Full-Day Tutorials: Monday, September 22nd

1. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TUTORIAL
2. MEASUREMENT TUTORIAL
3. TEST PROCESS TUTORIAL
4. TEST AUTOMATION TUTORIAL
   

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TUTORIAL

Seven Low Overhead Software Process Improvements
Robin F. Goldsmith, JD, Go Pro Management, Inc.

Software process improvement doesn't have to be synonymous with expensive, formalized approaches, such as the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM).  Powerful process improvement can also be realized by learning how to recognize what an actual process is, by taking a solid, honest assessment of your current processes, by understanding why process improvement initiatives often fail, and by appreciating how process improvement truly translates into results.  In this interactive seminar workshop, Robin Goldsmith describes CMM along with seven alternative approaches that can provide significant software productivity and quality improvements without extensive bureaucracy or organization-wide cultural change. Exercises enhance learning by allowing participants to practice applying practical techniques to realistic examples.

• Recognize REAL processes and distinguish them from presumed processes.
• Avoid common traps that lead only to illusory improvements.
• Learn 7 specific methods for quickly and economically improving software processes.

About the instructor ...
Robin F. Goldsmith, JD has been President of Go Pro Management, Inc., consultancy since 1982.  He works directly with and trains business and systems professionals in requirements, quality and testing, metrics, ROI, software acquisition, and project and process management.  Previously he has been a developer, systems programmer/DBA/QA, and project leader with the City of Cleveland, leading financial institutions, and a "Big 4" consulting firm.  Member of the IEEE Software Test Documentation Std. 829 Revision Committee and formerly International Vice President of the Association for Systems Management and Executive Editor of the Journal of Systems Management, Robin is the author of the Proactive Testing™ methodology and the recent Artech House book, Discovering REAL Business Requirements for Software Project Success.

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RISK MANAGEMENT TUTORIAL

Software Project Risks
John Estrella, PhD, Agilitek Corporation

Are you taking on too much project risk?  Stop wasting time on trivial issues and start directing your efforts at controlling the risks that can derail your projects.  Are you using a risk identification checklist to avert failures?  How do you know that you are addressing the most critical risks?  This tutorial will highlight the dangers of depending on anecdotal, experiential, and outdated lists of risk factors to manage projects. Based on solid research carried out in Canada, John will present an international perspective on the important risk factors in information technology projects.  This workshop will help you avoid failures and increase the likelihood of success in your projects.

• Learn to create a strong foundation in project risk management through proper risk identification.
• Avoid common misconceptions on the importance of various risk factors.
• Incorporate cultural dimensions as they relate to risk propensity and avoidance.
• Discuss a comprehensive list of risk factors from expert panelists across five countries.
  
  

About the instructor...
John A. Estrella is the President of Agilitek Corporation, a management consulting firm that specializes in information technology project management, business analysis, and software testing.  As a consultant, author, and speaker with extensive experience in Asia, North America, and Europe, John helps senior managers and executives to address issues associated with complex, large-scale, and risky projects.  The Project Management Institute (PMI) Educational Foundation awarded John with the Gaylord E. (Gary) Christle Scholarship toward his PhD in software project risks. John is also a member of the Board of Directors of PMI Southern Ontario Chapter and the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario (ICMCO).  John is author of the book Identifying Software Project Risks in the Canadian Financial Services Sector: An International Comparative Study.

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TEST PROCESS TUTORIAL

Exploratory Testing: Design, Execute and Learn
Michael Bolton, DevelopSense

Design, execute, and learn.  As a testing approach, exploratory testing is enormously powerful and widely practiced.  Yet, it is poorly understood.  Every tester can do it, but is it done well?  How do we know?  Can we effectively describe how we have systematically explored and tested a product?  Since each decision in exploratory testing is informed by the result of the last test, ET is not procedurally structured, rather it is cognitively structured.  In this one-day, hands-on tutorial, Michael will present exercises, suggestions, and discussions on how to make your exploratory testing more skillful, powerful, and accountable.  He will discuss the three aspects of the exploratory approach, design, execution, and learning.  Exploratory skills and tactics will be covered including how to guide exploratory testers concisely and effectively, in a way that focuses them on the testing that is missing.  You will learn methods for recording exploratory testing and ways to make exploratory testing accountable to managers, regulators, and auditors.  You are encouraged to bring a laptop computer, ideally Windows-based, to the workshop.

• Understand exploratory and investigative approaches to testing.
• Identify, hone, and practice exploratory testing skills.
• Learn about tools and practices that make exploratory approaches more accountable and far more powerful than scripted approaches.
  
  

About the instructor...
Michael Bolton has been teaching software testing for the last eight years across five continents.  He is co-author, along with senior author James Bach, of Rapid Software Testing, a course that presents a methodology and mindset for expert software testing in uncertain conditions and under extreme time pressure.  Michael is the Program Chair for TASSQ, the Toronto Association of System and Software Quality, and a co-founder of the Toronto Workshops on Software Testing.  He is a regular columnist for Better Software Magazine and also writes for Quality Software, a magazine published by TASSQ.  Michael lives in Toronto, Canada, with his wife and two children.

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TEST AUTOMATION TUTORIAL

Making Test Automation Live Up to Its Promises
Bob Crews, Checkpoint Technologies, Inc.

Decrease testing time!  Increase requirements coverage!  Improve your QA process!  These are but a few of the promises of test automation.  So why are so many organizations struggling, and often failing, in their efforts to implement an effective automation process?  When trying to determine whether or not to automate why is the test case analyzed and the test requirements ignored?  Why do organizations base their automated processes on manual tests?  This one-day, highly-interactive tutorial will present "tried and true" implementation strategies covering both methodologies and technical tips and techniques (regardless of the automation solution you are using).   You will learn an approach utilizing Requirements Based Testing and Risk Based Analysis which will significantly increase your effectiveness in implementing test automation.  This tutorial will present code design examples designed to decrease automated test development cycles and increase the value of test automation engineers.

• Understand the anatomies of a "test case" and "test requirement" and their influence on automation.
• Discuss the benefits of using Requirements Based Testing and Risk Based Analysis approaches in developing an automation strategy
• Discover code design specifications for highly-efficient and effective automated processes
  
  

About the instructor...
Bob Crews, President of Checkpoint Technologies, is a consultant and trainer with over eighteen years of IT experience including full life-cycle development involving development, requirements management, and testing.  He has consulted and trained for over 160 different organizations in areas such as effectively using automated testing solutions, implementing automated frameworks, and developing practices which ensure the maximum return-on-investment with automated solutions.  Bob has presented at numerous conferences and user groups throughout the world including QAI, EuroStar (Copenhagen), and LatinStar (Mexico City).  Bob was selected as one of the top five speakers at the QAI Annual Software Testing Conference in 2004.

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