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Software Dimensions and The International Institute for Software Testing Present PSQT/PSTT 2001 North |
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Wednesday Morning Sessions (7:00 - 11:00 AM) Keynote Presentation (Wednesday 8:30 - 9:45 AM) Transforming IT from a Cost Center to a Value Center Dr. Howard Rubin Concepts: As companies learn that effective use of information technology is
essential in new economy competitiveness, it is critical that an enterprise’s IT
assets be fully, fluidly aligned with business needs and actively managed from an
investment perspective (risk, yield, benefits, etc.) - instead of solely from a cost-side
perspective, as is widely practiced today. How
can we apply financial services metaphors of portfolio management and fund management to
enable the transformation from cost center to value center - from constraining to agile -
from reactive to proactive? Biography: Dr. Howard Rubin is a leading authority on IT measurement and is the author of the much-heralded Worldwide Benchmark Report. He is also a prominent researcher, speaker, and consultant in the areas of global software economics, the Year 2000 problem, software engineering process dynamics, software metrics, and the business value of technology. He is the software metrics editor of the magazine IEEE Computer and the former editor of IT Metrics Strategies. He has also published two major software engineering books on metrics and quality. Dr. Rubin's work in software measurement and economics was the subject of briefings provided to President Clinton and Vice President Gore, and led to his heading the IT Quality and Productivity Task Force at ITAA's 1998 National Workforce Convocation.
PSQT Track Presentations (Wednesday 10:00 - 11:00 AM) No
Requirements Writer is an Island Concepts: There can be many problems with requirements. A single person cannot
write good requirements without input from others. Both formal and informal reviews
contribute to improved requirements. In this
session the attendee will learn about holding a review. The attendee will also learn about
reviewing requirements by using a checklist. Presentation Outline: ·
Introduction Biography: Erin Pierce has spent the last year implementing a standard testing process enterprise wide. She is currently involved in a leasing acquisition project as the testing manager. Continuous Internal Process
Assessment Concepts: Mr. Downs has developed an extremely effective process for continuous
internal assessment of projects against the SW-CMM. This
process uses a multi-purpose tool that provides a process improvement checklist, training,
self-assessment, artifact logging, metrics and verification in a simple interactive
environment. The use of such a tool will also
simplify a formal assessment and assure its success.
Sufficient instruction will be provided for a company to quickly develop a
similar process and tool using standard computing resources. Presentation Outline: · The
value of continuous process measurement Biography: John Downs has spent 30 years in engineering development and program and functional management. During his years as Vice President of Engineering at a major defense company, he established its Software Process Improvement program and was directly responsible for achieving Level 2 maturity in the SW-CMM. He is currently responsible for bringing another company to Level 2. He received an MS in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis on systems engineering and an MBA. He is also an independent consultant providing software process training and consulting services. Common Pitfalls When Building or Introducing CM
Tools and How to Minimize the Damage Concepts: Today the need of CM is widely recognized.
