About the AST
A professional association dedicated to improving the practice of software testing by advancing the science of testing and its application.
Over the past 40 years, software design and construction techniques have evolved spectacularly. We can build much larger and more complex programs now. Unfortunately, many of our test techniques and test management maxims come from the 60's and 70's. We must foster significant advances in both theory and practice of testing to catch up with the progress in development.
AST works on both theory and practice, but concentrates more on practice. Our objective is to build a community of testing practitioners, academics, managers and consultants who view the role of testing as skilled, relevant, and essential to the production of faster, better, and cheaper 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.
In pursuit of these goals, AST holds an annual conference and sponsors workshops, such as the Los Altos Workshop on Software Testing, Software Test Managers' Roundtable, and the Workshop on Teaching Software Testing. The distinguishing characteristic of these events is that ideas presented are subject to scrutiny of those present, both academics and practitioners. After presenting their ideas, authors and participants engage in a moderated, collegial discussion of the work and its impact. Discussions have ranged from 5 minutes to several hours.
These discussions often are as important as the work presented. So, we will publish some of these discussions as a "postceeding." The best of these works and other ideas that advance the state of the theory or practice of software testing will be published in the AST Newsletter.
Mission
The Association for Software Testing is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to advancing the understanding and practice of software testing. The AST serves a community of scholars, students, and software development practitioners by providing forums for discussion of all aspects of software testing through conferences, publications, web sites, and other services.
Objectives
- Encourage, facilitate, and coordinate partnerships between testing practitioners and testing researchers.
- Publish a newsletter containing leading-edge articles on testing practice and theory.
- Host an annual AST Conference to bring together developers, testers, and researchers in an exchange of testing practices, theories, and techniques.
- Support the teaching of software testing by encouraging projects to develop and publish resources that assist classroom presentation, grading, and self-study.
Milestones
- October 27, 2004 - granted 501(c) (3) status.
- April 14, 2004 - AST Incorporation.
Documents
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