Cem Kaner is a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

software engineering Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...

at Florida Institute of Technology, and the Director of Florida Tech's Center for Software Testing Education & Research (CSTER) since 2004. He is perhaps best known outside academia as an advocate of software usability and

software testing Software testing is the act of checking whether software satisfies expectations. Software testing can provide objective, independent information about the Quality (business), quality of software and the risk of its failure to a User (computin ...

. Prior to his professorship, Kaner worked in the software industry beginning in 1983 in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

"as a tester, programmer, tech writer, software development manager, product development director, and independent software development consultant." In 1988, he and his co-authors Jack Falk and Hung Quoc Nguyen published what became, at the time, "the best selling book on software testing," ''Testing Computer Software''. See #Publications above for details on editions of ''Testing Computer Software.'' He has also worked as a

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...

designer. In 2004 he cofounded the

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Association for Software Testing.

Education

Kaner received a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

in 1974, having focused on mathematics and philosophy. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in

experimental psychology Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...

from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in 1984, with a dissertation in the area of

psychophysics Psychophysics is the field of psychology which quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimulus (physiology), stimuli and the sensation (psychology), sensations and perceptions they produce. Psychophysics has been described ...

(the measurement of perceptual experiences). He later attended

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, technology, accounting, ...

Law School, with a primary interest in the law of software quality, graduating with a J.D. in 1994.

Consumer and Software Quality Advocacy

Kaner worked as a part-time volunteer for the Santa Clara, California Department of Consumer Affairs, investigating and mediating consumer complaints. In the 1990s, he got trial experience working as a full-time volunteer Deputy

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, and later counselled independent consultants, technical book writers, and independent test labs on contract and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

issues as an attorney. He also did legislative work as a

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

advocate, including participation in the drafting of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (as an advocate for customers and small software development firms), and the

Uniform Electronic Transactions Act The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) is one of the several United States Uniform Acts proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). Forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin ...

, and he participated in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

's Advisory Committee on Private International Law: Study Group on Electronic Commerce. In 1999, he was elected to the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

, after being in practice for only five years. This experience led him, in collaboration with David Pels, to publish ''Bad Software: What To Do When Software Fails'' in 1997. This book was intended "to help people who had bought a defective computer program, with advice on troubleshooting their own problems, interacting with technical support, reporting problems to consumer protection agencies, bringing a lawsuit in

small claims court Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it ma ...

, and if necessary, hiring a lawyer to bring a formal lawsuit."

Publications

Books

* * (with coauthors Jack Falk and Hung Q. Nguyen) * (with coauthor David L. Pels) * (with coauthors Jack Falk and Hung Q. Nguyen) (Received the Award of Excellence from the

Society for Technical Communication The Society for Technical Communication (STC) was a professional association dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication with more than 4,500 members in the United States, Canada, and the world. The society pu ...

, Northern California Technical Publications Competition.) * (with coauthors James Bach and Bret Pettichord and editor Margaret Eldridge) * (with coauthors Sowmya Padmanabhan and Douglas Hoffman) * (with coauthor Rebecca L. Fiedler)

Articles

* (with coauthor John R. Vokey) * * * * *

References

External links

Official Cem Kaner homepage

Official blog
"On the craft and community of software testing"
Center for Software Testing Education & Research
at Florida Tech

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaner, Cem American bloggers American computer programmers American technology writers Florida Institute of Technology faculty Golden Gate University alumni Golden Gate University School of Law alumni Brock University alumni California lawyers Writers from Florida Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Software testing people 21st-century American non-fiction writers