SQE STARWEST Conference Brochure 2008

COnCUrrent SeSSiOnS weDneSDay, OCTOBeR 1, 11:30 a.m. W1 TEST MAnAGEMEnT W4 PERSOnAL EXCELLEnCE the Myth of risk Management Pete McBreen, Software Craftsmanship, Inc. Although test managers are tasked with helping manage project risks, risk management practices used on most software projects produce only an illusion of safety. Many software development risks cannot be managed because they are unknown, unquantifiable, uncontrollable, or unmentionable. Rather than planning only for risks that have previously occurred, project and test managers must begin with the assumption that something new will impact their project. The secret to effective risk management is to create mechanisms that provide for the early detection and quick response to such events—not simply to create checklists of problems you’ve previously seen. Pete McBreen presents risk “insurance” as a better alternative to classic risk management. He offers a risk insurance model, which helps insure projects against incomplete information, minor slippages that add up to major delays, late breaking bad news, and failure to learn from the past. Join Pete to learn how your testing projects can be flexible, responsive, and better able to deal with your project’s risks—both known and unknown. W2 five things every tester Must Do Julie Gardiner, Grove Consultants Are you a frustrated tester or test manager? Are you questioning whether or not a career in testing is for you? Do you wonder why others in your organization seem unenthusiastic about quality? if the answer is yes to any of these questions, this session is for you. Julie Gardiner explores five directives to help testers make a positive impact within their organization and increase professionalism in testing. Remember quality—it’s not just time, it’s time and quality; it’s date and quality; it’s functionality and quality. learn to enjoy testing and have fun—the closest job to yours is blowing up things for the movies. Relish the testing challenge—it’s you against the software and sometimes, it seems, the world. Choose your battles—take a stand on issues that are vital and let the small things go. And most importantly, remember that the only real power we have springs from our integrity—don’t sell that at any price. Join Julie for this important and inspirational session. you’ll be glad you did. W5 SPECIAL TOPICS TEST TECHnIquES fun with regulated testing John McConda, Mobius Test Labs Does your test process need to pass regulatory audits (FDA, sOX, isO, etc.)? Do you find that an endless queue of documentation and maintenance is choking your ability to do actual testing? is your team losing good testers due to boredom? with the right methods and attitude, you can do interesting and valuable testing while passing a process audit with flying colors. it may be easier than you think to incorporate exploratory techniques, test automation, test management tools, and iterative test design into your regulated process. you’ll be able to find better bugs more quickly and keep those pesky auditors happy at the same time. John McConda shares how he uses exploratory testing with screen recording tools to produce the objective evidence auditors crave. He explains how to optimize your test management tools to preserve and confidently present accountability and traceability data. learn to negotiate which test activities are auditable and create tests with an iterative test design approach that quickly adapts to change and makes auditors smile. Using failure Modes to Power Up your testing Dawn Haynes, PerfTestPlus, Inc. when a tester uncovers a defect, it usually gets fixed. The tester validates the fix and may add the test to a regression test suite. Often, both the test and defect are then forgotten. not so fast— defects hold clues about where other defects may be hiding and often can help the team learn to not make the same mistake again. Dawn Haynes explores methods you can use to generate new test ideas and improve software reliability at the same time. learn to use powerful analysis tools, including FMeA—failure modes and effects analysis—and cause/effect graphing. go further with these techniques by employing fault injections and forensically analyzing bugs that customers find. Discover ways to correct the cause of a problem rather than submitting a “single instance defect” that will result in a “single instance patch” that fixes one problem and does nothing to prevent new ones. learn how to power up your testing to reveal defect patterns and root causes for recurring defects. W3 TEST AuTOMATIOn adventures with test Monkeys John Fodeh, Hewlett-Packard Most test automation focuses on regression testing—repeating the same sequence of tests to reveal unexpected behavior. Despite its many advantages, this traditional test automation approach has limitations and often misses serious defects in the software. John Fodeh describes “test monkeys,” automated testing that employs random inputs to exercise the software under test. Unlike regression test suites, test monkeys explore the software in a new way each time a test case executes and offers the promise of finding new and different types of defects. The good news is that test monkey automation is easy to develop and maintain and can be used early in development before the software is stable. Join John to discover different approaches you can take to implement test monkeys, depending on the desired “intelligence” level. learn to use weighted probability tables to direct your test monkeys into specific areas of interest, and find out how monkeys can work with model-based testing to make your testing even more powerful. “I like connecting with other people who do this thing we do and who are smart and passionate. I also realized that not only am I not alone, I’m part of a very thoughtful and curious group.” Danny Vinson Software Qa Manager, Kronos, inc. 18 Call 888.268.8770 or 904.278.0524 to register • www.sqe.Com/swreg http://www.sqe.com/swreg

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SQE STARWEST Conference Conference-At-A-Glance Pre-Conference Tutorials Keynote Sessions Concurrent Sessions Registration Information

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