11 Best Software Testing Books in 2023

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  • Understand the most important lessons in software testing
  • Gain insight into test design, management, strategies and bug reporting
  • Recognize tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid when testing software
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  • Understand the role of testers, developers, managers, customers and users in software testing.
  • How to separate what is expected, significant and possible in software testing.
  • Identify common mistakes made during software testing.
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  • Understand the principles and technical practices of rapid, incremental delivery of high-quality software.
  • Automate the build, deployment, and testing process.
  • Explore techniques for automated infrastructure management and data migration.
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  • Use different types of software testing, such as black-box, white-box, random testing, unit testing, object-oriented testing and application testing
  • Understand the principles underlying various techniques for software testing
  • Gain knowledge on how to apply the techniques by analyzing requirements, designing tests, implementing tests and interpreting results
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Software testing is crucial for software development.

To help you master it, here are the best software testing books available in 2023:

1. Lessons Learned in Software Testing A Context-Driven Approach

1. Lessons Learned in Software Testing Book Cover

Lessons Learned in Software Testing is a comprehensive guidebook for software testing. It's decades of software testing experience condensed into the most important lessons.

This book offers more than tips. It gives you over 200 lessons from leading software testing experts to speed you through each phase of the testing process.

If you are a tester or developer at any level, you'll enjoy it.

Authors: Cem Kaner, James Bach, Bret Pettichord

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Understand the most important lessons in software testing
  • Gain insight into test design, management, strategies and bug reporting
  • Recognize tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid when testing software
  • Use examples and explanations for each lesson’s assertion
  • Develop an effective system for speeding up critical testing phases
  • Identify how to use this guidebook as a resource at all levels of expertise.
  • Become an expert in software testing.
  • Avoid costly trial and error with help from experts.

2. Perfect Software And Other Illusions about Testing

2. Perfect Software Book Cover

Gerald Weinberg's Perfect Software: And Other Illusions About Testing dispels common misconceptions surrounding software testing.

Wonder why "testing more" won't always guarantee better quality? You'll find out.

Weinberg dives into topics such as Information Immunity, What Makes a Test "Good?", and Major Fallacies About Testing.

Thanks to his wit, storytelling, and insights, Weinberg is one of the authorities on Computer Science.

Perfect Software is sure to revolutionize your approach to software testing.

Authors: Gerald M. Weinberg

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Understand the role of testers, developers, managers, customers and users in software testing.
  • How to separate what is expected, significant and possible in software testing.
  • Identify common mistakes made during software testing.
  • Develop a scalable test strategy for any project.
  • Explore why simply testing “more” doesn't guarantee better quality.
  • Examine concepts such as information immunity and major fallacies about testing.
  • Discover how to determine significance when it comes to software testing.
  • How to test without relying on machinery.
  • Understand the principles of effective software testing.

Gerald M. Weinberg: About the author

Gerald M. Weinberg is a renowned author and expert on software engineering, human behavior, and leadership. He has written dozens of books over the years that have helped shape the face of modern technology. His work includes classics such as Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method, The Psychology of Computer Programming, Perfect Software and Other Fallacies, and an Introduction to General Systems Thinking.

3. Continuous Delivery Reliable Software Releases Through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation

Best for Software Developers and DevOps Engineers

3. Continuous Delivery Book Cover

Continuous Delivery provides invaluable insight into the world of software testing. It shares practical advice to help you move from idea to release faster than ever before.

It covers topics such as configuration management, automated builds, deployment pipelines and acceptance testing and more. It touches on collaboration between development, testing, and operations teams.

If you are looking for purely a testing book, Continuous Delivery is not for you.

But if you want to know how software testing fits into a holistic view of software development, grab this book!