People on all levels understand the need of configuration management in the projects. But
as it is with all buzz words, you are very unlikely to get the same explanation of what CM
is if you ask people in different positions. Lack of understanding and even worse,
insufficient time to achieve understanding is the greatest problem today. This will of course lead to unwise decisions when
it comes to questions like “Buy or
Build?” “ Who is the customer?” and “What are the really important
functions?”. This presentation will cover his experience
of some potential problems, how to identify the symptoms and how to avoid them. It will
also highlight the advantage with an active risk management. Presentation Outline: · Planning phase pitfalls. · Prestudy problems · Tool selection trauma. · Installation and Introduction. What can go
wrong? · Deployment phase. New features or new fixes? · Retirement of an outdated system. Is it
possible? · Some simple methods to avoid the traps… o Knowledge transfer o Repeated risk analysis o Continuous follow up on risks Biography: Mr. Torbjorn Fransson is a senior software engineering consultant. His primary responsibilities are software engineering and training new teams for CM and systems engineering. He received the Master of Science in Computer technology at the University of Linkoping Sweden and has been a software developer and manager of quality and methods group for software engineering responsible for development, deployment and maintenance of systems for software CM and change management. The Effect of Department Reorganization
on the Quality of Software Releases in 2001 Concepts: In March, 2001, a decision was made to re-organize the development and the QA group to leverage the synergies between the two groups and to tap the system expertise that QA had acquired through the 1-2 years that most had been testing multiple applications. The reorganization consisted of removing 4 QA people and inserting them into the development organization with responsibilities for testing the product prior to official entry into QA. Biography: Alice Lewis has been in the Software Quality field since 1985. She has worked with medical diagnostic equipment software (MRI systems); automated control systems; Electronic Parts Catalog Systems and am currently working on the Quality Assurance. Alice has received bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science, and Master’s degrees in Mathematics and Quality Management. Alice is a Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE) and a Certified Quality Manager (CQM). She has spoken at other conferences and at a software quality program. PSTT Feature Presentation (Wednesday 10:00 - 11:00 AM) Getting Testers Involved in Requirements: The standard response to "when should testers get involved?" has traditionally been, "the earlier, the better!" The controversy begins when we try to decide what they should be doing during requirements gathering. There are several roles for which they are uniquely suited, based on their strengths. Exploiting these can improve the chances of getting good requirements while using testers appropriately and avoiding using them inappropriately. Dr. Rebecca Staton-Reinstein has had a long and successful career as an IT professional and organizational leader. She established the Quality Assurance function in three different companies. Her results led to her appointment as a corporate officer to implement total quality management. Her articles on building quality software appear regularly. She works with companies who want to improve their software and their IT management. PSQT Feature Presentation (Wednesday 1:00 - 2:00 PM) Reducing Cycle Time by
Eliminating Requirement Defects and Automating Test Concepts: This presentation provides an overview of problems that most
organizations face that are impeding the rapid deployment of software systems that are
critical to the operations and growth of their business.
We describe a family of solutions we have created that use model-based
development and test automation to remove requirement defects while automating test vector
and test driver generation. We summarize how
companies have effectively adopted this approach; the most successful approach uses use
test engineers to model requirement early in the lifecycle to help remove requirement
defects. We summarize the results companies
have achieved in using the solution on various projects for both software and system
analysis and testing. Biography: Dr. Mark Blackburn has twenty years of software systems engineering experience in developing, project leadership and applied research in object technology, requirement and design specification, model-based development, formal methods, and formal verification. His more recent technical activities have been focused on transforming various functional, OO, and control-system models from 3rd party tool systems into a representation that can support requirement defect removal and test automation. PSTT Track Presentations (Wednesday 1:00 - 2:00 PM) Building and Maintaining a World Class Test
Organization Concepts: Learn how to build and maintain a world class test organization. As the money gets tighter in companies, QA is
often the first area to suffer. This one
hour session will provide some advice on how to create your team and keep them together
through the good and bad times. Presentation Outline: Finding the right people Biography: Judy McKay has over 15 years of software management
experience. She has worked in aerospace,
commercial and internet startup companies and brings a wealth of real world, practical
experience and knowledge. Regardless of your
level of management experience or your title, you will benefit from this course and be
able to apply what you’ve learned to become a more effective leader. Assessing Your Testing Process Maturity Concepts: The Testing Maturity Model (TMM) is a companion to the Software
Capability Maturity Model (SW-CMM). In order for an organization to improve their software
