Guiding Principles

  1. AST is focused on supporting the development of professionalism in software testing, among practitioners and academics, at all levels of experience and education.
  2. AST views software testing as an empirical, technical investigation conducted to provide stakeholders with quality-related information.
  3. AST views software testing as a cognitively complex activity that requires critical thinking, effective communication, and rapid self-directed learning.
  4. AST believes willingness to work collaboratively through controversy is vital to the growth and education of the field and those in it.
  5. AST fosters future generations of leadership in software testing through emphasis on personal growth in both ethical behavior and technical competence.
  6. AST supports the credentialing of software testers to the extent that the credential is marketed and presented consistently with the levels of knowledge, skill and experience that the credential measures or reflects.
  7. AST values all types of instruction in software testing, from all sources, to the extent that the instruction, instructional materials, and assessment are marketed honestly and promote the development of knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and respect for the diversity of well-informed views in the field.

Guiding Principles of Governance

  1. AST's leaders make decisions based on AST's ethics, AST's brand integrity, and value for AST members while being mindful of the potential for conflicts of interest for our members, volunteers, and staff.
  2. AST strives toward making the organization self-sustaining through means other then strictly volunteerism.
  3. AST finances its mission through products and services consistent with its nonprofit status, code of ethics, these eight guiding principles, and its high values of quality, relevance, and integrity.

Last updated on 10/13/2008