Authors: Jez Humble, David Farley

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Understand the principles and technical practices of rapid, incremental delivery of high-quality software.
  • Automate the build, deployment, and testing process.
  • Explore techniques for automated infrastructure management and data migration.
  • Implement an effective configuration management strategy
  • Automate acceptance testing from analysis to implementation.
  • Test capacity and other nonfunctional requirements.
  • Manage infrastructure, data components, and dependencies efficiently.
  • Develop strategies to mitigate risk.
  • Use best practices to get changes released in a matter of hours—sometimes even minutes.
  • Streamline collaboration between developers, testers, and operations teams.
  • Take advantage of state-of-the-art techniques to enable continuous deployment and zero downtime releases.
  • Implement features incrementally on large and distributed teams.

4. Essentials of Software Testing

4. Essentials of Software Testing Book Cover

Essentials of Software Testing provides a comprehensive guide to software testing, combining the art, craft and science of this important subject.

The book follows the journey of a single worked example with test automation throughout, introducing each testing technique in context so that students can understand its benefits and drawbacks.

Coverage includes black-box testing, white-box testing, random testing, unit testing as well as object-oriented and application testing with emphasis placed on the process involved; analysis, design implementation and interpretation of results. This book also comes with programming exercises and Java source code included on its accompanying website for further learning. It is an ideal resource for software engineering and computer science students as well as professionals.

Authors: Ralf Bierig, Stephen Brown, Edgar Galván, Joe Timoney

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Use different types of software testing, such as black-box, white-box, random testing, unit testing, object-oriented testing and application testing
  • Understand the principles underlying various techniques for software testing
  • Gain knowledge on how to apply the techniques by analyzing requirements, designing tests, implementing tests and interpreting results
  • Explore real world examples with clear explanations of each technique’s strengths and limitations
  • Acquire programming skills necessary to understand test automation by working on programming exercises available in Java source code
  • Take advantage of the bridge between different viewpoints on software testing, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject.

5. Agile Testing A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams

5. Agile Testing Book Cover

Agile Testing by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory is a great book for understanding the true role of a tester in agile development.

The book covers topics such as identifying what testing is needed, who should do it, and which tools can help.

It includes examples from real agile teams to illustrate the different components of effective agile testing including how to get testers engaged, where testers fit on an agile team, how to transition from traditional cycles to agile development, and much more.

With seven key factors for successful testing laid out in detail and advice on overcoming common barriers to test automation, Agile Testingprovides you with everything you need to be successful.

Authors: Lisa Crispin, Janet Gregory

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Understand the true role of an agile tester
  • Understand how to get testers engaged in agile development
  • Find out where testers and QA managers fit on an agile team
  • Discover what to look for when hiring an agile tester
  • Gain insights into transitioning from traditional cycle to agile development
  • Uncover ways to complete testing activities in short iterations
  • Explore how tests can guide successful development
  • Overcome barriers to test automation.

6. Complete Guide to Test Automation Techniques, Practices, and Patterns for Building and Maintaining Effective Software Projects

6. Complete Guide to Test Automation Book Cover

This comprehensive and detailed book provides the essential knowledge needed to create successful and maintainable test automation projects.

It covers everything from the real value of automated testing, key traits for success, considerations when planning tests, how easy it is to maintain tests over time, who should implement the tests, architecting a project to fit an application's architecture, designing reliable tests and integrating them into business processes.

The book also explores different types of automated testing such as unit testing, performance testing and visual testing to give users a complete understanding of available strategies for effective test automation.

Authors: Arnon Axelrod

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7. How to Break Web Software Functional and Security Testing of Web Applications and Web Services

7. How to Break Web Software Book Cover

How to Break Web Software is the definitive guide to security-testing any Web-based software. Written by two renowned experts, this book covers every category of exploit, teaching readers powerful attack tools and techniques for uncovering dozens of crucial flaws in Web architecture and coding.

It reveals where to look for potential threats and attack vectors, how to rigorously test for each of them, and how to mitigate vulnerabilities found.

A must-have resource for developers, testers, QA specialists or IT managers looking to ensure their mission-critical Web software is secure from malicious attacks.

Authors: Mike Andrews, James A. Whittaker

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8. Selenium Framework Design in Data-Driven Testing Build data-driven test frameworks using Selenium WebDriver, AppiumDriver, Java, and TestNG

8. Selenium Framework Design in Data-Driven Testing Book Cover

The Selenium WebDriver Technology is a powerful open source API. Selenium lets you test Browser and Mobile applications across platforms.