testing process they should know their current testing maturity and how to progress to the
next level. This presentation will look at
the six testing maturity models currently in existence. It will then present the Software
Testing Maturity Model (SW-TMM) developed by the Illinois Institute of Technology. It will
also present a process that your organization can use to determine their current testing
maturity and develop an improvement plan. This
presentation will provide valuable testing maturity and assessment informations that you
can bring back to your organization and utilize immediately. Presentation Outline: v Introduction v Software Testing Maturity Model v Level 1 - Initial v Level 2 - Phase Definition v Level 3 - Integration v Level 4 - Management and Measurement v Level 5 - Optimization/Defect Prevention and Quality Control v
Test Maturity Assessment Procedure Biography: Thomas C. Staab owns an independent telecommunications consulting firm. He has over 9 years in the telecommunications field. In addition, he has over 25 years experience in the quality profession and holds a Master of Science degree in Quality Systems. His telecommunications consulting incorporates his extensive quality assurance and information technology into every project. He has developed the test plan and coordinated the testing of numerous telecommunications systems for clients. He brings this practical experience into the classroom. Performance Testing Web Applications
… Concepts: Imagine an application environment that is extremely heterogeneous;
one that uses the most complex technologies; one that has a wide variety of standards;
with extraordinary demands placed upon it at both predictable and unpredictable times;
with potentially millions of users, most of which have not been formally trained in the
application’s use; and one which needs to be developed, tested and delivered at
“breakneck” speed. This describes
the typical web-based environment used today. Performance Testing of web applications presents some unique
challenges not experienced in other forms of application’s testing efforts. Web applications require a large breadth of
knowledge and range of skills that go beyond those needed for any other traditional
application environment. The range of
components used in developing and deploying web applications is extremely broad and
heterogeneous. QA people may be required to
know HTML, XML, JavaScript, Visual Basic, SQL, Java, C++, Unix and Windows to do their job
effectively. In addition, some knowledge of
Networks and overall application architecture and design also prove to be valuable assets. Automated testing tools are also a necessary part
of the equation needed for successful results. In addition to the challenges brought about by the technologies
listed above, the pace of web application development has been accelerated by the
Internet. Pressures related to B2B (business
to business), B2C (business to consumer), B2E (business to employee), M2M (market to
market), corporate extranets and intranets are all adding to the “rush” to
create and deploy applications that are more robust, available and reliable, and all in
record time. Developing the correct approach
and selecting the right tools is also critical to successful web performance testing
undertakings. Knowing what the customer
expectations are is more important than ever in laying out test plans and presenting test
results. Lastly, several variants of
performance testing are possible with Web applications, and the QA person must help the
customer determine which form is most appropriate, and must also help in interpreting the
results correctly. Biography: Tom Igielski has over 25 years of experience that includes working with all facets of the system development lifecycle. He is currently a Technology Counselor specializing in Quality Assurance, Project Management, Perimeter Security, and Application Performance Management services. Tom has amassed most of this experience managing infrastructure and quality assurance efforts being addressed by large, multi-divisional companies. Over the last two years, he has focused on building the infrastructure and testing processes necessary to support inter/intra/extranet applications that help to promote integration between the business capabilities and customer requirements. Tom has managed enterprise Quality Assurance Program implementations across multi-division corporations, with a special focus on using automated tools to do functional, regression and load testing. He has also managed many development projects from conceptual design through construction and implementation. Tom has a B.S. in Chemistry from Loyola University (Chicago), and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul). He is currently an Adjunct Instructor in the University of St. Thomas Graduate Programs in Software program teaching courses on software process, and a Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE).Software Test Automation: Design, Implement and Maintain a Data Driven
Solution Concepts: We have
implemented several successful automated test solutions.
This presentation will share a lesson in the practice of selecting
applications for automation, plus designing, developing and implementing a data-driven
automated test suite. The design and
approach to be discussed can be applied to any browser or Windows GUI application which
requires data entry of a large number of test cases.
This solution was designed to automate the manual task of test case data entry for approximately 800 test
cases. As new functionality is added to the
application the test suite is extended to incorporate those new features. The solution to be presented serves as a set of
positive test cases which execute all features of the application while generating
downstream output products which, in this case, are validated by another automated
process. The test suite provides regression
test coverage as well as new feature functional testing.
