Why Effective Product Testing Fails: Common Pitfalls

June 30, 2025

Jon

exploratory testing, Jon M. Quigley, organizational culture, product testing, Quality Assurance, regression testing, simulation, software testing, subsystem testing, system testing, Test automation, test execution, test planning, Testing Best Practices, testing failures, testing lifecycle, testing process, testing strategy, unit testing, validation, Value Tranformation LLC, verification

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Effective Product Testing Execution and my thoughts on this. The outcome can be a disaster if we poorly execute an effective, well-defined process.  Below are my thoughts on this link

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/robert-fey-78178b154_mrbrokentesting-integrationblindness-testingstrategy-activity-7345338918126432256-OWgo/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAJVUn4BzjTVfTnHgKx3zQWTPI5tYcYTiCM

 

  1. Unit tests pass.
  • If unit testing does not represent the real world, then it means little.
  • Unit testing should go beyond specification limits
  • Highly Accelerated Life Testing
  • Missing combinatorial testing
  • Un-changing the sequence of testing conducted
  1. Subsystem testing
  • Test combinations of stimuli
  • Test beyond specification
  • Stochastic (random) testing
  • Variations in customer products and applications
  1. System tests.
  • Systems testing via HIL
  • Live testing on track
  • Live testing in uncontrolled environments
  • Contrived exercises of the systems test the boundaries of the application
  • Stochastic testing

https://valuetransform.com/effective-product-testing-not-a-one-trick-pony/

These things fail because:

  1. Poor understanding of the need for testing throughout the development lifecycle
  2. Over reliance on simulation and models that are untested
  3. Testing to specification only (generally a singular approach to testing)
  4. Little exploratory testing of the boundaries
  5. Little testing of combinations of events, to which the product/systems can be subjected.
  6. Little time allocated for testing preparation
  7. Organization Priorities / Organization Politics
  8. Organization culture and testing (big bang system testing, testing seen as a burden, etc.)
  9. Competency and tools in support
  10. Lack of principles on when to employ regression testing – for example, never do regression testing.
  11. Lack of definition of component/subsystem/system increments (missing configuration management and release notes)
  12. A great process executed poorly
  13. A poor or no mental model for testing pre-requisites, inputs, associated processes, and process flow
  14. Level of independence between development, verification, and validation (biases)

 

 

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Post by Jon Quigley