This book will take you through the process of designing and building your data-driven test framework. You'll be using Selenium WebDriver, Java, TestNG, Page Object Design Patterns, DRY approaches, utility classes, JSON Data Provider and third party tools.

You'll go from setting up a custom Selenium Grid for parallel testing on different browsers and mobile devices; building abstract base and subclasses; dual driver support; best practices for using locators; encapsulating data; running tests in cloud services like SauceLabs; creating reports with ExtentReports, etc.

Authors: Carl Cocchiaro

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Use Selenium WebDriver 3.x API, AppiumDriver API, Java-Bindings, and TestNG
  • Understand the concepts of Selenium Page Object Design Patterns and D.R.Y Approaches to Software Development
  • Create a data-driven test framework using Selenium WebDriver, Java and TestNG
  • Build a scalable driver class along with supporting classes for JSON Data Provider, Data-Driven Tests etc
  • Design a Selenium Grid for browser & mobile device testing
  • Use third party tools like ExtentReports & SauceLabs for results processing & cloud based test services
  • Create a fully functional sample framework to get you up and running with Selenium WebDriver for browser testing.

9. API Testing and Development with Postman A practical guide to creating, testing, and managing APIs for automated software testing

9. API Testing and Development with Postman Book Cover

Disclaimer: Content is for reference purposes only and does not represent the views of the author.

Authors: Dave Westerveld

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Understand the principles of effective API testing.
  • Learn how to use Postman for creating high-quality APIs.
  • Know when and how to use data-driven testing with Postman.
  • Understand what constitutes a well-designed API.
  • Become familiar with different types of APIs and related terminology.
  • Master functional and nonfunctional testing using Postman.
  • Utilize OpenAPI standards, mocking and other industry practices in Postman.
  • Explore projects that use Postman to add test automation to existing APIs.
  • Create a well-designed API from scratch with Postman.
  • Put your knowledge of APIs into practice quickly and effectively.

10. Software Testing

10. Software Testing Book Cover

Software Testing is an essential reference guide for anyone interested in learning more about the fundamentals of software testing. This concise

Authors: Ron Patton

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Understand the fundamentals of software testing
  • Gain an understanding of the different types and roles of software testers
  • Learn about techniques for efficiently executing tests
  • Be aware of how to test for security bugs in computer software
  • Identify strategies for improving software quality assurance processes
  • Develop an awareness of methods for troubleshooting issues within a system and best practices for implementation of software tests
  • Apply knowledge of the software testing lifecycle in a real world context.
  • Learn tips and tricks for writing effective test scenarios and reports.
  • Understand how to prioritize and manage multiple tasks efficiently.
  • Develop skills to identify potential problems before they arise, such as debugging code and optimizing performance. Software Testing is an essential guide for anyone who wants to learn more about the core concepts behind testing computer software. This book provides readers with:This comprehensive guide will help both novice and experienced testers develop the skills necessary to effectively use best practices during the software testing process. With Software Testing, you can become well versed in efficient techniques that save time, money, and resources while ensuring quality results every

11. Foundations of Software Testing ISTQB Certification

11. Foundations of Software Testing Book Cover

Foundation of Software Testing is essential reading for software testers and anyone looking to pass the ISTQB certification.

It covers all topics on the 2018 syllabus and provides invaluable, practical advice from highly respected international authorities in software testing.

Authors: Erik van Veenendaal, Dorothy Graham, Rex Black

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

  • Use the ISTQB Foundation qualifications for software testing
  • Understand the importance of adopting a practical, hands-on approach when learning about software testing
  • Grasp key topics in system and software testing
  • Become familiar with changes made to the 2018 ISTQB Foundation Syllabus
  • Gain insight into best practices from highly respected international authorities and teachers within the field of software testing
Josip Miskovic
About Josip

Josip Miskovic is a software developer at Americaneagle.com. Josip has 10+ years in experience in developing web applications, mobile apps, and games.

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