11 Best Software Testing Books in 2023 [Become a Software Tester ASAP]

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What is software testing?

Software testing is a method used to determine if a software product is doing what it’s supposed to do.

Some benefits of software testing include:

less bugs
creating an awesome user experience
client confidence
improved performance

And ultimately saves you (and your company) money by reducing development costs.

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation if you buy something. Read my disclosure for more details.

TLDR: Best Software Testing Books

🔥 Best Overall 🔥
Foundations of Software Testing

💸 Best Value 💸
The Self-Taught Software Tester

💥 Best for Newbies 💥
A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing

Best Software Testing Books

Foundations of Software Testing is one of the best software testing books to prepare for the ISTQB Certification.

↘️ Ideal for: software testers studying for ISTQB certification
↘️ Topics covered: ISTQB Certification

ISTQB oversees the development of international qualifications in software testing.

Foundations of Software Testing is the core guide to software testing and ISTQB certification. Using a hands-on approach, you’ll learn about fundamental software testing topics that all software testers should know.

➡️ The authors of Foundations of Software Testing are developers of the ISTQB syllabus.

4 software testing scenarios in Foundations of Software Testing

🔥 Geena’s Hot Take

Even if your aren’t preparing for the ISTQB certification, Foundations of Software Testing is the best software testing book on our list today.

That’s because you’ll learn the international standard for conducting software testing. And that’ll put you ahead of the pack and make you more desirable to employers.

🚄 Learn more about ISTQB certification with the course ISTQB® Foundation: Testing throughout the Software Development Lifecycle on Pluralsight.

The Self-Taught Software Tester is one of the best software testing books at a great price.

↘️ Ideal for: self-taught software testers
↘️ Topics covered: software testing fundamentals, project

The Self-Taught Software Tester is a step-by-step guide to learn software testing. First you’ll learn software testing fundamentals. Then you’ll work on a real-world software testing project.

You’ll learn how test activities are planned while gaining an understanding of the project lifecycle.

➡️ The Self-Taught Software Tester is a roadmap to understanding software testing components and the big picture.

🚄 Keep the self-taught train going and take the course Software Testing : Effective Test Case Writing & Formatting on BitDegree.

A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing is one of the best software testing books for beginners.

↘️ Ideal for: newbie software testers
↘️ Topics covered: fundamentals

A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing is a software testing guide for absolute beginners. You’ll learn fundamentals such as:

testing theory
how to write test plans
finding and reporting defects

You’ll also graduate to some more advanced topics like performance and security testing.

➡️ A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing was written by Bill Laboon who has over 15 years of software testing experience.

What software testers are saying about A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing

… This book provided a number of “aha” moments for me …

– PDDivine, Software Tester

🚄 Are courses more your speed? Check out the course Introduction to Software Testing on Coursera.

↘️ Ideal for: students up to IT managers
↘️ Topics covered: testing apps, collaborative programming

The Art of Software Testing takes a different approach to teaching software testing. Rather than looking at development techniques, languages, and testing methods, you’ll find time-proven software approaches.

Some of what you’ll learn includes:

testing apps for iPhones, Androids, and more
collaborative programming and testing
testing internet apps, e-commerce and agile programming environments

And beyond.

➡️ The Art of Software Testing teaches you a unique skillset you can use to craft your software testing practices.

Software Testing: A Craftsman’s Approach is one of the best software testing books to cover the mathematics of software testing.

↘️ Ideal for: software testers, software developers, software engineers
↘️ Topics covered: mathematics, structural and functional testing

Software Testing: A Craftsman’s Approach is a math-rich book covering structural (code-based) and functional (specification-based) software testing. It expands beyond unit testing to cover integration and system testing.

You’ll also uncover:

technical inspections
model-based development
methods for software testing in an Agile environment
test-driven development

And much more.

➡️ Software Testing: A Craftsman’s Approach is a highly technical book where you’ll dive deep into software testing concepts.

Testing Computer Software is one of the best software testing books for test managers.

↘️ Ideal for: software testers and test managers, software developers
↘️ Topics covered: testing plans, design, laws

Testing Computer Software was written by test managers and software development managers that have worked in Silicon Valley. It is the oldest book on our list (1999), but its lessons are invaluable and still apply to software testing today.

Using real-world conditions, you’ll discover how to:

design and use a bug-tracking system
clearly describe software errors
create a testing plan
test products

And beyond.

➡️ Testing Computer Software explains the software testing process in digestible chunks.

EXCELLENT resource on computer testing. This is written in such an easy and straightforward manner.

– Attickus, Software Tester

↘️ Ideal for: software testers, software developers, engineers
↘️ Topics covered: fundamentals

Software Testing, 2nd Edition takes a gentle approach to introducing software testing concepts. Starting with the big picture, you’ll move onto:

software testing fundamentals
applying your software testing skills
supplementing your software testing
working with test documentation

By the end of the book, you should have a firm grasp of software testing basics.

➡️ Software Testing, 2nd Edition teaches only the fundamentals of software testing, so is great for beginners.

Developer Testing is one of the best software testing books for testing new and legacy code.

↘️ Ideal for: software engineers, software developers, software testers
↘️ Topics covered: vocabulary, constructs, testing

Developer Testing was published by the same folks who brought you Martin Fowler’s classic Refactoring.

It uses practical examples in Java, C#, Groovy, and Ruby so you can see how software testing functions using techniques like:

refactoring
unit testing
dependency breaking
test-driven development

And more.

➡️ Developer Testing teaches you how to perform advanced tests and establish effective testing strategies.

Testing example in Developer Testing

↘️ Ideal for: software testers, software developers, software engineers
↘️ Topics covered: tips, tricks, pitfalls

Lessons Learned in Software Testing was written by authors with a combined 30 years experience in software testing. It teaches you tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid while testing your software.

With over 200 lessons, you’ll explore:

test design
test management
bug reporting
testing strategies

And more.

➡️ Lessons Learned in Software Testing is filled with explanations and examples of challenging software testing concepts.

Software Testing and Quality Assurance is one of the best software testing books for theory and practice.

↘️ Ideal for: software testing newbies, software engineers, software developers
↘️ Topics covered: software testing, quality assurance

Software Testing and Quality Assurance is a primer on software testing focused on integration, execution and automation. You’ll gain a solid understanding of:

software best practices
software testing techniques
life-cycle and process models

You’ll also learn how to build test teams which includes recruiting and retaining test engineers.

➡️ Software Testing and Quality Assurance uses real-world examples to introduce concepts in software testing, quality assurance, and software engineering.

↘️ Ideal for: software engineers, software developers
↘️ Topics covered: theory and practice

Software Testing: Principles and Practices first starts with covering the principles of testing. From there, you’ll dive into:

life cycle models
test management metrics
automation

Then you’ll dig into specialized testing methods and common issues faced by companies.

➡️ Software Testing: Principles and Practices covers practical and theoretical aspects of software testing.

Best Software Testing Books: Conclusion

Today we looked at the best software testing books including:

🔥 Best Overall 🔥
Foundations of Software Testing

💸 Best Value 💸
The Self-Taught Software Tester

💥 Best for Newbies 💥
A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing

So whether you’re a software testing newbie or experienced software engineer, we think these are the best software testing books out there.

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