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James Whittaker

James Whittaker
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26 years 11 months

James A. Whittaker is is a technology executive with a career that spans academia, start-ups, and industry. He was an early thought leader in model-based testing where his Ph.D. dissertation became a standard reference on the subject. While a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, James founded the world's largest academic software testing research center and helped make testing a degree track for undergraduates. He wrote How to Break Software, How to Break Software Security (with Hugh Thompson), and How to Break Web Software (with Mike Andrews). While at Microsoft, James transformed many of his testing ideas into tools and techniques for developers and testers, and wrote the book Exploratory Software Testing. For the past three years he worked for Google as an engineering director where he co-wrote How Google Tests Software (with Jason Arbon and Jeff Carollo). He's currently a development manager at Microsoft where he is busy re-inventing the web.

Company
Florida Tech
Job Function
Consulting
Country
United States
Profile picture for user jw
James Whittaker

James A. Whittaker is is a technology executive with a career that spans academia, start-ups, and industry. He was an early thought leader in model-based testing where his Ph.D. dissertation became a standard reference on the subject. While a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, James founded the world's largest academic software testing research center and helped make testing a degree track for undergraduates. He wrote How to Break Software, How to Break Software Security (with Hugh Thompson), and How to Break Web Software (with Mike Andrews). While at Microsoft, James transformed many of his testing ideas into tools and techniques for developers and testers, and wrote the book Exploratory Software Testing. For the past three years he worked for Google as an engineering director where he co-wrote How Google Tests Software (with Jason Arbon and Jeff Carollo). He's currently a development manager at Microsoft where he is busy re-inventing the web.

All Articles by James Whittaker

All Stories by James Whittaker

Test-Physicians, Source Code, and BSODs

This is part 3 of a three-part list of nine "commandments" that can be used as a guide to improving your life as a test engineer. These are intended to be useful suggestions as well as for fun. Read on and see what you think.
Oracles, Failures, Models, and Sins

This is part 2 of a three-part list of nine "commandments" that can be used as a guide to improving your life as a test engineer. As a response to numerous inquiries about these tenets listed on James' Web site, this column provides his explanations behind the "Thou Shalts." These are intended to be useful suggestions as well as for fun. Read on and see what you think.
Random Testing and "App Compat"

Thoughts of testing tasks keeping you up at night? Looking for some helpful tips? Well then, you've come to the right place. James Whittaker's Software Testing Ten Commandments may be just what the doctor ordered. Curious? Take a peek at this week's column to find out more!
Will the Real Professional Testers Please Step Forward?
Why Software Fails (And How Testers Can Exploit It)

This paper summarizes conclusions from a three year study about why released software fails. Our method was to obtain mature-beta or retail versions of real software applications and stress test them until they fail. From an analysis of the casual faults, we have synthesized four reasons why software fails. This note presents these four classes of failures and discusses the challenges they present to developers and testers. The implications for software testers are emphasized.
API Testing Method with Markov Models

This paper presents a technique to test APIs that combines aspects of two published software testing methods, namely Markov modeling and category partitioning. Markov modeling provides a basis for model based testing and establishes the context for generating API calls and call sequences within a single test case.