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Solutions Benchmarking Sessions

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30

Driving Savings in Testing: Where to Look
Julie Marzano, AT&T

Track 1:   1:30 - 2:30

Driving costs out of testing without sacrificing quality can be a tough balancing act. To effectively identify potential savings opportunities, you will need to approach the search from many different angles. You must be able to identify improvement areas within all the various testing phases. A key deliverable to assist in that identification is a definition of your savings strategy with high-level goals such as: simplification, organization consolidation, sourcing strategies, and automation. This highly interactive presentation will provide you with a reusable framework for identification of cost savings and instruction on how to efficiently organize that effort.  You will also learn of potential roadblocks and issues that you may encounter on this journey and you will be introduced to a "real life" example including the results that were achieved.        

About the speaker...
As Principal Integration Manager for AT&T, Julie Marzano specializes in the development and leadership of large and complex testing initiatives.   Julie's 20 year career includes significant leadership experience in all phases of application development, architecture, program management, and testing.   She has in-depth, first-hand experience in the end to end testing lifecycle, enabling her to successfully build, develop, and manage testing organizations of as many as 300 people.

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Using Test Planning to Guide Your Project Delivery
Brian Dodsworth, U.S. Cellular

Track 2: 1:30 - 2:30

In the current software development environment, many companies are anxious to "go faster." They argue that traditional waterfall development methodology is too slow and inflexible to meet the needs of today's business cycles. Join Brian as he explores a case study of one project where the test planning process provided a solution to this complex software development dilemma. Brian will review a project that used iterative deployments of code in a structured waterfall environment to balance quality with overall delivery speed. He will describe the role that test planning played in determining the final approach, the steps used to derive the solution, and the organizational structure and processes of the Enterprise Test Management department. The results are proof that test teams and good test planning can influence the entire delivery process.

About the speaker...
Brian Dodsworth is the Senior Manager of Enterprise Test Management at U.S. Cellular.  His department is responsible for testing all software across the enterprise application portfolio. For the past two years, Brian has been leading the transformation of testing from an IS-centric function to an integrated, enterprise-level program that is part of the company's overall focus on quality. Brian has over thirteen years of experience in the software development field and has expertise in all phases of the Software Development Lifecycle. Prior to U.S. Cellular, Brian spent ten years at Deloitte Consulting delivering large-scale system development projects for the telecommunications and healthcare industries.

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Defect Management, Tracking and Metrics Methodologies
Sharon Reinhard, Aspen Marketing Services

Track 3:   1:30 - 2:30

Ever wonder what happened to a defect after it was logged?   Who's looking at it?   Whose responsibility is it? What do they do with it when they're done?   Who does what and when do they do it?   How is this process controlled?   Do you ever ask yourself these questions?   This session will not only give you answers to all these questions, but it will also discuss the challenges that Aspen Marketing Services faced prior to implementing a defect management, tracking, and metrics process.   You will hear how this process has helped increase communications and decrease the turnaround time required to resolve a defect.     Sharon will also show you how to use the results produced from this process for tracking test metrics, statistics, and trends across projects.

About the speaker...
As QA Manager at Aspen Marketing Services, Sharon Reinhard began the Quality Assurance group and has been developing and growing the area over the last year and a half.   She's an expert in all phases of the Software Development Lifecycle and has implemented a SDLC Approach and Methodology process that has helped to improve the Development Life Cycle and the overall quality of testing.   She has also implemented a Defect Management Tracking Process which has proven to be an effective method for managing detection and resolution of software flaws.   Prior to Aspen, Sharon held positions at The College of American Pathologists, Insight, and Harris Bank.   Sharon is a Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) and a Certified Software Tester (CSTE).

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Test Automation Bottom Line: Initiating, Maintaining, and Showing the Benefits
Shalla Hyderi Goyal, JD, Allstate Insurance

Track 4: 1:30 - 2:30

Test Managers need to be on a constant search for improvement.   Test automation is one way to improve, but how should it be managed to ensure success?   First, success in functional test automation requires a constant eye for return on investment (ROI).   It is imperative to understand when to automate, how to identify success factors, what the investment considerations should be, and how to select an effective architecture.   Many automation projects fail due to high maintenance costs and the project's inability to show the benefits, both tangible and intangible.   To effectively implement a functional automation initiative, you need to approach automation with project governance, costs, benefits, metrics, and flexible, reusable, low maintenance architecture in mind.     Shalla's presentation will include a discussion of her personal experiences.   She will show you how to measure the tangibles and intangibles and how to calculate ROI.   You will learn techniques to gain the support of your senior management to invest in automated testing that will benefit the entire organization.

