STARCANADA | Process Improvement

Tutorials

MD Seven Keys to Navigating Your Agile Testing Transition NEW

Bob Galen, Velocity Partners

Mon, 04/07/2014 - 8:30am

So you’ve “gone agile” and have been relatively successful for a year or so. But how do you know how well you’re really doing? And how do you continuously improve your practices? When things get rocky, how do you handle the challenges without reverting to old habits? You realize that the path to high-performance agile testing isn’t easy or quick. It also helps to have a guide. So consider this workshop your guide to ongoing, improved, and sustained high-performance. Join seasoned agile testing coach Bob Galen as he share lessons from his most successful agile testing transitions.

MG Measurement and Metrics for Test Managers NEW

Rick Craig, Software Quality Engineering

Mon, 04/07/2014 - 1:00pm

To be most effective, test managers must develop and use metrics to help direct the testing effort and make informed recommendations about the software’s release readiness and associated risks. Because one important testing activity is to “measure” the quality of the software, test managers must measure the results of both the development and testing processes. Collecting, analyzing, and using metrics is complicated because many developers and testers are concerned that the metrics will be used against them.

Keynotes

K1 Why Software Drives Us Crazy NEW

Michael Bolton, DevelopSense

Tue, 04/08/2014 - 8:30am

Some people insist that machines will replace humans in many different ways; others disagree, but without explaining why. You could say a smartphone app replaces an admin assistant by managing your schedule. However, to make the app work, you must modify your usual behavior by providing input in a formal, explicit way, and then interpreting and correcting its output to make up for the app's inflexibility. But storing, transforming, and displaying data are only part of the picture.

K2 Lightning Strikes the Keynotes

Lee Copeland, Software Quality Engineering

Tue, 04/08/2014 - 3:15pm

Throughout the years, Lightning Talks have been a popular part of the STAR conferences. If you’re not familiar with the concept, Lightning Talks consists of a series of five-minute talks by different speakers within one presentation period. Lightning Talks are the opportunity for speakers to deliver their single biggest bang-for-the-buck idea in a rapid-fire presentation. And now, lightning has struck the STAR keynotes.

K3 The Art of Complex System Testing NEW

Ray Arell, Intel

Wed, 04/09/2014 - 8:30am

It’s one week after your product’s launch, and everyone is happy. After all, for the first time in years, your product development exceeded expectations. Coding was completed on time with very few defects. Suddenly, the report of a major usability and security flaw destroys the euphoria and sends everything into chaos. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon in our industry. So, how can we mitigate such things from happening?

Concurrent Sessions

T4 Billion Dollar Bugs: When and How to Test a Spreadsheet NEW

Gregory Pope, Lawrence Livermore National Labs

Tue, 04/08/2014 - 10:30am

The world has become increasingly dependent on computer-based models to make informed decisions. These models may be financial or engineering based and often are built with spreadsheets. We may not think of spreadsheets as software and therefore tend to overlook applying robust testing techniques to them. However, spreadsheet error rates are often ten times those found in rigorously tested commercial software.