Cem Kaner

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Cem Kaner J.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Software Engineering at Florida Institute of Technology, and the Director of Florida Tech's Center for Software Testing Education & Research (CSTER) since 2004. He is perhaps best known outside academia as an advocate of software usability and software testing.

Prior to his professorship, Kaner worked in the software industry beginning in 1983 in Silicon Valley "as a tester, programmer, tech writer, software development manager, product development director, and independent software development consultant." In 1988, he published what became, at the time, "the best selling book on software testing," Testing Computer Software.^[1] He has also worked as a user interface designer.

In 2004 he cofounded the non-profit Association for Software Testing, where he serves as the Vice-President for Publications.^[2]

Contents 1 Education 2 Consumer and Software Quality Advocacy 3 Publications 3.1 Books 3.2 Articles 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Education

Kaner received a Bachelor's Degree from Brock University in 1974, having focused on mathematics and philosophy. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from McMaster University in 1984, with a dissertation in the area of psychophysics (the measurement of perceptual experiences). He later attended Golden Gate University Law School, with a primary interest in the law of software quality, graduating with a J.D. in 1994.

[edit] Consumer and Software Quality Advocacy

Kaner worked as a part-time volunteer for the Santa Clara, California Department of Consumer Affairs, investigating and mediating consumer complaints. In the 1990s, he got trial experience working as a full-time volunteer Deputy District Attorney, and later counselled independent consultants, technical book writers, and independent test labs on contract and intellectual property issues as an attorney.^[1] He also did legislative work as a consumer protection advocate, including participation in the drafting of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (as an advocate for customers and small software development firms), and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, and he participated in the United States Department of State's Advisory Committee on Private International Law: Study Group on Electronic Commerce. In 1999, he was elected to the American Law Institute, after being in practice for only five years.^[3]

This experience led him, in collaboration with David Pels, to publish Bad Software: What To Do When Software Fails in 1997. This book was intended "to help people who had bought a defective computer program, with advice on troubleshooting their own problems, interacting with technical support, reporting problems to consumer protection agencies, bringing a lawsuit in small claims court, and if necessary, hiring a lawyer to bring a formal lawsuit."^[1]

[edit] Publications

Note: a more exhaustive list is available on Kaner's own site.

[edit] Books

• Kaner, Cem (December 1987). Testing Computer Software, 1st, N.p.: TAB Professional & Reference Books. ISBN 0-8306-9563-X. 
• Kaner, Cem; Jack Falk, & Hung Quoc Nguyen (1993). Testing Computer Software, 2nd, N.p.: International Thomson Computer Press. 
• Kaner, Cem; David L. Pels (28 September 1998). Bad Software: What To Do When Software Fails. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-31826-4. 
• Kaner, Cem; Jack Falk, & Hung Quoc Nguyen [1993] (12 April 1999). in Marjorie Spencer, ed.: Testing Computer Software, 2nd (softback), New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-35846-0.  (Received the Award of Excellence from the Society for Technical Communication, Northern California Technical Publications Competition.)
• Kaner, Cem; James Bach & Bret Pettichord (15 December 2001). in Margaret Eldridge, ed.: Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-driven Approach. New York: Wiley. LCC QA76.76.T48 K34 2001 ISBN 0-471-08112-4. 
• Kaner, Cem; James Bach, Hung Quoc Nguyen, Pat McGee & Jack Falk (in preparation). Testing Computer Software, 3rd, New York: Wiley. ISBN 1-85032-908-7. 

[edit] Articles

• Kaner, Cem; John R. Vokey (June 1984). "A Better Random Number Generator for Apple’s Floating Point BASIC" (pdf). MICRO 26-35. Retrieved on July 27, 2006.
• Kaner, Cem (1995). "Liability for Defective Documentation" (pdf). Software QA Quarterly 2 (3): 8-13. Retrieved on 2006-07-27. 
• Kaner, Cem (May 1998). "Bad Software—Who is Liable?" (pdf). Proceedings of the American Society for Quality's 52nd Annual Quality Congress. Retrieved on July 27, 2006.
• Kaner, Cem (November 1998). "Article 2B and Reverse Engineering" (pdf). Uniform Commercial Code Bulletin 1-9. Retrieved on July 27, 2006.
• Kaner, Cem (June 1999). "Recruiting Software Testers" (pdf). 12th International Software Quality Conference (Quality Week). San Jose, CA. Retrieved on July 27, 2006.
• Kaner, Cem (August 2002). "UCITA: A disaster in progress" (pdf). IEEE Spectrum 39 (8): 13-15. Retrieved on 2006-07-27. 

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Kaner, Cem (31 August 2004). " They fail to give their advertised discount (Part 2)." (Blog). Alienware Sucks!. badsoftware.com. Retrieved on July 27, 2006. See #Publications above for details on editions of Testing Computer Software.
2. ^ Kaner, Cem; Registered Agent, Association for Software Testing (14 April 2004). Articles of Incorporation of Association for Software Testing, Inc (pdf). Association for Software Testing. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
3. ^ Kaner, Cem ([2003?]). About Me. kaner.com. Retrieved on July 27, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Official Cem Kaner homepage
• Official blog "On the craft and community of software testing"
• Alienware sucks blog "Another tale of woe from someone who bought an Alienware computer." (June to July 2005)
• Center for Software Testing Education & Research at Florida Tech
• FIT Faculty Profile