TPS report

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

A TPS report (Testing Procedure Specification) is a document used in software engineering, electrical engineering and electronic engineering, in particular by a quality assurance group or individual, that describes the testing procedures and the testing process.

Contents

Definition [edit]

The official definition and creation is provided by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as follows:

IEEE 829 - Test Procedure Specification
The Test Procedures are developed from both the Test Design and the Test Case Specification. The document describes how the tester will physically run the test, the physical set-up required, and the procedure steps that need to be followed. The standard defines ten procedure steps that may be applied when running a test.

In popular culture [edit]

After its use in the comedic 1999 film Office Space, "TPS report" has come to connote pointless mindless paperwork,[1] and an example of "literacy practices" in the work environment that are "meaningless exercises imposed upon employees by an inept and uncaring management" and "relentlessly mundane and enervating".[2] According to the film's writer and director Mike Judge, the acronym stood for "Test Program Set" in the movie.[3]

In Reebok's 2003 Super Bowl commercial and surrounding ad campaign, Terry Tate the Office Linebacker tackles an officemate for failing to include a coversheet on his TPS report.[4]

In the first season episode "Walkabout" of the television series Lost, John Locke is in his cubicle having a confidential phone conversation when he is interrupted by his superior asking him to submit his TPS reports by noon.[5] In the 2011 movie Arena (with Samuel L Jackson, Nina Dobrev, and Kellan Lutz), TPS report cover sheets are discussed by the character Yoshi (Michael Liu) in one of the cut scenes. In the Kooman & Dimond musical Homemade Fusion[6] the song "The Temp & the Receptionist" includes the line "You type your TPS reports / And got me feeling out of sorts."[7]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Steven S. Little, The Milkshake Moment: Overcoming Stupid Systems, Pointless Policies and Muddled Management to Realize Real Growth (John Wiley & Sons, 2008), ISBN 978-0-470-25746-3, p.51. Excerpt available at Google Books.
  2. ^ Bronwyn T. Williams, Amy A. Zenger, Popular Culture and Representations of Literacy (Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2007), ISBN 978-0-415-36095-1, p. 61. Excerpt available at Google Books.
  3. ^ Michael Hoinski, "'Office Space' Cast Reunite at 10th Anniversary Screening of Mike Judge's Cult Film", Rolling Stone, February 9, 2009.
  4. ^ "Terry Tate office linebacker". Retrieved 28 September 2012. 
  5. ^ Jack Bender (2004-10-13). "Walkabout". Lost. Season 1. Episode 4. ABC.
  6. ^ "Homemade Fusion". Retrieved 29 May 2012. 
  7. ^ "Kooman & Dimond Blog". Lyrics to The Temp & the Receptionist. Retrieved 29 May 2012. 

External links [edit]