Investigating the Alignment of Software Testing Education with Industry Practices
Resumo
This study aims to analyze how software testing is currently taught in undergraduate computing programs and to what extent it aligns with modern practices adopted by the industry. We conducted a three-phase investigation: (i) a review of course syllabi from Brazilian undergraduate programs to examine the coverage and depth of testing-related content; (ii) a survey with students to assess their experiences and perceptions regarding software testing education; and (iii) a survey with industry professionals to identify prevailing testing practices. The results reveal a significant discrepancy between academic instruction and industry practices in software testing.Referências
Association for Computing Machinery (2020). Acm computing curricula 2020.
Barrett, A. A., Enoiu, E. P., and Afzal, W. (2023). On the current state of academic software testing education in sweden. In 2023 IEEE International Conference on Software Testing, Verification and Validation Workshops (ICSTW), pages 397–404. IEEE.
Cammaerts, F., Tramontana, P., Paiva, A. C., Flores, N., Pastor Ricós, F., and Snoeck, M. (2024). Exploring students’ opinion on software testing courses. In Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering, pages 570–579.
Cheiran, J. F. P., de M. Rodrigues, E., de S. Carvalho, E. L., and da Silva, J. P. S. (2017). Problem-based learning to align theory and practice in software testing teaching. In Proceedings of the XXXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 328–337.
Chen, N. (2011). Gate. In Proceedings of the 33rd international Conference on Software Engineering, pages 1078–1081.
Clarke, P. J., Davis, D. L., Chang-Lau, R., and King, T. M. (2017). Impact of using tools in an undergraduate software testing course supported by wrestt. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 17(4):1–28.
da Silva, G. A. P., Oliveira, S. R. B., and Elgrably, I. S. (2025). Ensino e aprendizagem de testes de software a partir do uso de jogos: Uma revisão sistemática da literatura. In Workshop sobre Educação em Computação (WEI), pages 36–48. SBC.
dos Santos, H. M., Durelli, V. H., Souza, M., Figueiredo, E., da Silva, L. T., and Durelli, R. S. (2019). Cleangame. In Proceedings of the XXXIII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 437–446.
Fulcini, T., Coppola, R., Ardito, L., and Torchiano, M. (2023). A review on tools, mechanics, benefits, and challenges of gamified software testing. ACM Computing Surveys.
Gamido, H. V. and Gamido, M. V. (2019). Comparative review of the features of automated software testing tools. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 9(5):4473.
Martins, L., Brito, V., Feitosa, D., Rocha, L., Costa, H., and Machado, I. (2021). From blackboard to the office. In Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering, pages 211–220.
McManus, J. W. and Costello, P. J. (2019). Project based learning in computer science. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 34(3):38–46.
Melo, S. M., Moreira, V. X., Paschoal, L. N., and Souza, S. R. (2020). Testing education. In Proceedings of the XXXIV Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 554–563.
Muneer, I. (2014). Systematic review on automated testing (types, effort and roi).
Myers, G. J., Sandler, C., and Badgett, T. (2011). The art of software testing. John Wiley & Sons.
Paschoal, L. N. and de Souza, S. d. R. S. (2018). A survey on software testing education in brazil. In Proceedings of the 17th brazilian symposium on software quality, pages 334–343.
Smith, J., Tessler, J., Kramer, E., and Lin, C. (2012). Using peer review to teach software testing. In Proceedings of the ninth annual international conference on International computing education research, pages 93–98.
Sneha, K. and Malle, G. M. (2017). Research on software testing techniques and software automation testing tools. In 2017 international conference on energy, communication, data analytics and soft computing (ICECDS), pages 77–81. IEEE.
Tramontana, P., Marín, B., Paiva, A. C. R., Mendes, A., Vos, T. E. J., Amalfitano, D., Cammaerts, F., Snoeck, M., and Fasolino, A. R. (2024). State of the practice in software testing teaching in four european countries. In 2024 IEEE Conference on Software Testing, Verification and Validation (ICST), pages 59–69.
Valente, M. T. (2024). Software Engineering: A Modern Approach. Self-published.
Valle, P. H. D., Barbosa, E. F., and Maldonado, J. C. (2015). Cs curricula of the most relevant universities in brazil and abroad. In 2015 International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE), pages 62–68. IEEE.