New features are incorporated into the test suite concurrent with software
development and prior to System Test execution. Biography: Tom
Hels has twenty plus years in Information Technology at
Prudential. Tom’s experience covers all
aspects of software development and support, including: application support, software
design and development, and software test analysis and execution. He is currently managing a team of programmers and
test analysts that are dedicated to Software Test Automation and Test Tools. This team is responsible for implementing tools
and automation solutions supporting Prudential “Software Test Centers of
Excellence” in Ireland and America. Jim
Cook has fifteen plus years in Information Technology at
Prudential. Jim’s experience covers all
aspects of software development and support, including: application support, software
design and development, and software test analysis and execution. He is currently a member of a team of programmers
and test analysts that are dedicated to Software Test Automation and Test Tools. Leo
Zdrill has thirteen plus years in
Information Technology at various corporations. Leo
has a very diverse background focused on developing test automation solutions with a
variety of tools on numerous platforms. He is
currently a member of a team of programmers and test analysts that are dedicated to
Software Test Automation and Test Tools.
PSQT Track Presentations (Wednesday 2:15 - 3:15 PM) Can We get Complete Requirements Even When the
Pressure is on? More Information Coming Soon! Dr. Staton-Reinstein has had a long and
successful career as an IT professional and organizational leader. She established the Quality Assurance function in
three different companies. Her results led to
her appointment as a corporate officer to implement total quality management. Her articles on building quality software appear
regularly. She works with companies who want
to improve their software and their IT management. Do’s and Don’ts of Software
Process Assessments Concepts: Everybody has
heard the horror stories of “the assessment from hell.” Unfortunately, every time such a story is related,
someone else has suffered through an experience that was even worse. In consulting mode, lead assessors are quick to
tell you that an SEPG should be performing one level higher than the group they are trying
to influence. Unfortunately, when leading an
assessment, many fail to eat their own dog food. This presentation will convey
lessons learned by one of the most active authorized lead assessors. The techniques discussed in this session lead to
reasonable schedules (no later than 6 p.m. on most days), quantitative insight into
progress and coverage gaps, metrics that keep the consensus and rating processes focused
and productive, and higher quality findings.
Presentation Outline: p Understanding the Requirements p “Bidding”
the Assessment p Planning the Assessment p Tricks of the Trade p Assessment Metrics Biography: Patrick
O’Toole is an SEI authorized lead assessor who provides
consulting, training, and assessment services to major clients (Fortune 500). Pat is on the SEI’s list of most active lead
assessors and has led assessments spanning all maturity levels, including the largest
Level 5 assessment conducted to date. Extreme Code Reviews:
Changing the Way We Work Concepts: Code reviews are often perceived
as a necessary evil by developers. The
Extreme Programming paradigm seeks to remove this stigma by integrating the code review
process into daily activities. With globally
distributed development teams, the pair programming ideal can not be achieved in any
practical sense, and an alternative must be sought. We
propose the idea of an Extreme Code Review and present the practical experience that has
truly changed the way we work. The
Visualization Tool kit(VTK) is an Open Source project with developers spread across the
globe. Each developer is encouraged to make
small, frequent code changes, and to minimize the time that code remains outstanding from
the mainline development. This behavior
requires a control mechanism to ensure the quality of contributed code. Extreme Code Reviews provide this means of
control. Each morning, a core group of
developers reviews the work of the 20 contributors to VTK.
With the aid of web-based tools, the group can review code changes of any
scale within minutes, rather than the hours required for a formal code review process. In this way, only the modest changes of one day
need to be reviewed, rather than a week's or month's worth of changed. The task moves from being overwhelming and avoided
to manageable and anticipated. The avoidance
behavior of a typical developer is completely avoided.
