STAREAST 2001 - Software Testing Conference

PRESENTATIONS

STAREAST 2001: Managing the End Game of a Software Project

How do you know when a product is ready to ship? QA managers have been faced with this question for many years. Using the methodology discussed in this presentation, you take the guessing out of shipping a product and replace it with key metrics to help you rationally make the right decision. Learn how to estimate, predict, and manage your software project as it gets closer to its release date. Learn how to define which metrics to track--and how to measure them.

Mike Ennis, BMC Software

STAREAST 2001: Measuring the Value of Testing

How can we make testing more visible and appreciated? Without measurement, we only have opinions. This presentation outlines simple and practical ways to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of testing, particularly the metric Defect Detection Percentage. Learn how this measure can be implemented in your organization to keep track of defects found in testing (and afterwards). Explore choices, problems, and benefits in using this measure as well as other useful measures.

Dorothy Graham, Grove Consultants

STAREAST 2001: The Power of Retrospectives to Improve Testing

Testing is a tough job! Most test professionals learn the hard way what works and what doesn't. Retrospectives are focused, facilitated reviews of a defined piece of work. Learn how software project retrospectives are used as a test process improvement technique to capture the essence of a work, provide closure, and establish a springboard for active improvement in an organization.

Esther Derby, Esther Derby Associates, Inc

Succeeding with Automation Tools

The problems with using record/playback as your only test automation strategy are well known. But the other option-full script programming-is unattractive to many due to its high cost and long development time. This presentation discusses a strategy called defensive programming that incorporates the best of both worlds. Learn how to leverage your automation tool with simple implementation techniques to create robust test suites.

Jamie Mitchell, BenchmarkQA

Take This Test and Share It!

Your organization may not be the size of IBM, but your testers have probably experienced many of the same problems. Maybe you've heard comments like, "Is software testing a career?"; "Where can I get training and support for these tools?"; or "Why don't my automated tests work for this version?" Using the power of synergy, IBM launched a company-wide "virtual testing organization" to integrate islands of expertise, adopt the best tools and practices, become a major contributor to quality, and advance testing as a career.

Bill Woodworth, IBM
Targeted Software Fault Insertion

Since the completely random software fault insertion techniques suggested in much of the research literature are not practical for most software products, this paper suggests that a modest targeted software fault insertion effort for a few common error conditions can have a dramatic impact on defect detection rates and quality. The paper uses the example of a software fault insertion subsystem, codenamed Faulty Towers, which was added to Mangosoft Incorporated’s test automation in order to target
common failures and errors.

Paul Houlihan, MangoSoft Corporation
Testing in the Internet Time-A Case Study

Testing before eBusiness was tough-and now it is even more difficult! This presentation gives an overview of three typical eBusiness development lifecycles that exist today (in hours, weeks, and months) and offers a testing lifecycle for each. Learn of one software company's successful implementation of its Internet testing lifecycle and the benefits (numerically quantified) derived from it.

Eamonn McGuinness, aimware
The Global Challenge: Quality Assurance for Worldwide Markets

Many software applications are hosted in worldwide data centers, simultaneously launched with multiple language user interfaces, and continuously upgraded in rolling release cycles. Yet few software development organizations have a clear strategy for testing internationalized (I18N) products. Join presenter Steve Nemzer for an insider's view into the fascinating cultural, technical, and linguistic challenges faced by today's internationalization engineers.

Steve Nemzer, VeriTest
The Guided Inspection Technique

Early detection of faults is a cost-effective technique for ensuring quality. The guided inspection technique described in this presentation uses explicit test cases to guide the inspection process rather than leaving the coverage of the model to chance. Learn how this technique systematically determines whether the model is complete, correct, and consistent. Gain an understanding of how to integrate this technique into the typical, iterative, incremental process.

Melissa Russ, Korson-McGregor
The Role of Information in Risk-Based Testing

With risk-based testing, you identify risks and then run tests to gather more information about them. Formal risk analysis is often necessary for identifying and assessing risks with new domains or technologies. A common problem, however, is how to assess risks when you have little information. Learn how to use testing to identify risks, reach team agreement on risk magnitude, and identify actions which allow these risks to be understood and mitigated.

Bret Pettichord, Satsfice

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