Venson, E. and Alfayez, R. (2024). Bridging theory to practice in software testing teaching through team-based learning (tbl) and open source software (oss) contribution. In Proceedings of the 46th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training, ICSE-SEET ’24, page 72–81, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Barrett, A. A., Enoiu, E. P., and Afzal, W. (2023). On the current state of academic software testing education in sweden. In 2023 IEEE International Conference on Software Testing, Verification and Validation Workshops (ICSTW), pages 397–404. IEEE.
Cammaerts, F., Tramontana, P., Paiva, A. C., Flores, N., Pastor Ricós, F., and Snoeck, M. (2024). Exploring students’ opinion on software testing courses. In Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering, pages 570–579.
Cheiran, J. F. P., de M. Rodrigues, E., de S. Carvalho, E. L., and da Silva, J. P. S. (2017). Problem-based learning to align theory and practice in software testing teaching. In Proceedings of the XXXI Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 328–337.
Chen, N. (2011). Gate. In Proceedings of the 33rd international Conference on Software Engineering, pages 1078–1081.
Clarke, P. J., Davis, D. L., Chang-Lau, R., and King, T. M. (2017). Impact of using tools in an undergraduate software testing course supported by wrestt. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 17(4):1–28.
da Silva, G. A. P., Oliveira, S. R. B., and Elgrably, I. S. (2025). Ensino e aprendizagem de testes de software a partir do uso de jogos: Uma revisão sistemática da literatura. In Workshop sobre Educação em Computação (WEI), pages 36–48. SBC.
dos Santos, H. M., Durelli, V. H., Souza, M., Figueiredo, E., da Silva, L. T., and Durelli, R. S. (2019). Cleangame. In Proceedings of the XXXIII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 437–446.
Fulcini, T., Coppola, R., Ardito, L., and Torchiano, M. (2023). A review on tools, mechanics, benefits, and challenges of gamified software testing. ACM Computing Surveys.
Gamido, H. V. and Gamido, M. V. (2019). Comparative review of the features of automated software testing tools. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 9(5):4473.
Martins, L., Brito, V., Feitosa, D., Rocha, L., Costa, H., and Machado, I. (2021). From blackboard to the office. In Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering, pages 211–220.
McManus, J. W. and Costello, P. J. (2019). Project based learning in computer science. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 34(3):38–46.
Melo, S. M., Moreira, V. X., Paschoal, L. N., and Souza, S. R. (2020). Testing education. In Proceedings of the XXXIV Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, pages 554–563.
Muneer, I. (2014). Systematic review on automated testing (types, effort and roi).
Myers, G. J., Sandler, C., and Badgett, T. (2011). The art of software testing. John Wiley & Sons.
Paschoal, L. N. and de Souza, S. d. R. S. (2018). A survey on software testing education in brazil. In Proceedings of the 17th brazilian symposium on software quality, pages 334–343.
Smith, J., Tessler, J., Kramer, E., and Lin, C. (2012). Using peer review to teach software testing. In Proceedings of the ninth annual international conference on International computing education research, pages 93–98.
Sneha, K. and Malle, G. M. (2017). Research on software testing techniques and software automation testing tools. In 2017 international conference on energy, communication, data analytics and soft computing (ICECDS), pages 77–81. IEEE.
Tramontana, P., Marín, B., Paiva, A. C. R., Mendes, A., Vos, T. E. J., Amalfitano, D., Cammaerts, F., Snoeck, M., and Fasolino, A. R. (2024). State of the practice in software testing teaching in four european countries. In 2024 IEEE Conference on Software Testing, Verification and Validation (ICST), pages 59–69.
Valente, M. T. (2024). Software Engineering: A Modern Approach. Self-published.
Valle, P. H. D., Barbosa, E. F., and Maldonado, J. C. (2015). Cs curricula of the most relevant universities in brazil and abroad. In 2015 International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE), pages 62–68. IEEE.
Venson, E. and Alfayez, R. (2024). Bridging theory to practice in software testing teaching through team-based learning (tbl) and open source software (oss) contribution. In Proceedings of the 46th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training, ICSE-SEET ’24, page 72–81, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Publicado
19/07/2026
Como Citar
SILVA, Carla Lizandra; ALVES, Victor Anthony; BEZERRA, Carla; LIMA, Lara Gabrielly.
Investigating the Alignment of Software Testing Education with Industry Practices. In: WORKSHOP SOBRE EDUCAÇÃO EM COMPUTAÇÃO (WEI), 34. , 2026, Gramado/RS.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 282-293.
ISSN 2595-6175.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/wei.2026.22639.
