Our Mission and Purpose

The Association for Software Testing is dedicated to advancing the understanding of the science and practice of software testing according to Context-Driven principles.

The Association for Software Testing (AST)  is a professional non-profit association that is dedicated and strives to build a testing community that views the role of testing as skilled, relevant, and essential to the production of faster, better, and less expensive software products. We value a scientific approach to developing and evaluating techniques, processes, and tools. We believe that a self-aware, self-critical attitude is essential to understanding and assessing the impact of new ideas on the practice of testing.

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News

• CAST 2013: Program Updates & Early Bird Discount “Early Bird” Discount Ends Save up to $300 until May 31st Register by May 31th and save up to $300 with our “Early Bird” discount. Don’t forget that we limit attendance to 250 people. We look forward to seeing you August 26-28 in Madison, WI for CAST 2013. Program Updates We are excited to have Jon Bach and Dawn ...
• Where the Bugs Aren’t By Iain McCowatt And Dee said “Help Please! Is there any way I can interest you in writing something for the AST newsletter for April?” Unfortunately, I seldom write like that. I prefer to write when something catches my attention, tickles my fancy, intrigues me: I rarely flick a switch and write on demand. I wracked my brains, and nothing came to mind. Then a gift arrived. “YOU have been ...
• Bugs Seen ‘Round the World By Rajesh Mathur I attended the International Conference on IT Management and Engineering Practices (ITMEP2013) in January. Before me there was another speaker who insisted that testing is expensive. When I spoke, I had to say that testing is not expensive, not doing it is expensive. People laughed. As the laughter died down the questions erupted. Suddenly this ...
• CAST 2013 – Full Schedule & Tutorials We are excited to announce that the full conference schedule is now available and it includes three excellent preconference tutorials. This year’s schedule is filled with practitioners, thought leaders, and experts who will be sharing their lessons learned. Each session and tutorial was hand picked to appeal to not only those who test but also ...
• The Skills and Tools a Tester Needs By Rajesh Mathur Last year, I asked a question on few LinkedIn groups whether testing was a skill. I received many responses and almost all responses focused on the skill aspect of testing. Then couple of weeks back, Pradeep Soundararajan opened a can of worms on LinkedIn by stating that QualityCenter is a tool and not a skill. ...
• Skills for Testers: What Are Testers Made Of? By: Phil Kirkham Definition of SKILL  the ability to use one’s knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance dexterity or coordination especially in the execution of learned physical tasks a learned power of doing something competently: a developed aptitude or ability   Now, armed with a definition, how can this be used to define skills that a tester should ...
• CAST 2013 Updates: Track Sessions, Tutorials, and Schedule Benjamin Yaroch – CAST 2013 conference chair With the “First Responder” discount deadline approaching and twitter lighting up with people saying they have been selected to speak at CAST, I’ve had a few people ask if the schedule will be published before the deadline. Unfortunately that won’t be the case we still have titles to sort ...
• SummerQAmp Embarks on Its Second Year SummerQAmp Embarks on Its Second Year to Create Internships at Leading Technology Companies in Eight U.S. Cities. Led by CampInteractive, CK-12 Foundation, Association for Software Testing, QASymphony, Jobspring, Workbridge and Connect to Tech join forces to educate youth in careers in Quality Assurance.   We’re excited to announce that SummerQAmp, an initiative to place students in Quality Assurance ...