Leadership

Keynotes

K2 Surviving or Thriving: Top Ten Lessons for the Professional Tester

Lloyd Roden, Lloyd Roden Consultancy

Wed, 05/01/2013 - 10:00am

As testers and test managers we often find ourselves struggling just to survive within our organization—sometimes with the possibility of job loss due to outsourcing looming. Often, we are told to become more “effective,” “efficient,” and do “more with less.” However, most testers and test managers are unsure of what those mandates actually mean. Today, it is not sufficient to just survive; we must take initiatives to thrive. Lloyd Roden shares ten valuable lessons on how you can become better at testing and thrive in your career.

K4 Asking the Right Questions? What Journalism Can Teach Testers

Thomas McCoy, Australian Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Thu, 05/02/2013 - 8:30am

As the testing discipline continues to evolve—and the demands on testers increase—we need to look for new paradigms to guide our work. Thomas McCoy believes the profession of journalism has much to offer in helping us ask the right kinds of questions, be heard, and deliver bad news effectively. In many ways, our profession has ideals similar to those of journalism: our first obligation should be to the truth, we must maintain independence (even when embedded in agile teams), and our mission includes the protection of society.

K5 The Mismeasure of Software: The Last Talk on Measurement You’ll Ever Need to Hear

Lee Copeland, Software Quality Engineering

Thu, 05/02/2013 - 4:15pm

Lee Copeland maintains that most organizations have some kind of metrics program—and almost all are ineffective. After explaining the concept of measurement, Lee describes two key reasons for these almost universal metrics program failures. The first major mistake people make is forgetting that the model we are using for measurement is not necessarily reality. The second major blunder is treating ideas as if they were real things and then counting them.

Tutorials

ME Leading Change—Even If You’re Not in Charge

Jennifer Bonine, tap|QA, Inc.

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 8:30am

Has this happened to you? You try to implement a change in your organization and it doesn’t get the support that you thought it would. And, to make matters worse, you can't figure out why. Or, you have a great idea but can’t get the resources required for successful implementation. Jennifer Bonine shares a toolkit of techniques to help you determine which ideas will—and will not—work within your organization.

MH Implementing Crowdsourced Testing

Rajini Padmanaban, QA InfoTech

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 8:30am

In today’s market, global outreach, quick time to release, and a feature rich design are the major factors that determine a product’s success. Organizations are constantly on the lookout for innovative testing techniques to match these driving forces. Crowdsourced testing is a paradigm increasing in popularity because it addresses these factors through its scale, flexibility, cost effectiveness, and fast turnaround.

MJ Quantifying the Value of Testing

Lloyd Roden, Lloyd Roden Consultancy

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 8:30am

“Testing costs too much.” “We don’t get the value we should from the investment we make.” “Testing just delays the project.” Familiar sayings in your organization? Although testing is accepted by most as an integral part of any software development lifecycle, some see it as a hole in which to throw money rather than as an investment in quality. In order to gain credibility and reduce the negative views of our work, we testers and test managers must show senior management a clear return on their investment.

MK Team Leadership: Telling Your Testing Stories

Bob Galen, RGalen Consulting

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 1:00pm

It used to be that your work and results spoke for themselves. No longer is that the case. Today you need to be a better collaborator, communicator, and facilitator so that you focus your teams on delivering value. Join Bob Galen to explore the power of the story, one of the most effective communication paradigms. You can tell stories that create powerful collaboration. You can tell stories that communicate product requirements and customer needs. You can tell stories that inspire teams to deliver results.