In addition, the reviews maintain a firm understanding of the pulse and
direction of development. Our presentation will focus on
the practical implementation of the Extreme Code Review process including the required
supporting tools, and practical examples. Biography: Timothy
P. Kelliher is a Computer Scientist. He has over 15 years experience
in systems and software engineering. At the center he has worked on Software Engineering
CASE tools, Human Computer Interaction, and Software Quality systems. He is a Six Sigma
Master Black Belt and spends much of his time instructing and mentoring the software
development community. He is co-author of “Engineering Complex Systems with Models
and Objects” published by McGraw-Hill, 1997. In his research efforts he is
experimenting with use of new paradigms for software development. His focus is on adding
value to the business through improved work methods for individual software developers and
teams which are embraced by developers rather than dictated by organizations. Achieving Quality by Design Concepts: Testing technology and testers’ efforts have largely focused on
deriving tests from the as-built system. This
talk examines the opportunity for testers to engage in achieving e-business quality from
the beginning of the development lifecycle – as early as the design stage. The business problem that we’re trying to
solve is how to achieve higher quality in shorter time?
In particular, how do you do that by taking testing activities, which
ordinarily are sequential at the end of the cycle, and moving them to the beginning. Testing activity consumes an enormous amount of
every project’s time and budget. Accordingly,
any improvement we make to the rest of the process (analysis, design, and implementation),
without making similar improvements in test can only achieve half the result -- half the improvement on time to market and half
(or less than half) the impact on the bottom line. Additionally, this talk looks at the core challenges facing software
quality, and discusses the importance of instilling quality at the beginning of the
lifecycle to ensure high quality components that ultimately contribute to an error-free
software system. Presentation Outline: · Identify business problem, feasibility and cost of integrating testing early into the lifecycle · Describing the technical challenge of combining reliable components into an error-free system · Understanding how and why to design for testability · The role of the UML and the benefit of applying the UML to test assets ·
How and why to take advantage of
test that have previously been applied – test reuse Biography: Bill Thornburg is the Director for Rational's automated testing business unit. In this role, he is responsible for determining strategy and direction for Rational's automated testing products. Bill has over 20 years of professional experience in the software development and management area, including development positions in business applications and real-time systems and software team management positions in electronic publishing and commercial development. He holds a BS degree in math and computer sciences, as well as an MBA. Bill has years of software industry experience speaking in private and public engagements. He has conducted seminars for over 1000 users, as well as delivered keynotes, webinars, tutorials, and participated in a number of panel sessions.PSTT Feature Presentation (Wednesday 2:15 - 3:15 PM) Common Mistakes in Software Testing Many organizations have attempted test automation without a clear understanding of all that is involved. Consequently, many attempts have failed to achieve real or lasting benefits. This presentation highlights a few of the more common mistakes that have contributed to these failures and offers some thoughts on how they may be avoided. This presentation will cover the following topics:
Dorothy Graham is from Grand Rapids Michigan, but a UK resident for over 20 years, Dot has degrees in Mathematics, and worked for Bell Labs in New Jersey and for Ferranti Computer Systems and The National Computing Centre in Manchester, England. Dorothy is co-author with Mark Fewster of "Software Test Automation", published in 1999, and is co-author with Tom Gilb of "Software Inspection" published in 1993, both by Addison-Wesley. She was the originator and co-author of The CAST Report, on Computer Aided Software Testing tools. She has been involved in testing conferences since 1991 and was program chair for the first European testing conference in 1993. Sometimes described as a "technical entertainer", she is a popular and stimulating speaker at international conferences and seminars. PSQT Feature Presentation (Wednesday 3:45 - 4:45 PM) Project Out of Control?
