Wednesday Afternoon Conference Sessions (1:00 - 2:00 PM)

PSQT Feature Presentation (1:00 - 2:00 PM)

How to Release the Secret Power of Inspection
Dr. Rebecca Staton-Reinstein

Concepts:

When Michael Fagan introduced Inspections at IBM in the 1970's the technique had major benefits and impact.  Thirty years later the process has been embraced by thousands of companies around the world and is recognized as our most effective quality control tool.   It costs less than testing and finds more defects.  It provides critical data to improve the development and maintenance process.  It's a major tool to drive towards CMM level 5 and reach 6 sigma quality.  If you are using Fagan Inspections, are you getting the full benefit you need from them?  If you are thinking about implementing them, do you know the secrets that will turn them into your secret quality weapon?  If you have never considered using Inspections, do you know what you're missing?  We will go behind the scenes to discover the secrets that can power up your efforts to build quality software while saving you money.

Learning Objectives:

• Getting the most from Fagan Inspections

• Turning Fagan Inspections into a quality weapon

• Building quality software while saving money
  
  Dr. Rebecca Staton-Reinstein is President of Advantage Leadership, has had a successful career as an organizational leader, educator and management consultant. From 1986 to 1989 she established Quality Assurance functions in two major insurance companies. Dr. Staton-Reinstein is on the faculty and develops courses for the American Management Association.

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PSQT Track Presentations (1:00 - 2:00 PM)

Developing a Strong Test Process
David Petrella

Concepts:

This presentation will describe how the Test Process Improvement Team at Gateway developed and implemented a new test process. The presentation will give the audience an idea of how to create a process that will work for their environment by presenting a real-life example.

Presentation Outline:

• How we started
• Development of the process
• Implementing the process
• Summary

Learning Objectives:

• How to create a test process that works for your organization.
• What documents are needed for the test process.
• What are the major issues in creating this process.
• How to implement a new test process.

David Petrella is a Senior Architect for ICG Communications, Inc. He is developing a test strategy for their billing systems. Previously, Mr. Petrella was a consultant for Keane, Inc. in the capacity of a System Test Team Lead for Gateway. In addition to leading many testing projects, he was responsible for creating the test methodology for Gateway. He has also participated as a key member in efforts for Gateway to achieve CMM level 3 compliance. In addition to ICG and Gateway, Mr. Petrella has led various testing and quality efforts at Lockheed Martin and US West. In his assignments, David emphasizes process improvement, specifically the involvement of the test organization into software development activities. David is a software test professional with over 14 years of software industry experience, 12 of that specifically in software testing and quality assurance. He has tested software systems at various levels including unit, application, system, and specializing in systems integration. David has performed testing on multiple operating systems and architectures including VMS, UNIX, NT, Mainframe, Client Server, and Embedded systems. Mr. Petrella holds a MBA in Computer Resources Management from Webster University and a BS in Aeronautical Studies/Computer Sciences from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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Challenges In Process Definition & Metrics Collection For Telecom/Datacom Testing
Gayatri Sundar

Concepts:

Testing is a part and parcel of any development, whether it is an automobile, a pin or software.  The importance of testing in the SW (software) arena needs no emphasis as testing is the only way that products can be shown to meet their requirements.  Software testing has taken a new dimension in the recent past due to increasing complexity and functionality of SW.  In critical applications like Telecom & Datacom, the effort spent on testing can be as high as 35 to 45% of project effort. Hence it is necessary to define precise processes and process metrics for testing.  This presentation discusses how process definition and process metrics help to consistently execute testing, measure quality and productivity of testing in order to improve the process.

Presentation Outline:

·         An overview of testing with a view to bring out the differences in testing approaches for different segments of IT industries like banking, E-engineering, Telecom
·         What are the different testing methodologies in telecom and datacom projects
·         The typical test process as a guideline
·         Skill sets required for a testing personnel
·         Metrics that need to be collected for testing and difficulties in the collection of these
·         Road ahead for testing projects

Learning Objectives:

·        Concept of Testing work done in Telecom/Datacom projects
·         Definition of process and metrics collection in telecom projects

Biography:

Gayatri Sundar is the Software Quality Advisor at Infosys Technologies Ltd., in Bangalore, India. Gayatri was responsible for implementing CMM Level 5 at Infosys. She has over 9 years of experience, of which 6 years are in SW development. Prior to joining Infosys in 1995, she worked for ABB Relays, MACMET India and Karamchand Thapar, Ltd. She has a Bachelors degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering Regional Engineering College, Nagpur, India.

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First Time Testing a Web Application: Lessons Learned
Mark Bonewell

Concepts:

This presentation will describe some of the issues encountered in testing a Web site application. In this particular case, it was the first time either the development organization or the test group had worked on a Web application. This presentation will also address how to avoid some of the problems encountered in development and testing of Web applications (i.e., Lessons Learned).

Presentation Outline:

I. System Description
    The Web application to be tested consisted of a database on the Web that contains patient data, which     is assessable only to the patient’s physician. (Insert diagram of full system)
    This data, which is collected by an implantable monitor on a daily bases, in one of two ways.

II. Requirements
    How determined – ad hoc
    Insufficiencies – requirements unknown at start of testing were established real-time or as you go.

III. Test Planning
    Approach – treated like testing a multi-tasking real time operating system (many similarities)
    Test Plan Outline
    Additional Items considered after taking "Testing Internet & eBusiness Applications" Class

IV. Major Issues Encountered
    Test Environment Set-up
    Test Resources
    Browser Differences
    Real Time Considerations
    Lack of Well Defined Requirements

Learning Objectives:

Know who your end user is
Know how your product is to be used
Have well defined requirements (i.e., a System Level Specification, which drives lower level specifications)
Differences between your testing and user environments
Benchmark other sites which are similar to your application



Mark Bonewell is a Principal Design Assurance Engineer at Medtronic, Inc. His responsibilities include both system testing and software quality assurance activities for programmer software applications development that support implantable pulse generators. Before joining Medtronic, Mark worked as an independent consultant for medical device testing, lead verification/validation engineer and software developer. Mark is a Past President of the Twin Cities Quality Assurance Association.

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