Rick Craig

TechWell Corp.

A consultant, lecturer, author, and test manager, Rick Craig has led numerous teams of testers on both large and small projects. In his thirty years of consulting worldwide, Rick has advised and supported a diverse group of organizations on many testing and test management issues. From large insurance providers and telecommunications companies to smaller software services companies, he has mentored senior software managers and helped test teams improve their effectiveness. Rick is coauthor of Systematic Software Testing and is a frequent speaker at testing conferences, including every STAR conference since its inception in 1992.

Speaker Presentations

Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - 8:30am

Half-day Tutorials

Measurement and Metrics for Test Management SOLD OUT

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 are 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.

Note: Delegates are urged to bring their metrics problems and issues for use as discussion points.

Thursday, October 1, 2015 - 9:45am

Test Management

Leadership for Test Managers and Testers

Many organizations spend a great deal of time and effort acquiring and learning to use the latest techniques and technology, but they make little or no attempt to train or mentor their staff to be better leaders. It is true that technology is important, but test teams without able leaders will struggle to be successful. Rick Craig shares some lessons he has learned in his roles as test manager, military leader, and entrepreneur. Rick discusses some classic leadership topics―leadership traits and styles, the cornerstones of leadership, and principles of leadership. Explore the importance of influence leaders and how to identify and encourage them. Discover the positive and negative indicators of morale and how to maintain high morale within a team. Learn how to give direction without being a micromanager. Discuss what motivates and what de-motivates testers. Rick encourages you to bring your leadership challenges to serve as points of discussion.