About the speaker...
As a Quality Control Manager for Allstate's Claims Technology Services Organization, Shalla Goyal's career includes significant leadership experience in managing IT projects with an emphasis on quality control and software testing, including automated performance and functional testing.   She has extensive experience as a corporate practitioner in initiating automated testing in an organization, maintaining the automation suite, and calculating the return on investment for the initiative. Prior to Allstate, Shalla was a developer for BP Amoco and then moved to project management and consulting positions for several small IT consulting firms. She has a BS in MIS from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a JD degree in computer law from IIT-Chicago Kent, and PMP (Project Management Professional) certification.

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THURSDAY, MAY 1

Focused Process Improvements at Solution Testing Services
Pavan Kishore Kota, Capgemini and Pat O'Donnell, TransUnion

Track 1:   11:30 - 12:30

In December, 2004, TransUnion's Solution Testing Services department initiated a focused process improvements initiative in partnership with Capgemini.   This initiative was undertaken to ensure that testing services were aligned with business goals, were predictable, and were being delivered in the most effective and efficient manner possible.   TransUnion wanted testing processes that were practical, flexible, and extremely comprehensive.   In this session you will learn why TransUnion started this program, what they did, how they did it, what challenges they faced, how much effort went into the project, and how they ensured sustainability of results.   Pat and Pavan will also discuss what the team would do differently if they were just beginning to implement this initiative today.   You will learn about the current status of the project, some of the best practices deployed, and the qualitative and quantitative benefits TransUnion is reaping today.   Come hear about this initiative from the point of view of both the corporate practitioner and the consultant partner who were responsible for its success.    

About the speakers...
Pavan Kota is a Manager with the Testing Practice at Capgemini and currently works at TransUnion in the role of an Engagement Program Manager.   His areas of specialization include business excellence consulting, quality & process consulting, and program management.   He has presented papers in the areas of Balridge National Quality Award, Lean Six Sigma, Process Improvements, and Information Architecture at a number of international conferences.   Pavan has a Master of Business Administration degree, a Masters of Science degree in Quality Management and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Engineering.   He is also a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Assessor for European Foundation for Quality Management, Lead Auditor for ISO 27001:2005 and an Auditor for ISO 20000:2005.

Pat O'Donnell, CST is a Director on the Solution Testing Services Team at TransUnion.   Pat not only manages teams of software testers, she also leads quality assurance activities such as the initiation, standardization, and enforcement of TCoE (Testing Center of Excellence) processes across TransUnion. Pat specializes in the areas of Test Management, Test Process Improvement, and Quality Assurance with over fifteen years of experience in the software testing industry.   She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in business administration.

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Release Management: Entrance Control and Quality Gates
Terry Austin, Nationwide Insurance

Track 2:   11:30 - 12:30

The Nationwide Corporate Internet team supports Nationwide Bank, Nationwide Insurance, and Nationwide Finance.     With such a broad range of demands on a single group, the team has found it beneficial to develop processes that clearly show the role of release management in their environment, thereby providing both their clients and themselves with step by step instructions to limit confusion and achieve results. The defined procedures start slightly after project initiation and run through post implementation support. These processes are used to support applications that have regular release schedules as well as special releases. Examples of work products that come out of this process include project entrance form, configuration management timelines and expectations, entrance and exit criteria, and implementation plans. This process includes defect, resource, demand, and configuration management as well as release management meetings and lessons learned sessions.   While this scope may be too large for many companies, selected parts of the process will be useful to any company's release and quality practices.  

About the speaker...
Terry Austin has served the Nationwide family of companies for almost 25 years as a developer, architect, consultant, quality assurance leader, and currently as the release manager of the Nationwide Corporate Internet team.   Terry has used this varied background to establish a release process that incorporates quality gates and an entrance and exit checklist for each phase of testing.   He is a frequent speaker at conferences such as LotuSphere where he has spoken on development techniques and QAI conferences where he has presented on automated testing with XML and on ways to determine the `automatability` of an application.

