Frode L. Odegard
Lean Software Institute
Description:
In this presentation we will discuss Lean Software Development
and its implications for the testing profession. Lean Software Development represents
a fundamental paradigm shift in software development. Instead of focusing on
individual "best practices", it seeks to provide an environment in
which development is viewed as organizational learning. The goal is to understand
what the customer needs and to satisfy those needs on a just-in-time basis.
Anything that doesn't help meet customer needs is regarded as waste. The organizational
learning emphasis also applies to how we work. We want to continuously improve
so we can work smarter and faster than our competitor s.
In a Lean development environment, the purpose of testing goes beyond finding
defects. Even with unit and system testing, software today ships with an average
of six to seven thousand defects for a million-line system. Sufficient test
coverage is impossible to achieve, so we can't really test ourselves to better
quality. Instead, the main strategy for reducing defects has to be defect prevention.
This does not mean that testing has become less important. Because Lean Software
Development is knowledge-driven, we need real-world feedback on how well our
design solutions are working in practice. We must to constantly learn about
customer needs and how well our design ideas meet those needs. This is where
testing comes in, because it provides crucial information that guides our work
in the right direction.
Learning objectives:
• Why the emphasis on defects has made testing a commodity profession
• Software development as learning - The paradigm shift in Lean Software
Development
• Value Stream Management: Merging Process and Project Management
• How to Spot and Measure Waste in your software development processes
• The Four Forms of Testing and Why You May be Ignoring Two of Them
• Testing as a Driver for Creating Knowledge
• Testers as Co-Designers and Customer Advocates
Biography:
Frode L. Ødegård is the Founder and President of the Lean Software Institute. He is a frequent public speaker on software engineering management. Frode's lecture topics have included optimizing software development for profitability, defect prevention, specifications, leadership, culture, architecture, outsourcing practices, and various aspects of Lean as applied to IT and software development. He is the author of a forthcoming book titled “Implementing Lean Software Development: Theory, Practice, Results". Organizations Frode has helped include NASA, Sony Electronics Inc., AT&T Wireless, Conexant Systems, Mindspeed, Plantronics, and Johnson & Johnson. He is a serial entrepreneur who founded his first software company at age 17.