STARCANADA | Product Owner

Tutorials

TI Measurement and Metrics for Test Managers

Rick Craig, Software Quality Engineering

Tue, 06/23/2015 - 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. Join Rick Craig as he addresses common metrics—measures of product quality, defect removal efficiency, defect density, defect arrival rate, and testing status. Learn the guidelines for developing a test measurement program, rules of thumb for collecting data, and ways to avoid “metrics dysfunction.” Rick identifies several metrics paradigms and discusses the pros and cons of each. Delegates are urged to bring their metrics problems and issues for use as discussion points.

Concurrent Sessions

W8 Usability Testing Goes Mobile

Susan Brockley, ExxonMobil

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

The introduction of mobile devices and applications presents new challenges to traditional usability testing practices. Identifying the differences between usability testing techniques for traditional desktop applications and mobile applications is critical to ensuring their acceptance and use. New equipment requirements for usability testing of mobile applications add to transition issues. Join Susan Brockley to discover ways to transition your traditional usability testing program into the mobile environment. Review usability testing fundamentals and then explore additional dimensions—context, affordance, and accessibility—of mobile usability testing. Learn how user expectations influence and change our approach to usability and how new factors such as power, connectivity, and protective covers impact the overall user experience. Get advice from Susan on how to plan and conduct field tests that are representative of your target audience. Finally, assess your organization’s usability maturity and take back positive steps to make your transition into the mobile usability testing field successful.

W10 Inside the Mind of the 21st Century Customer

Alan Page, Microsoft

Wed, 06/24/2015 - 1:30pm

Testers frequently say that they are the voice of the customer or the customer advocate for their organization’s products. In some situations this can be a helpful mindset, but no matter how hard he tries, a software tester is not the customer. In fact, there is no one better suited to evaluate customer experience than the actual customer of your software. However, getting actionable feedback from customers can be time-consuming, difficult, and often too late to have any meaningful impact on the product. Alan Page shares his thoughts and a number of examples of how to get customer feedback quickly, how to make that feedback actionable, and how to use customer data to drive better software development and testing on any team—and for any product. In this fast-paced session of information and fun, Alan discusses product instrumentation, analysis techniques, reporting, A/B testing, and many other facets of customer feedback.

T8 Become an Influential Tester: Learn How to Be Heard

Jane Fraser, Anki, Inc.

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

As a tester, are you frustrated that no one listens to you? Are you finding bugs and having them ignored? Are you worried that the development process and product quality aren’t as good as they should be? Jane Fraser shares ways to help you be heard―ways to position yourself as a leader within your organization, ways to increase your influence, and ways to report bugs to get them fixed. In this interactive session, Jane leads you to a better understanding of how to be heard in your organization. Learn how to tailor your defect reports depending on who makes the decisions and their area of focus—customer, budget, or design. These details help you determine how to position your defect for action. Through real life examples, Jane shows you how to become a more influential tester.

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.