Software Testing Foundations, 4th Edition provides the information necessary to pass the Certified Tester-Foundations Level exam, version 2011, as defined by the ISTQB; uses a format designed for self-study; and defines technical terms according to the updated ISTQB glossary.
Professional testing of software is an essential task that requires a profound knowledge of testing techniques. The International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) has developed a universally accepted, international qualification scheme aimed at software and system testing professionals, and has created the Syllabi and Tests for the "Certified Tester." Today about 300,000 people have taken the ISTQB certification exams.The authors of Software Testing Foundations, 4th Edition, are among the creators of the Certified Tester Syllabus and are currently active in the ISTQB. This thoroughly revised and updated fourth edition covers the "Foundations Level" (entry level) and teaches the most important methods of software testing. It is designed for self-study and provides the information necessary to pass the Certified Tester-Foundations Level exam, version 2011, as defined by the ISTQB. Also in this new edition, technical terms have been precisely stated according to the recently revised and updated ISTQB glossary. Topics
Fundamentals of TestingTesting and the Software LifecycleStatic and Dynamic Testing TechniquesTest ManagementTest ToolsAlso mentioned are some updates to the syllabus that are due in 2015.
Decent overview on getting started in the testing profession. It was pretty dry. If you try to come up with examples of software which you would enjoy testing it makes it a lot more practical. The principles are there, just don't expect to get much from it if you aren't actively thinking of how you would apply it to a specific piece of software. Probably one of the most useful things I learned from the course I was taking was that you can look up individual bug reporting software and repositories. Looking at the android repository made me much more aware of how it is implemented in practice. Also the book glosses over a bit of project management which is pretty trivial in comparison to things like the PMBOK. The concepts you might need to look at external sources for are automated testing. Additionally there are some good examples in lectures called "clean code" by Uncle Bob (Lecture 5 about an hour in). This helps to take a look at the philosophy and principles about test driven code or whatever they call it. Pair programming, and test driven design are probably the most useful takeaways from the book as a programmer. I didn't learn as much as I could have if I would have linked it to a direct project. If you can get involved with an open source project and try to apply the principles in the book otherwise you'll end up forgetting a lot of the ideas pushed forward in the book.
The book is specifically designed for personal self-study and provides all the necessary information required to pass the Certified Tester Foundations Level exam as defined by the ISTQB.
In my opinion, however, it must be used together with the ISTQB Certified Tester Foundations Level Syllabus
I used this book in 2007 as I become more involved in software testing. As a first introduction to the subject, it's OK. But I never "liked" the book (as opposed to some other books on the same topics that I read in later years)
Maybe not the best book for peoples completely new for software development testing, but it probably is the best to systematize your knowledge and build solid background in testing.