| WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 9:15 AM |
Patterns and Automation: The Road to More Effective Testing
James Whittaker, Florida Institute of Technology
Testers are an organization’s most effective defense against shipping embarrassing or even fatal defects. With such responsibility on our shoulders, it is paramount that we understand what causes defects as well as the best techniques to use in finding them. James Whittaker presents the latest field-tested research results on two powerful defect-finding techniques— test patterns and test automation. Learn how to make testers more productive—and testing more effective—in your organization. |
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| James Whittaker is an associate professor of computer science at Florida Tech. He founded and directs CSER, The Center for Software Engineering Research, one of the largest university research labs dedicated to software testing. |
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| WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 , 10:30 AM |
Managing the End Game of a Software Project
Mike Ennis, BMC Software
How do you know when a product is ready to ship? QA managers have been faced with this question for many years. Using the methodology discussed in this presentation, you take the guessing out of shipping a product and replace it with key metrics to help you rationally make the right decision. Learn how to estimate, predict, and manage your software project as it gets closer to its release date. Learn how to define which metrics to track—and how to measure them. Discover how to define the ratings scale for each metric and how to create a spider chart for product readiness. This presentation is a must for any individual or organization that is serious about maximizing the results of positive events and minimizing the consequences of adverse ones. |
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| Mike Ennis began his career with IBM Corporation as an engineer testing all supported versions of OS/2, DOS, and Windows. He joined BMC Software, Inc. in 1997 where he built a test team that strives for technical leadership, commitment to excellence, and always putting the customer first. He currently serves as a Senior Quality Assurance Manager and is the winner of the “Best Presentation” award for STARWEST 2000. |
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| WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 4:30 PM |
Take This Test and Share It!
Bill Woodworth, IBM
Your organization may not be the size of IBM, but your testers have probably experienced many of the same problems. Maybe you’ve heard comments like, “Is software testing a career?”; “Where can I get training and support for these tools?”; or “Why don’t my automated tests work for this version?” Using the power of synergy, IBM launched a company wide “virtual testing organization” to integrate islands of expertise, adopt the best tools and practices, become a major contributor to quality, and advance testing as career. Learn how to apply the practical techniques developed by IBM to advance testing in your organization—big or small. |
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| As Director of IBM Software TEST, Bill Woodworth is responsible for the IBM wide focus on software testing and for the drive to increase the reliability of integrated customer solutions. With 18 years of product development and test management, he has proven and consistent successes through leading results oriented and quality-focused processes in development and business. |
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| THURSDAY, MAY 17, 9:00 AM |
Risk: The New Language of eBusiness Testing
Paul Gerrard, Systeme Evolutif Limited
Balancing testing against risk in eBusiness and e-commerce applications is essential because we never have the time to test everything. But it’s tough to “get it right” with limited resources and the pressures to release software quickly. Paul Gerrard explains how to talk to the eBusiness risk-takers in their language to get the testing budget approved and the right amount of testing planned. Find out how to identify failure modes and translate these into consequences to the sponsors of the project. Using risk factors to plan test means that testers can concentrate on designing effective tests to find faults and not worry about doing "too little" testing. |
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| Paul Gerrard is the Technical Director and a principal consultant for Systeme Evolutif. He has conducted consulting and training assignments in all aspects of software testing and quality assurance. Paul is Special Projects Secretary for the British Computer Society (BSC) SIG in Software Testing, a member of the BCS Software Component Test Standard Committee, and Former Chair of the IS Examination Board (ISEB) Certification Board. |
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| THURSDAY, MAY 17, 3:45 PM |
Release Criteria: Defining the Rules of the Product Release Game
Johanna Rothman, Rothman Consulting Group, Inc.
How do you know when you’re finished testing? How do you know when the product is ready to ship? Sometimes the decision to stop testing and release a product seems as if someone’s making deals in a smoke-filled room, or that there are rules of the game of which we are unaware. At times, these rules seem completely arbitrary. Instead of arbitrary decisions it is possible to come to an agreement about when the product is ready to release, and even when it’s time to stop testing. In this presentation, learn how to define release criteria, and then use those criteria to decide when to release the product. |
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| Johanna Rothman is the founder and principal of Rothman Consulting Group, Inc. A frequent speaker and author on managing high technology product development, she has written articles for numerous industry publications and publishes Reflections, a quarterly newsletter about managing product development. |
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| FRIDAY, MAY 18, 9:00 AM |
Bug Hunting: Going on a Software Safari
Elisabeth Hendrickson, Aveo
This presentation is about bugs: where they hide, how you find them, and how you tell other people they exist so they can be fixed. Explore the habitats of the most common type of software bugs. Learn how to make bugs more likely to appear and discover ways to present information about the bugs you find to ensure that they get fixed. Drawing on real-world examples of bug reports, Elisabeth Hendrickson reveals tips and techniques for capturing the wiliest and squirmiest of the critters crawling around in your software. |
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| Elisabeth Hendrickson in an independent consultant specializing in bug hunting. She also automates tests, grows teams, and helps organizations improve by identifying the leading causes of defects in their software. With over a dozen years of experience in the software field, Elisabeth has seen numerous species of software bugs. |
