A TPS report ("test procedure specification") is a document used by a quality assurance group or individual, particularly in software engineering, that describes the testing procedures and the testing process.
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.[1]
In popular culture
Office Space
Its use in popular culture increased after the comedic 1999 film Office Space. In the movie, multiple managers and coworkers inquire about an error that protagonist Peter Gibbons (played by Ron Livingston) makes in omitting a cover sheet to send with his "TPS reports". It is used by Gibbons as an example that he has eight different bosses to whom he directly reports. According to the film's writer and director Mike Judge, the abbreviation stood for "Test Program Set" in the movie.[2]
After Office Space, "TPS report" has come to connote pointless, mindless paperwork,[3] 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".[4]
In King of the Hill (also produced by Mike Judge), Kahn is being chewed out, then remarks to his boss "No sir, I filed my TPS report yesterday."
The 2015 puzzle video game Please, Don't Touch Anything featured the question "What is a TPS Report?" as one of many hidden clues that lead to a unique ending.
In Lost season 1, episode 4, John Locke's boss says "Locke, I told you I need those TPS reports done by noon today."
In Ralph Breaks the Internet, a TPS report is visibly hanging in one of the cubicles seen during Ralph's viral video montage. However, it was incorrectly placed in a cubicle in the accounting department, where TPS reports are not functionally relevant.[5]
In Borderlands 2, a legendary weapon is named the "Actualizer" with a flavor text description of "We need to talk about your DPS reports", parodying the corporate term by replacing it with the common gaming abbreviation for "Damage Per Second".
The TV series The Family Man features a scene in series 2, episode 1 in which the manager of the protagonist asks him to "start thinking about your TPS reports!", in amongst other apparent references to Office Space.[8]
In the NCIS episode "Starting Over", Gary Cole's Agent Parker mentions his least favorite paperwork being TPS reports. When McGee corrects him telling him they're "TBS reports", he says, "Ah, old habits, weird", then takes a sip of coffee, paying homage to his Office Space character, Bill Lumbergh.
In Season 4, Episode 10 ("High") of Rescue Me, Janet Gavin starts a new job and hands off a TPS report at the beginning of the scene.
In the Terry Tate: Office Linebacker, Terry Tate yells, "You know you need a coversheet on your TPS reports Richard!"
In Season 2, during the first segment of the 28th Episode of Puppy Dog Pals titled "Take Your Dog To Work Day", while Bingo and Rolly are playing office, Bingo says "One sec Rolly, these TPS reports aren't gonna fix themselves."
In Doom 2016, some control consoles in early levels reference TPS Reports.
Early in Black Mesa, protagonist Gordon Freeman encounters two scientists discussing TPS reports.[9]
