People and Teams

Concurrent Sessions

W5 Building a World-Class Quality Team at eBay

Steve Hares, eBay

Wed, 06/24/2015 - 11:30am

Today, many test methodologies can be used to achieve high quality and productivity ―Agile/Scrum, TDD, data modeling, risk analysis, and personas, just to name a few. So how do you pick the best approaches and techniques for your team and projects? Learn how Steve Hares helped build a world-class team from the ground up at eBay through iterative best-fit analysis of processes and methods. Discover why and how they adopted agile processes in some areas, waterfall in others, risk-based testing where appropriate, data model-driven testing, ad-hoc testing, and work-flow testing. At the same time, they incorporated test automation and integrated load/performance testing into the development process to achieve world class quality. Steve’s team now tests everything from enterprise wide products to IVRs, from batch files to voice biometrics. If your methodology isn't working just right, chances are you need to find the best fit methods through a continuous improvement process.

W13 Testing for Talent: Leveraging Testing Principles in Building Teams

Joy Toney, ALSAC/St Jude Children's Research Hospital

Wed, 06/24/2015 - 3:00pm

Application development teams today are asked to deliver more with fewer resources. They work together tirelessly under pressure to deliver quality solutions to their stakeholders. Now imagine—just as the delivery team is about to begin its testing cycle, your lead tester suddenly quits. How do you replace a talented contributor within tight time constraints? Just as testing principles enable delivery of better systems, Joy Toney demonstrates how using those same testing principles enables the test manager to select and hire outstanding team members. First, define your testing team’s acceptance criteria for the position. Rethink the application of the validation and verification processes to hiring, while using a combination of static and dynamic testing techniques. Consider using stress, volume, and performance testing to surface your ideal candidate from the pool of possibilities. Discover new ideas and proven techniques for use in your hiring decisions, so you hire the right person for your test team the first time.

T5 The Adventures of a First-Time Test Lead: An Unexpected Journey

Ioan Todoran, Expedia Affiliate Network

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 11:30am

When moving to a new position in your organization, you might not always feel confident—and that’s fine. If you have ever wondered how to change your mindset from “I need to learn from someone more experienced than I” to “I need to train and lead a team,” Ioan Todoran shares what he learned during his time as a first-time test team lead. Ioan shares lessons about recruitment (where and how to look for people), interviewing (forget the boring, interrogatory-style interviews; move toward a more conversational approach), training (how to prepare the new testers for work on a commercial project), and navigating through the daily management duties while keeping the automation work going on your project (stop micromanaging; help, but don't suffocate; learn to offer quick solutions.) Learn how to establish better connections and communication channels with upper management while strengthening the relationships with your clients through an honest and direct approach.

Keynotes

K4 The Next Decade of Agile Software Development and Test

J.B. Rainsberger, JBRAINS.CA

Thu, 06/25/2015 - 2:45pm

After almost fifteen years of history with agile practices, J.B. Rainsberger sees some alarming trends in our attitudes, practices, and even what we teach about agile. At the same time, he sees some progress in approaches and technologies—e.g., behavior-driven development, naked planning, and continuous delivery. Sadly, we still have maturity models, complicated process checklists, and unnecessary certification schemes. In the coming decade, unless we begin to focus on fundamental ingredients absent from many agile teams, J.B. fears we are doomed to miss many opportunities for getting better. It's not good enough anymore just to be a great agile tester. J.B. says testers, programmers, product analysts, and managers must encourage workplace transformations so we can take full advantage of new tools and techniques. He shares a vision of these transformations and calls on testers and test managers, who work with all stakeholder groups, to stand up and lead us into the next decade of agile.