Page - 198 - in The Future of Software Quality Assurance

198 K. van Dam 2 ThePast 1998 SteveJobshasreturnedatApplejustayearagoandpresentedthefirst iMac.Google is foundedandthefirstMP3iscreated. It’salso theyear inwhichMySQLandXML 1.0 are introduced. Windows 98 is released and Bill Gates gets a pie in the face. Seti@Home is started up and Internet Explorer becomes the most popular internet browser. The world gets to know blogs and it’s also the start of ISEB Software Testing Certification (IEEE 829) and the third anniversary of TMap, which has changedtheworld of software testingquiteabit. From the first day software was being developed, software was also being tested. However, around 1998 the first little steps were being taken in an effort to make software testing into a serious profession and people became aware quality assurance was something of importance in an IT project. But in 1998 a lot of software was still being released without any mentionable testing. At IT-related study programmes, software testing wasn’t even part of the curriculum. But the introduction of TMap and other methodologies made an impact in the software development industry.Peoplewere trying togetagripofwhatsoftware testingwas all about. They tried learning and discovering which steps to take to get software tested and get a grip on the quality of the software that was being developed. In the years that followed, software testing became an actual profession. However, there weren’t yet any real requirements for the job. If someone could read and write he/she could become a software tester. If you failed at developing software you could always give software testing a shot. But most software testers back then didn’tevenhaveabackgroundin IT.Strangelyenough(lookingbackat it), thiswas actuallyconsideredsomethinggood.Theconsensuswasthatsoftwaretestersshould be strictly independent. Therefore they should not be hindered by any technical knowledge. They should focus on the functional requirements which were being writtendownin massive documentsand by tryingoutnewly developedsoftwareas an end-user, they should try and find out if these requirements were being met. In reality this often meant software testers considered it a sport to find as many bugs as possible. Some software testers might even remember the bumper stickers that were popular back in the days stating things like “Software Testing: You make it, webreak it!”or“Every tester has the heartofa developer, in a jaronhisdesk”. 2008 Theworldhaschanged.ComputersandtheWorldWideWebarenowcommonplace. The first iPhone is barely a year old and Android and Chrome are being born. Facebook has been available to the general public for 2 years and no one can imagine a world without the Google search engine anymore. In 2008, both Spotify and GitHub are founded and it will be another year before the Bitcoin appears. TMapNext hasbeenaround fora fewyears nowandISTQBis celebrating its sixth anniversary. The Agile Manifesto is already 7 years old, but is now starting to get some feet on theground.Also test automation is emergingmore andmore.