Stakeholders of the software industry Research Paper

Stakeholders of the software industry - Research Paper Example Conspicuously, information on the quality of software products is the most sought by consumers. It is imperative that developers of software products disseminate this information not only in a timely manner but also ensure that the information publicized is accurate and detailed (Myers, 1999). To obtain this information about a product’s quality, design, requirements, and implementation, it is important that developers of software products carry out different tests at the various phases of their production line. Such testing processes not only give information on the quality of a product but also enable an independent and unprejudiced view of a product not only by its developers but also by its users (Myers, 1999). In addition, the developer of software product may have the opportunity to appreciate and understand the risks of the design, development, and execution software (Myers, 1999). Contrary to common belief among laymen, software testing extends beyond tests done to asc ertain whether a product can be executed or applied and testing to identify or discover bugs; it encompasses all the processes by which software is validated and verified. In addition, software testing seeks to establish whether a product has adhered to the design and development requirements and can be effectively executed with similar features. What is more, software testing seeks to establish whether the needs of all stakeholders have been achieved in a product (Willison, 2004). One fundamental facet of software testing is that it can be done at any stage of the development and implementation of software, depending on the type of testing advised or adopted. This paper explores the notion that software testing is used to show that software functions properly. More precisely, the paper discusses the use of software testing to prevent and/or eliminate faults associated with requirements, design, analysis, and implementation. Software Testing for Prevention of Faults Recent times hav e realized an increase in the popularity of software testing in the software development industry. Software testing in the software industry entails not only the activities in the development cycle of software but also beyond. The importance of software testing is best highlighted by the fact that quite many users have experiences of software not working as expected. Evidently, faulty software has quite huge impacts on organisations. Among the consequences of software that do not work include financial losses, time losses, damage to business reputation, injury or death for safety-critical systems (Willison, 2004). The first way by which faulty software may result in financial loss is due to non-compliance to legal requirements. Regrettably, the testing phase of software development is never accorded the seriousness it deserves from software developers and managers. This situation exists despite the fact that testing is the only way to ascertain whether an application is likely to fu nction properly after it is deployed to the market. Due to its importance in ensuring a product is correct, there are several recommended approaches to and reasons for software testing (Willison, 2004). Although it gets a little attention, software testing remains a rather integral and important phase of any project on software development. That is, it is only via software testing that a developer may ascertain whether a software project or product is poised to succeed in the market or is doomed (Willison, 2004). It is important that software developers must have an approach that focuses on functional testing, characterized by the verification of whether software