Auditing

This book is not as much about detecting fraud as it is about developing company-wide awareness and implementing detection measures. These are the keys to not only fraud prevention, but also security in general. My perspective is as an IT security professional, and I found this book to be thorough in that it covers all key items, and also to be applicable to any size business.

What I especially like about this book is its wide coverage that touches on each of the most important elements of awareness and prevention, including an objective assessment of cyber fraud as a threat, an approach to analyzing risks and vulnerabilities, and how to implement controls and policies. In addition to these basics, the book also goes into the technical aspects of security (written so that a non-IT professional can understand the fundamentals), and related topics, such as information protection, and legal issues associated with web site content. While the latter are not specific fraud vulnerabilities, they represent business risks that are loosely related to fraud.

Other material that I found useful and informative included the chapters on internal protection controls and conducting audits and investigations.

This book is a valuable resource for any IT security professional as well as corporate security, auditing and internal controls, and general business professionals (especially marketing). If you are new to fraud I also highly recommend "Fraud 101: Techniques and Strategies for Detection" by Howard R. Davia (ISBN 0471373095) which provides a solid foundation for understanding fraud management from a wider perspective, and "The Computer and Internet Fraud Manual" by Joseph T. Wells (ISBN 1889277363), which goes deeper into detection and response techniques.

The author has written a simple to use guide for internal auditors to conduct the process audits required by the new Automotive Standards. This pocket guide is easy to use on the floor duirng audits to help guide the auditor to look for continaul improvement. Several examples are given in the back of the book that help bring everything together. I highly recommend this for anyone who has to conduct an audit to TS.

Unfortunately this book (like nearly all other books on software testing) does not teach you how to test software. Instead it only gives you information needed to manage software testing. And, like many other books of management, it is highly repetitive and redundant. For somebody needing compressed information this is the wrong book. I think it would be no big deal to reduce the number of pages to 50% and still deliver the same message. The exmamples given in the text read like from a psychology book, not like from a technical book. Despite my critique I have to admit that the annexes in the book can be highly valuable. Personally I liked best the review of the big number of test tools.

"Automated Software Testing" is one of those books that I wish had been available much earlier. An abundance of information that the test manager needs to know is compiled here comprehensively and in a very structured order. The order is not an incidental one, but rather a six step process called Automated Test Lifecycle Methodology (ATML). If this process is followed, the software development process could improve to a higher level of maturity. Each step is analysed carefully and supported by checklists, tables and decision helpers. In this book not only are the advantages of automated testing described but also warnings to avoid using automated testing when not applicable appear at the right places. The chapter Test Execution and Review enables the reader also to profit from the lessons learned at various test sites. I recommend to every test manager that this book resides on his or her office book shelf.

Many organizations own some kind of automated software test tool (or tools), however only a minority (about 15 - 20% by my surveys) actually use the tools they own. This indicates there is a large gap in applying automated testing tools and a resulting large pile of "shelfware" when it comes to this segment of the tool market. This book does an excellent job in helping to close the gap between having an automated test tool and actually using the tool in the testing process.

Automated Software Testing is definately the most complete guide to the process of test automation I have seen compiled in one source. The book is detailed and contains many tables, samples and case studies to provide practical application of the concepts presented in the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone considering test automation or for those who have been involved with test automation wishing to improve their processes.