10 Easy Metrics You Can Begin Using Today Concepts: In your experience - as a project manager, a team leader, an
individual develop – have you experienced that “out of control” feeling? Have you found yourself overwhelmed and being
asked to do even more? Has your manager
demanded to know “when will you be done” and you are not sure how to answer that
question? After attending this presentation,
you will have enough information to begin “re-taking control” of your own
destiny – as an individual developer, team member, project manager. I hope that you will be motivated to put one or
more of these metrics into practice in your life – and share your results and your
success with next year’s conference attendees. Biography: Judy Bamberger is a consultant specializing in project management, software process definition and improvement, quality techniques (e.g., formal inspections, metrics), leadership, team building, facilitation, and managing change. Ms. Bamberger is an Authorized Lead Assessor in the SEI CBA-IPI method and a key author of the Capability Maturity Model for Software. PSTT Track Presentations (Wednesday 3:45 - 4:45 PM) Automated
Software Inspection for Early Defect Detection Concepts: This
presentation discusses the role of inspection in the software quality process and the
different techniques and approaches available, with a detailed look at automated
inspection for detect detection. Presentation Outline: Why
Testing is Not Enough; What is Software Inspection?; Why Do Inspections?; So Why isn’t
it Done?; What Inspections Can Find; Manual Inspections; Existing Inspection Tools; A New
Approach is Needed; Automated Software Inspection; The Technology; Output; Quality
Metrics; Benefits; Case Study; Summary. Biography: Lawrence Markosian, a founder of
Reasoning, Inc., is senior product manager for InstantQA, Reasoning's automated source
code defect inspection service. Prior to joining Reasoning, Lawrence was a Research
Associate at Stanford University, where he specialized in models of mathematical and
logical inference and learning. Lawrence is the author of numerous articles on software
reengineering, reverse engineering and defect detection, including articles in
Communications of the ACM and Java Developers Journal. How
Do You Know When You Are Done Testing More Information Coming Soon! Biography: Scott Jefferies is a TBI Technology Engineering Manager with over 25 years’ experience in providing business and information management solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. Scott is experienced in the installation and implementation of automated software quality (ASQ) tools on a variety of platforms. The LEGOTM Principle: How to Build, Cheap, Fast, Flexible and Efficient
“Consumer Tests” Presentation Outline: o Introduction: E-commerce testing global context
o Stirred or shaken: the example of the TRH?
o The impact of time constraints on E-commerce structured testing
approaches
o Turning constraints into successes : the LEGO™ principle
applied to the TRH
o The LEGO™ principle in general: conclusions
Extending Automation Tools: Using DLLs Concepts: Each test automation tool consists of
a programming language and a library of functions that give a test developer certain
capabilities when executing a test. Unfortunately,
today’s automation tools fall short of supplying all of the functionality that an
automator actually needs. It is up to the
test developer to fill in the holes. Some
holes can be filled using the native tool language. However,
there are many cases where there is no substitute to being able to use a real programming
language to solve a problem. In the Windows
environment, it is possible to create a dynamic link library (DLL) using C, C++, Delphi,
etc. which contains code that solves automation problems.
The functions can then be called by the automation scripts when needed. This presentation will cover why we want to build
DLLs to supplement automation tools, how to build the DLLs, and how to call the functions
from the different automation tools. Presentation Outline: The need for programming beyond the
native tool language will be explored. A
general description of options will entail, ending with a discussion of the desirability
of using custom DLLs. The many ways to build
a DLL will be discussed, ending up with reasons for using Delphi. At this point, Delphi will be used to create a
simple DLL. Using the Windows API from the
DLL and solving problems will be explored. Finally,
a number of examples of DLL usage will be presented. Biography: Jamie L. Mitchell is a Senior Test Automation Consultant. He is a contributing editor and columnist for “The Journal of Software Testing Professionals.” He previously was a Senior Consultant and the Lead Automation Engineer for Distributed Integration Testing / Global. He has long been involved in test automation as automator, designer, architect, and mentor. He has worked in test automation since the first automation tools were released in Windows 3.0. He earned the Master of Computer Science degree from Lehigh University and is a QAI Certified Software Test Engineer. He is an active member of the Twin Cities Quality Assurance Association. |
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