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Compliance Testing of Non-Functional Requirements at SAP
Martina Wroblewski, PhD., SAP AG

Track 3:   11:30 - 12:30

The ISO 9126 Software Quality Model outlines six quality characteristics and has been one of the major components in defining the sixteen SAP Product Standards.   These standards enable us to translate non-functional customer requirements such as usability, performance, maintainability, security, and open source into all our products.   They define a common understanding of recurrent functional and non-functional characteristics and overall quality criteria requested by the market.   SAP Product Standard Requirements are a mandatory part of our software requirements specifications. Typical examples for compliance criteria that are defined for each requirement are: execution of test cases (manual or automated), static and/or dynamic code checks, code reviews, and formal approvals.   Based on the development workbench used, different compliance criteria can apply for the same requirement.  Join Martina as she explains the rigorous quality model used by SAP AG to ensure the excellence of their software product.

About the speaker...
Dr. Martina Wroblewski joined SAP Systems Integration in 1999 as a software implementation consultant. Since 2000, she has worked in several different areas of SAP AG as a Quality Manager.   Currently she is responsible for the "Product Standard Framework," that supports and harmonizes all internal Product Standards including the test strategy for non-functional requirements.

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Building a Performance Test Center of Excellence
Brian Lovejoy, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA

Track 4:   11:30 - 12:30

The challenge of delivering dependable products and services is heavily contingent on reliable systems and hardware supporting the business processes.  As companies continue to press IT to provide greater levels of service with fewer resources, the use of shared hardware and activities aimed at maximizing the throughput of current hardware will increase.   What are the upper limits of concurrent users and transaction load levels for existing infrastructure?  Based on growth projections, how much time do we have before adding hardware or increasing capacity?  How are resources currently allocated?  These questions can easily be answered using the performance test automation tools available in today's marketplace.   Brian's presentation will cover a practical approach to building a performance test service offering from a "lessons learned" perspective.  Brian will focus on the technical and process related considerations that must be addressed in order to build a successful performance test offering. Finally, Brian will look at the criteria that separate a performance test "service offering" from a true "Center of Excellence."

About the speaker...
Brian Lovejoy has over 20 years of experience in the QA/QC field and has worked across a variety of industries including Banking, eCommerce, Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Market Research, Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, and Leasing.  He has earned both his CSTE and CSQA certifications. Brian currently manages a shared service team at JPMorgan Chase Bank that utilizes automation tools to conduct performance testing and capacity management exercises for a variety of applications and development teams.  His performance test team specializes in testing J2EE and Web applications.  Brian received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Data Processing from Roosevelt University and is currently pursuing an MBA-IT degree from Keller Graduate School of Management.

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Integrating Quality Assurance within an ERP Implementation
Lynn Hancock, USG Inc.

Track 1:   3:00 - 4:00

"Quality Assurance" is a term that is often mentioned when implementing custom code or Department of Defense software.   But, what does the concept really mean when you are implementing an ERP system?      Is it the same as when it is applied to the implementation of customized software?   How do the custom pieces of code for reports, interfaces, conversions, and extensions fit in?     How do you implement quality assurance for an ERP and what does the quality control piece, testing, really look like?   This presentation will tell the story of how USG implemented our ERP and how QA and testing were integrated into this implementation.   Lynn will discuss the pre-requisites for testing, the tools that were used, and the issues that were encountered.

About the speaker...
Lynn Hancock is currently the Quality Assurance Manager at USG on the LinX project, an Oracle implementation of the SCM, Cost Management, and Financials modules.     This project implemented Oracle in over 70 plants in a two year period.     In her role at USG, Lynn provides thought leadership, practical guidance, and hands-on involvement in implementing the appropriate software and technical infrastructure quality concepts on the LinX project.   Lynn has over 20 years of IT experience working in banking, telecommunications, manufacturing, and ecommerce.   During that time, she has implemented several QA groups that ensured software deliverables met high quality standards and were delivered within the specified timeframes.

