STARWEST 2000 - Software Testing Conference

PRESENTATIONS

Capture Replay: A Foolish Test Strategy

Capture replay is not an effective strategy for test automation. This popular technique seems to enable unskilled testers to generate test scripts quickly. However, there are two reasons why this strategy is generally not effective. Learn why the capture replay concept is poorly suited for the realities of software development, and why this technology is often unreliable. Discover various architectures successfully used for automated testing.
Bret Pettichord, Independent Consultant
Creating a Test Plan Database for Standardized Tests Across Multiple Nodes

Most test databases on the market today offer the ability to enter tests in a linear style without the ability to easily repeat the same tests for many different nodes. This original primitive testing approach offers test security to the project, but takes up unnecessary time that could be better spent on testing the application. Colleen Sherman contends there is a better way: the database way! Learn how this approach creates an efficient and accurate solution to what was once an administrative nightmare.
Colleen Sherman
Does Test Length Matter?

According to popular testing folklore, long tests are more likely to find bugs than short ones. Based on a series of experiments using formal traversal tools, Shmuel Ur demonstrates that long tests do indeed achieve better coverage and are lower in costs than test suites built of short tests. Explore the trade-offs between short and long tests while learning the effective strategies of converting test requirements to test plans.
Shmuel Ur, IBM Research
Don't Just Find Bugs: Influencing the Defect Fixing Process

In many projects, finding defects is easy but getting them fixed quickly and correctly can be a big problem. As a test professional armed with test plans and automated tools, you can detect and report reams of bugs. But in the end, product quality is not judged by the problems found, but by the problems fixed. Until a time when robots fix defects, testers must convince programmers to research and fix problems. How do you make certain that the important defects you find are corrected properly?
Margaret Ramsey, Software Process Innovators
Enterprise Testing Under a Microscope

Executing end-to-end (ETE) type testing where the systems are all developed within a single organization is a difficult task. Executing this type of test with over forty systems and several internal and external vendors would seem impossible. Learn how AT&T successfully implemented such a test process under extreme conditions. Discover the benefits--and pitfalls--of testing large-scale programs.
Diane Wilkerson, AT&T
eTesting the Airline

Colin Cherry provides insight into the challenges and struggles faced by the Ansett Airlines' testing team during the recent relaunch of its Web site. Learn how this test team was built and ready to support a completely revamped and live Web site within only six weeks. Explore the mistakes that were made along the way and how the team improved its capability during each subsequent upgrade of the Web site.
Colin Cherry, Planpower
From Failure to Success: Using Testing and Requirements Management

A multi-million dollar project on the verge of failure was given one last effort to create a winning team who could establish a definitive process around requirements management, automated testing, and quality assurance. Within six months, this team was able to successfully modify the existing software and deliver a product with zero defects that customers were able to use. Discover how requirements management can assist your organization in building a foundation for successful software development.
Tony O'Neill, Eli Lilly and Company
From Traditional Software Testing to E-Testing

This presentation takes a look at the real-world experiences of an "old salt" who spent eight months working as an e-commerce tester. Discover how this seasoned tester successfully infiltrated the domain of a new generation of developers and test engineers--and lived to tell about it! Gregory Pope explores the major differences between eBusiness testing and traditional testing of software applications, and identifies the processes that hold up well in the "do it right now" world.
Gregory Pope, TesCom USA
Implementing a Test Process

If you want to implement a structured test process in your organization, TPI (Test Process Improvement) and TMM (Test Maturity Matrix) are useful tools in helping you set the right priorities. Learn of one company's experiences in implementing the first scales of TPI, including the prerequisites for--and the first steps of--organizing the test process. Discover ways to raise problem awareness and obtain "buy-in" from your management.
Heiko Muller-Cajar, Tait Electronics Ltd.
Is the Software Improving?

How can you tell if software is improving? Many QA professionals have found calculating statistics and using various metrics useful in monitoring and predicting software development progress. In this presentation, Anna Allison takes a look behind the scenes of software projects to learn how even simple metrics are useful. Learn how to effectively use metrics to report, predict, and manage your own software projects.
Anna Allison, A2 Software Solutions

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