Should Software Testing really become a first-class concept at the academic level?

Question

Is Software Testing really given its importance at the academic level?

I believe there is a need in universities offering Software Engineering (and probably even Computer Science) to treat Software Testing as a separate course and topic in itself, rather than as part of a general topic of Software Engineering. Irrespective of the testing methodology and techninque used, this is something that is as much a part of a software professional's life as writing code.

I am not sure this is happening in most of universities - it is still being given secondary importance. When a fresh graduate comes out of university, he is all about programming and creating things, not on how to test them.

Should Software Testing really become a first-class concept at the academic level (or at-least treated like one)?

Answer 1

Yes, absolutely.

Answer 2

At my university it was given equal theoretical coverage as software requirements and software development. All 3 had a third-level course mandatory for SE and optional for CS. Even though many courses require programming most courses aren't actually about programming.

Answer 3

Yes, it probably should be given more consideration, and at some places it is. As a part of the new curriculum at the university I attended all programming projects are required to include test cases. There's no way to enforce a particular methodology, like TDD, but I think this is a step in the right direction.

There are even tools available, like Web-CAT, that allow for automated evaluation of test coverage. The students submit their code and their tests, and the system tells them how they scored against a set of instructor-accepted tests.

Answer 4

I agree that software testing should be emphasized much more in college, but that's only one small part of what is missing in a lot of computer science programs. Unfortunately a semester is not long enough to go through a whole product life cycle. Students should be taught how to write a comprehensive spec, create a comprehensive test plan based on that spec, and then be graded on how well their product matches that spec. Computer science schools do a great job teaching programming, they seem to be missing the more business-related topics.

Answer 5

I believe unit testing should be taught at the academic level, but not testing in general. A software tester need not worry him/herself with the same level of technical detail as the developer, meaning a broader understanding would probably be sufficient.