Special issue on collaboration in software testing between industry and academia
Testing is the most widely practiced method to detect defects and to improve quality in the software industry. Many projects rely on testing as their primary quality assurance measure (Orso and Rothermel 2014). The practical importance of testing is also reflected by the often enormous budgets dedicated to this form of quality assurance (Huang and Boehm 2006). The academic interest is emphasized by a long and outstanding research history on static and dynamic testing of software systems (Orso and Rothermel 2014). Software testing is covered by dedicated academic conferences and events, tracks in major software engineering venues, and a wide array of scientific publications. Yet, how does this research impact the software industry? Despite the numerous ideas and approaches developed in academia, few research results have turned into practical applications that create a lasting benefit for practitioners. There is still a significant gap between the state of academic research and the state and needs of industrial practice. Bridging this gap is of mutual interest as collaboration between industry and academia supports improvement and innovation in industry and ensures industrial relevance in academic research. This special issue focuses on collaboration between industry and academia in the context of software testing. It follows a series of events on industry-academia collaboration, such as the Workshop on Testing: Academia-Industry Collaboration, Practice and Research Techniques (TAIC PART) (Ramler et al. 2016; Alshahwan et al. 2015). The special issue comprises six papers that describe lessons learned from collaboration initiatives, share insights into the challenges and opportunities involved in the joint work of researchers and practitioners, and provide suggestions and approaches for better connecting the two sides. The first paper Industry-academia collaborations in software testing: experiences and success stories from Canada and Turkey by Vahid Garousi, Matt M. Eskandar, and Kadir Software Qual J https://doi.org/10.1007/s11219-017-9395-1