The last test

You've got a test plan. You've followed the test plan. You've run the test cases.

...again...
...and again...
and again.

Finally, you have the final release candidate. You run through your tests.

Now it is time to go into production. And you get?

A printed farm bill sent to the White House only to find 34 pages weren't printed.

How did this happen? Simple fatigue and forgetting to have a clear implementation test? No one had a check list to check it? Or those that did had printed it so many times that they were sure it was there? Or they were rushing? Doesn't matter.

You must check the actual version -- the actual, actual version, not the one in the directory from which the actual version will be copied. You must have an implementation test that knows what you have to check.

What is just as interesting is how members of Congress and the White House are responding to this gaffe. And that also relates to Quality Software. But that's for another post.