Making Agile Work: An Introduction to Agile Development Practices
Jeff Payne, Coveros, Inc.

Are you intrigued by some of the promises and hype of agile development practices and want to know what it takes to make agile really work? Do you need to learn what agile is all about? Do you want to know how agile is different from traditional development processes? And why agile doesn’t work for everyone? In this full-day bonus session—free to all conference participants—Jeff Payne walks you through the basics of agile development philosophies and common agile practices. By focusing on the fundamentals of an agile process—from project management to software development and testing—Jeff explores how you can integrate agile into your organization. He discusses all the key roles and activities in agile projects along with practical tips and techniques that can make your agile project work. During the day-long case study, you'll have the opportunity to try out the techniques you are learning and begin to apply them to your situation. Participants will learn practical aspects of agile that can be implemented immediately as you begin a transition toward a more agile process.

* Limited seats available, reserve your seat by contacting the Client Support Group at 888.268.8770 or 904.278.0524 and [email protected]

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Speaking 101: Tips and Tricks
Lee Copeland, Software Quality Engineering

Are you a new STAR speaker or aspiring to be one in the future? Join us at this workshop on making effective conference presentations. Learn the secrets of developing content, identifying the Big Message, preparing slides with just the right words and images, presenting your message, handling questions from the audience, and being ready when things go wrong. Lee Copeland, a professional speaker since birth, shares ideas that will help you be a better speaker, no matter what the occasion.

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The Reality of Testing
Ross Collard, Collard and Company

At STARWEST 2010, a panel of seasoned testers will debate the theme: “The Reality of Testing”. To paraphrase Dickens, some testers and observers believe that this is the best of times. Others believe it is the worst of times. Arguably there is no reality, only our perspectives and perceptions of reality. Before we can understand where we are likely to be going, or where we want to be going, it helps to have a realistic sense of where we are today. In this panel discussion, we will take an opinionated tour of today's thinking and practices in software, testing, and quality. The panelists will bring a variety of perspectives, and the discussion will be shaped by the results of a survey conducted beforehand.

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Test Centers of Excellence
Ross Collard, Collard and Company & Reid Sheppard, Progressive Insurance

Test centers of excellence (TCOEs), provide a new possibility for significantly improving software quality. This session examines the objectives, payoffs and issues of TCOEs. Every TCOE contains tradeoffs and compromises, every claimed success has its detractors and every failure its defenders. Success is a matter of perspective and judgment—opinion, not fact—as often today’s software metrics aren't sophisticated enough for the task of evaluation. Test centers have no guarantees and plenty of risks – they are not a panacea and certainly are not for everyone. However, they are worth serious analysis and consideration.

Learn more about Ross Collard & Reid Sheppard

X-Ray Vision: Risk Analysis and Software Testing at Google
Jason Arbon, Jim Reardon, Sebastian Schiavone, & Chis Smith, Google

Let's face it—you'll never have enough time or testers to achieve the quality you want. So the key is to test the important things first. However, it's easy to overlook little things that can have a big impact—can you say iPhone 4 antenna fiasco? Risk analysis is a technique for guiding software testers to make sure they first spend their time testing the things that truly matter. Think of it as X-ray vision for software; it shows you where the bones and vital organs are. At Google we created Testify, a tool to aid testers in doing risk analysis. This tool allows testers to analyze their software to gauge the inherit risk of the system and compare how known risks have been mitigated via testing. After a quick demo of Testify, we will cover the impact that risk analysis has had at Google.

Learn more about Jason Arbon, Jim Reardon, Sebastian Schiavone & Chris Smith