Managing Test Execution 

Planning, test development, and early involvement in the software lifecycle are important, but at some point the tests must be run. It’s this period of time that poses unique challenges for test managers and lead test engineers. Based on nearly two decades of software, hardware, and systems experience, Rex Black covers the essential tools, important techniques, critical processes, and fundamental management skills that people involved in leading or managing test execution phases need to know. Explore some of the challenges — and proposed solutions — test managers may encounter.

 
About the Instructor
Rex Black is president and principal consultant of Rex Black Consulting Services, Inc. He and his associates help clients like Bank One, Dell, Netpliance, Reef, and others with implementation, consulting, training, and staffing for testing and quality assurance projects. His current book, Managing the Testing Process, was published in June 1999. His next book, tentatively titled Critical Testing Processes, will be published in 2002.

Need to shore up your test effort? Lee Copeland describes techniques that exploit object-oriented design principles to help you do just that. He discusses the real-world challenges of testing object-oriented software and provides specific suggestions for overcoming many of the problems. Learn how to vary test coverage to fit diverse needs and resources, and find out how to deal with the testing challenges of encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism. Take home a basic object-oriented testing process with recommendations for testing base classes, subclasses, clusters, and frameworks.

 
About the Instructor
Lee Copeland has over 30 years of experience as an information-systems professional in the areas of application development and software process improvement. He has taught seminars and consulted extensively throughout the United States and internationally.

Rapid Test Planning 

A paper-intensive test documentation strategy is useful for some projects, but it can do more harm than good on others. This tutorial is designed to approach test planning based on a need to implement rapid planning or high-volume, automated test strategies. It gives participants examples of standard test planning components (such as matrices), and uses real-life examples to develop all-pairs combination test charts. The primary goal is to help testers figure out what they need to know — and what they should develop — versus simply the mechanics of what to write down to support specific test cases.

 
About the Instructor
Cem Kaner is a professor of computer sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology. He also co-authored the best-selling book Testing Computer Software. Cem consults on technical and management issues and practices law within the software development community. He’s also certified by ASQ in quality engineering with experience in software development, testing, and user documentation.

Web Performance Testing 

Many organizations are seeking to deploy mission-critical Web sites and applications intended to attract large numbers of revenue generating visitors. This tutorial helps developers, engineers, or testers who are already experienced in testing small-scale Web sites understand the technologies needed to make Web sites more scalable and available. Learn about the automated tools available to assist you in performance testing your site before it goes live and after it’s in production. Find out the differences between load testing, stress testing, integrity testing, and endurance testing.

 
About the Instructor
Dale Perry has over 25 years of experience in information technology. He has been a developer, DBA, project manager, tester, and test manager. His project experience includes large system conversion, distributed systems, online applications, client/server, and Web applications.

Although testing can account for up to 50% or more of product development costs, few organizations accurately measure their test effectiveness or efficiency. Using the Measurement Framework for Software Test, this introductory tutorial covers defect tracking, test effort, test effectiveness and efficiency measures, test progress, testware design measurement, and other elements that give insight into the costs and results of test activities. The tutorial approaches these issues from a large development organization’s perspective and includes legacy and software maintenance issues. Learn how to accurately evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your test activities as a basis for improvement.

 
About the Instructor
Ed Weller is a Fellow at Bull where he is responsible for the software processes used by the GCOS8 operating systems group. He was the program chair for the Applications of Software Measurement (ASM) 2001 conference, as well as past program chair for ASM ’96, ’99, and ’00.

Linda Hayes presents a detailed implementation approach for test automation that accelerates the development effort, dramatically shortens the learning curve, allows non-technical analysts to develop and execute automated tests, and even simplifies test library management and maintenance. Learn how this practical and proven approach can be used with any testing tool and applies to Web, client/server, and character-based applications. Sample scripts and a demonstration of a completed test library are provided.

 
About the Instructor
Linda Hayes is CEO of WorkSoft, Inc., a software company specializing in test automation. She has over 18 years of experience in software quality and testing and holds degrees in accounting, tax, and law. Linda is a frequent speaker and award-winning author of books and articles, including a monthly column in Datamation.

Software Testing Patterns Workshop 

Patterns are solutions to problems, written in a particular style. They aim to help people who design things such as tests, test suites, test automation systems, and testing organizations. When done well, patterns focus attention on the reasons a solution works. This allows designers to better understand when and how a solution applies, and to better customize a solution to their situation. In this highly interactive workshop, you'll explore:

• The idea of patterns, starting with where they originated — in the architecture of buildings, not software
• How patterns have been applied to software testing, including an in-depth examination of a sampling of software testing patterns
• How collections of patterns, or “languages,” can be organized to add further problem-solving power

No previous experience with patterns is required. For more on patterns, visit www.testing.com/test-patterns

 
About the Instructors
Sam Guckenheimer is the senior director of technology for Rational's automated testing products. He is responsible for the product vision and strategy of Rational's software testing products and the formulation of architectural standards for testability.

The Test Process Improvement (TPI) Model gives practical guidelines for assessing the maturity level of testing in an organization plus a step-by-step approach to improve your testing process. The model, dedicated to testing, is complementary to the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). The TPI model consists of 20 key areas supporting different levels of test maturity. The TPI model is used by many Fortune 500 companies worldwide. This workshop’s features include:

• An overview of the TPI Model and how to employ it
• How to use a Test Maturity Matrix and set priorities
• Ways to measure your results
TPI® and TMap® are registered trademarks of IQUIP Informatica B.V.

 
About the Instructor
Martin Pol has played a significant role in helping to raise the awareness and improve the performance of testing in Europe. In his function as R&D manager of IQUIP Informatica B.V., he developed—together with his colleagues—the TMap® method that has become a standard approach for structured testing, and the Test Process Improvement (TPI ® ) model. As a senior consultant of POLTEQ IT Services B.V, he provides international testing services.