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Test Design

Tutorials

MM Test Attacks to Break Mobile and Embedded Software NEW
Jon Hagar, Grand Software Testing
Mon, 06/08/2015 - 1:00pm

In the tradition of James Whittaker’s book series How to Break Software, Jon Hagar applies the testing “attack” concept to the domain of mobile and embedded software systems. First, Jon defines the environments of mobile and embedded software. He then examines the issues of software product failures caused by defects found in these types of software. Next, Jon shares a set of attacks against mobile and embedded software based on common modes of failure that teams can direct against their software. Like different kinds of software design patterns, attacks are test design patterns that must be customized for particular contexts. For specific attacks, Jon explains when and how to conduct the attack—and why the attack works to find bugs. In addition to learning these testing concepts, you can practice the attack patterns on devices containing mobile and/or embedded software―so bring your smart phones.

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TC Rapid Software Testing for Programmers NEW
James Bach, Satisfice, Inc.
Tue, 06/09/2015 - 8:30am

Perhaps you’re a programmer, trying to identify important problems in your code before they affect customers. Or a tester with skills in reading or writing code on a mission to find coding defects. James Bach presents Rapid Software Testing, a universal methodology for testing that consists of both a mindset and a skillset that can be applied whether or not you have a technical background. However, for people with coding skills, it has additional dimensions. Long before you can apply tools or write code to help solve problems, you must identify technical risk and consider the costs and benefits of various testing tactics. This is not a session about canned test tools and how to use them. It does not cover the mechanics of any specific tool or simple technique. Instead, we use practical exercises and Socratic questioning to explore the deeper skills of investigating, framing, and solving real testing problems using the skills and perspective of a programmer.

LAPTOP REQUIRED. Delegates must bring Windows-based laptops to this tutorial.

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TN Testing the Data Warehouse: Big Data, Big Problems NEW
Geoff Horne, NZTester Magazine
Tue, 06/09/2015 - 1:00pm

Data warehouses have become a popular mechanism for collecting, organizing, and making information readily available for strategic decision making. The ability to review historical trends and monitor near real-time operational data has become a key competitive advantage for many organizations. Yet the methods for assuring the quality of these valuable assets are quite different from those of transactional systems. Ensuring that the appropriate testing is performed is a major challenge for many enterprises. Geoff Horne has led a number of data warehouse testing projects in both the telecommunications and ERP sectors. Join Geoff as he shares his approaches and experiences, focusing on the key “uniques” of data warehouse testing including methods for assuring data completeness, monitoring data transformations, and measuring quality. He explores the opportunities for test automation as part of the data warehouse process, describing how you can harness automation to streamline and minimize overhead.

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