In this moment I have changed my tester hat for a project manager, or better said, general contractor hard hat. I am building what I hope will be my future house.

It's a lot of excitement, a lot of frustration, and a lot of opportunities to learn. And one of the things I have learnt is that professions are not so different from one another.

A few weeks ago the structural engineer -the guy that make sure the architect design will hold in case of storm, high winds, earthquake and so on- presented me the structural drawings. He has a reputation of preferring to overdue things. However, he was very frank: the structure he designed will ensure that in case of earthquake -the most significant hazard in my corner of the woods- the house will not collapse. However, after an earthquake, the house can not be inhabitable. To continue being useful after an earthquake (think of hospitals, fire stations and so on....) you need to spend more money and time.

This is a situation identical to software testing: to execute all possible testing paths and areas (functionality, performance, stress, security, usability....) will require an enormous effort that you may choose not to do. The important aspect is the decision needs to be made rationally and even more important, documented. All the stakeholders should be aware of the limitations of the testing effort and the trade off that have been made.

And trade off are a part of life, and part of software testing. Unless you are testing a flight control system, for example...