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Model-Based Testing: An Industrial View  
Marlon Vieira, Siemens Corporate Research

Track 2: 3:00 - 4:00 

Over the past years, tools and processes have helped programmers to raise productivity creating software systems.   This fact has increased the pressure on integration/system testing phases, which are often perceived as bottlenecks to the delivery of software products. Testers also need to dramatically improve productivity.   Model-based testing (MBT) is one way to do it.   Basically, MBT aims to automatically generate test cases, in whole or in part, from models.   Typically, those models describe some (usually functional) aspects of the system under test.   Siemens Corporate Research has actively researched solutions for applying MBT in a Siemens industrial context.   This talk describes aspects of this research, such as types of models used, the roles of those models in test generation, and the basic generation process.  Furthermore, Marlon will present data from case studies within Siemens and experiences on applying MBT in practice.

About the speaker...
Marlon Vieira is a program manager for software testing at Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, NJ. His responsibilities include defining research topics and elaborating plans for introducing testing technologies at Siemens Operating Companies.   Marlon has been working with software engineering for more than fifteen years, most of them in system and software testing.   Marlon holds PhD and MS degrees in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine.   He has more than thirty scientific publications and five patents.

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Regression Testing: The Essentials
Deakon J. Provost, State Farm Insurance

Track 3:   3:00 - 4:00  

You are responsible for testing the application and the demand for quality is high. You need to ensure not only that the new functionality is adequately tested, but that existing functionality is not negatively impacted.   You are now confronted with the question: Do I regression test or not?   If the answer is yes, you are then faced with a multitude of questions.   What exactly is regression testing?   What resources do I need in order to be successful at regression testing?   How can I justify the cost of regression testing?   Join Deakon in his examination of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of regression testing.     You will learn how to organize a regression test team, how to get funding for that team and their work, and what methods you can use to save the organization money during the regression testing phase.

About the speaker...
Deakon Provost has been in the information technology field for over 7 years; his entire career has been spent in the testing discipline. Deakon has experience with regression testing at three different organizations. His project experience includes distributed systems and on-line applications, both client/server and web based. Currently with State Farm Insurance, Deakon leads a regression team that supports critical, customer facing applications where product quality is considered vital to business success. Deakon has both an undergraduate and master's degree in information technology.

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Usability: What You Need to Know to Begin Testing NOW
Susan Brockley, ExxonMobil

Track 4:   3:00 - 4:00

Often testers believe they need an elaborate set up to begin usability testing. Not so! Usability testing is a powerful testing technique that is completely within the reach of every project. It can start with a minimum of resources and prove to be a useful and cost-effective tool. In this session, you will learn the value of usability testing and when to conduct it. You will also learn how to get started in usability testing with the least amount of set up, prepare and conduct tests using proven techniques, draw meaningful conclusions from the data, and report the results to a variety of different audiences. In addition to measuring standard usability items such as completion time and success rate, you will also learn how to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injury by measuring computing ergonomics data such as mouse clicks and movement.   Join Susan as she introduces you to the practice of usability testing.

About the speaker...
Susan Brockley works for the ExxonMobil Information Technology Organization in Houston, Texas. Her most recent assignment is as Supervisor for the Testing Center of Expertise. Prior to this, she was an enterprise architect for testing technologies and a software quality evangelist. Susan complements her testing and quality assurance work with project management and risk management expertise. She has spoken at two recent QAI conferences and has more than 16 years experience in the testing and quality assurance industry. Susan has been a Certified Software Quality Analyst since 2002.

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FRIDAY, MAY 2

Maximize Integrated Team Effectiveness: An Offshore Model That Works
Brook Klawitter, USG Inc.

Track 2:   11:30 - 12:30

It is often difficult to fully integrate teams that work in the same building with each other, how much more so when they work in entirely different countries.   USG effectively managed to integrate their offshore and local test teams in order to provide testing support of a major ERP implementation and subsequent regular software releases.  In her presentation, Brook will describe how the team has evolved over the course of three years.   She will provide real examples that demonstrate how USG established a strategy for selecting work to be completed locally versus offshore, how they build management capabilities both locally and offshore, and how the offshore team is integrated with the local test team, local developers, and local functional users.     Brook will discuss how USG builds the technical capabilities of the offshore team and leverages the strengths of each team and finally how a culture of continuous improvement is established that encourages team member growth and reduces the risk of turn-over.

