James Marcus Bach

James Marcus Bach (born c. 1966) is an American software tester, author,[1][2] trainer, and consultant.

Career

In his autobiography,[1] Bach wrote that he worked as a software testing manager for Apple and Borland after dropping out of high school. He also programmed Apple II and Commodore 64 ports of various titles for Spinnaker Software.

Since 1999, he has worked as independent consultant[3] based in Eastsound, Washington.[4] As a witness in the 2001 United States v. Microsoft Corp. antitrust case, Bach testified that Microsoft could indeed unbundle Internet Explorer from Windows.[5][6][7]

Bach is a proponent of exploratory testing and the context-driven school of software testing and is credited with developing session-based testing.[8] He was a member of the board of directors of the Association for Software Testing.[9] Lessons Learned in Software Testing,[2] a book he co-authored, has been cited over 130 times according to Google Scholar, and several of his articles have been cited dozens of times[10] including his work on heuristics for testing[11] and on the Capability Maturity Model.[12] He has written numerous articles for Computer.[13][14]

He is an advisor to the Lifeboat Foundation as a computing expert. They credit him with developing the General Functionality and Stability Test Procedure for Microsoft, part of the Designed for Windows program.[15]

Personal life

Bach is the son of the author Richard Bach and Bach's first wife, Bette Jeanne Franks, and is the brother of Jonathan Bach, who is also a software tester.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b Bach, James Marcus (2009). Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar: How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success. Scribner. ISBN 978-1439109083 – via Internet Archive Book Reader. Academic Student Record 1980–81 Gr. 9…
  2. ^ a b Kaner, Cem; Bach, James; Pettichord, Bret (2001). Lessons Learned in Software Testing. Wiley. ISBN 0471081124.
  3. ^ Elizabeth Kohl (January 26, 2009). "James Bach - Satisfice, Inc". Satisfice.com. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  4. ^ James Bach (September 13, 2009), The Self-Educated Apple Genius, Daily Beast
  5. ^ Thibodeau, Patrick (May 8, 2002). "Did Microsoft Foes Craft Antitrust Penalties?". PCWorld. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Hopper, D. Ian (May 7, 2002). "Judge in Microsoft case shows interest in penalty proposal". The Seattle Times.
  7. ^ "States missed a break in Microsoft trial - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  8. ^ "Use Session-Based Testing to Structure Exploratory Testing". TechWell. February 26, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  9. ^ "Board of Directors". Associationforsoftwaretesting.org. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  10. ^ "author:"james bach" - Google Scholar". Scholar.google.ca. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  11. ^ James Bach, Heuristic risk-based testing, Software Testing and Quality Engineering Magazine 11, 1999
  12. ^ James Bach, The Immaturity of the CMM, American Programmer 7, 1994
  13. ^ James Bach, Good enough quality: beyond the buzzword, IEEE Computer 30 (8), pages 96-98, 2002
  14. ^ James Bach, A framework for good enough testing, IEEE Computer 31 (10), pages 124-126, 2002
  15. ^ "Lifeboat Foundation Bios: James Bach". Lifeboat.com. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  16. ^ "Five Testing Questions with James Bach - QA Intelligence". qablog.practitest.com. December 17, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2017.