insightful part of the book for me.

It left me with a lot of thoughts and topics for further investigation.

What did I not like in the book?

I skimmed through the automation examples, maybe because they were too easy or because they did not contain any insights. So, do not expect some ground-breaking truths about coding in this book. (And that’s totally fine!)

Do you need to buy it or not?

Yes - if you have a few years of experience (and more) in the industry and wanna get a more holistic view of the craft of testing.

Yes - if you want to expand your testing knowledge a little bit wider than writing tests or automated checks

No—if you want clear step-by-step instructions on how to test and what to test. (However, you can find some recipes in the book as well.)

In the end

I can recommend this book to every tester who wants to have a bag of insights and practical tips that you can implement almost instantly.

Thanks, Matthew and Michael, for such a wonderful journey. Looking forward to your next books.