About the speaker...
Brook Klawitter is currently a Quality Assurance Lead at USG.   She is assigned to the LinX project, an Oracle implementation of the SCM, Cost Management, Financials, and HR modules.  In her role, Brook implements processes aimed at improving the quality of LinX software, specifically assisting with release coordination, test team management, tool setup and processes, and automated testing implementation.  Brook also manages USG's relationship with their offshore vendor.   Brook has over ten years experience as a Systems Analyst.   Prior to her role with USG, Brook worked in the banking industry where she managed two offshore teams responsible for both the manual and automated testing of commercial banking applications.   Brook holds CSQA and CSTE certifications from the Quality Assurance Institute.

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Team Dynamics in IT: How a Team Mindset Can Make You More Effective
Cathy Mejia, Nicor

Track 3:   11:30 - 12:30

As IT quality and software testing professionals, you are experts at WHAT you do - ensuring applications are thoroughly tested and effectively implemented to provide the end user with a quality product.  The focus of this session on teaming skills and tools is HOW you approach your work.  How do you get a team started?  How do you know what to expect of other team members and what should they expect of you?  How do you work with the applications development team to ensure you are involved early in the project?  How do you communicate with the end users to ensure their needs are met?  How do you do know when a team isn't working well and how do you fix it?  Essential team tools will be shared that can be used by your project team, work team, IT department, and end users to help you define team goals, roles, and processes that will minimize conflicts and promote success.  Examples will be given of how these team tools have been applied in different companies and with different IT groups.

About the speaker...
Cathy Mejia, Sr. Manager, Organizational Development at Nicor, is an internal Organizational Development practitioner with over 20 years experience across various industries such as telecommunications, high-tech, manufacturing and regulated utilities.  Throughout her career, Cathy's approach to team development has been a blend of practicality and partnership as she works closely with IT organizations on how to effectively team within IT and with the business end users.  She brings extensive experience in the areas of team development, leadership development, talent management, orientation, selection, performance management, competency models, and succession planning in both union and non-union environments.  Cathy has a B.A. from Adrian College and an M.B.A. from Western Michigan University.

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Test Data Privatization: A Real-World Case Study
Craig Laufer and Jeremy Sloan, Erie Insurance Group

Track 4:   11:30 - 12:30

To create useful, effective test data, many companies copy unaltered production data into test.  However, this creates a security hole.   Solid procedures and strong access controls protect live data, but test areas tend to have less robust protection.   Although existing privacy laws do not directly address test data, moving non-public, personal information into test creates legal concerns.  How long until a high-profile breach involving use of production-copy test data occurs?  In today's privacy-conscious climate, this will almost certainly bring such practices under scrutiny for compliance to HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, or another privacy-related law.   Starting an initiative to safeguard test data can be a daunting task. Can currently owned tools and processes meet the need?  If not, should you buy versus building in-house?  Can ROI be demonstrated?  This session will provide an in-depth look at these issues as an actual privatization project is evaluated conception through implementation.  Topics covered include: demonstrating need, the importance of management buy-in, screening vendors, implementation, and long-term commitment.

About the speakers...
As a Quality Assurance Engineer with the Erie Insurance Group, Craig Laufer has served on numerous committees dedicated to process improvement.  For the last two years, he has led a test data management initiative designed to improve productivity and to meet anticipated privatization needs.  His involvement, from inception through implementation, has given him unique insights into this emerging discipline.  Craig has worked in IT for eighteen years, acting in roles covering development and testing, both in corporate settings and as a consultant.  Prior to working for Erie Insurance, Craig held positions with CSC, IBM, and American States Insurance.

Jeremy Sloan is a Quality Assurance Engineer with the Erie Insurance Group. He has ten years of quality control experience. Prior to joining Erie Insurance, he led the incoming inspection team for a major wholesale distributor of electronic components.   In his current role, he develops automated testing solutions for both mainframe and client-server platforms.   Jeremy has worked as a technical writer, participated in ISO9002 and CMM-based process improvement initiatives, and led test teams tasked with the verification and validation of property/casualty and life insurance systems.

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