Erik Peterson presents on the 80:20 rule at a Google Talk, which you can view on YouTube.com. He explains how to use the 80:20 rule to improve the quality of your testing with the benefit of delivering high quality software products.

Soak testing is the practice of exercising an application continuously under automated test with the primary objective of uncovering defects. In my experience, it’s the best practice for delivering reliable applications: applications that never seem to crash or exit abruptly

The web changes everything. Now that so much software is offered for free, the cost barrier for switching vendors is gone. Consequently, high quality is even more important when the barrier to switching vendors is nearly zero. Many times, quality is more important to your customers than new features.

I recall the response from an unsatisfied customer of one company where they delivered a leading edge product plagued with quality problems. This is a direct quote. He said, “I’d rather drive a Pinto that works every day than a Lexus that always breaks down.” For him leading edge was less important than quality, or to put in other way, leading edge features that don’t work is like not having the features in the first place. That’s true for most customers. In software where high quality continues to be uncommon, high quality is a competitive advantage. Yes delivering high quality takes time, but in my experience, low quality always takes longer and costs more. As I see it, focusing on quality is a win-win strategy: it saves time and money, and it creates a positive reputation for your products and your company. Plus, your customers will love you for it.

Quality is a differentiator. Grab the low hanging fruit; put these practices to use in your own projects, build stable applications, and you will differentiate your products from the competition.

Did you ever read one of those articles where the writer had instant credibility? I recently stumbled upon one when I was looking to get my web site indexed on dmoz.org. The article is titled “Nine Steps to Delivering Defect-Free Software” by Terence M. Colligan. When I read the article I knew he isn’t just writing about somebody else’s experience because it mirrored my own experiences when I was writing software myself. In the article he identifies nine traits contributing to defect free code.

Have you ever been so frustrated with a piece of software that you wanted to scream?  I’m sure it’s happened to you.  You’ve just completed a part of your project that you’ve worked so hard …