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Preparing the Test Team to Go Agile When we read about agile development, we find developers using nUnit for unit testing while customers are using FIT for acceptance tests. But where are the testers? You know--those folks who have years of experience in testing. Is there a place for testers in the agile world? Janet Gregory believes there is and shares specific things that you and your test team need to understand to effectively work within the agile context. It is important to adhere to the agile values and principles while improving the product's quality. For example, a heavy test planning process that requires knowing all the requirements up front and
developing thousands of test cases will not be acceptable. Janet will describe a lightweight process that is effective for all and discuss the handling of traditional testing processes such as defect tracking, reporting, and sign-offs.
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Janet Gregory, DragonFire Inc.
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STARWEST 2006: Improving the Skills of Software Testers Many training courses include the topic of soft skills for testers, specifically their attitudes and behaviors. Testers are told that to be effective they need a negative mindset and a negative approach. Krishna Iyer challenges this belief. He believes testers must be creative rather than critical; curious rather than destructive; and empathetic rather than negative. Join Krishna as he leads exercises in mind mapping, systems thinking, and belief deconstruction to improve our eye's ability to perceive detail, our nose's ability to sniff out defects, and our brain's ability to discover. Finally, Krishna will list the beliefs that hinder testers and the beliefs that help and share how he has been successful in deconstructing some of these beliefs and inculcating new ones.
- Hear the latest research in cognitive thinking
- Learn practical techniques to improve testing skills
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Krishna Iyer, ZenTEST Labs
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A Tester's Role in Agile Projects Some agile methodologists claim that testers are not needed in agile projects--all testing is done either by developers or users. Chris Hetzler has seen the effects of that approach, and they are not pretty. When customers find
bugs in large projects, the costs can be staggering. Chris believes that testers must be involved in agile projects at an even higher intensity since timelines are shorter and the risk of failure is higher. But Chris explains that testers' roles change and testers must be prepared for that change. In agile projects, the testers' role is one of quality engineer rather than the traditional product
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Chris Hetzler, Microsoft
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What Every Tester Needs to Know to Succeed in the Agile World Agile methodologies may be coming soon to a project near you. Agile software development holds the promise of faster
development, less cost, fewer defects, and increased customer value, all while maintaining a sustainable work pace in a high morale environment. As a tester, you may be wondering, "How will agile affect me?" We've all heard stories that agile methodologies have no place for testers. In this presentation, Jean Tabaka changes that perspective. She will highlight the fundamental tenets of agile software development, the project management frameworks that support these tenets, and the engineering disciplines that naturally fit in these frameworks. For some testers, the agile approach can be a jolt to their longheld beliefs of how testing should be done. Jean will help you adapt to this new world by explaining how to make tests talk,
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Jean Tabaka, Rally Software Development
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STARWEST 2006: Positioning your Test Automation Team as a Product Test automation teams are typically created with the expectation of facilitating faster testing and higher product quality. To achieve these goals, the test
automation team must overcome many challenges--stale test data, burdensome test script maintenance, too-frequent product upgrades, insufficient resources, and unfamiliarity with the systems under test. Satya Mantena describes a creative approach to test automation that overcomes
these challenges. The first step is implementing keyword-driven testing. Satya demonstrates how the keyword testing approach is implemented proving this approach is not just theory but has been "proven in action." Satya concludes
by showing how positioning the test automation team as a "product" rather than as a central service, or embedded within each testing team, results in better testing.
- Examine the difference between a service and a product
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Satya Mantena, Nielsen Media Research
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Agile Offshore Development: An Oxymoron? Companies that master Agile development in a multi-shore environment can benefit from reduced calendar time to implement new features, early development feedback to make course corrections, and increased development team responsiveness to changing market requirements. Multi-shore Agile development teams face unique challenges compared with co-located teams-large time zone differences, lack of proximity, cultural differences, and more. With experience driving multi-shore Agile development with several enterprise software companies, Roger Nessier describes ways that he has addressed these challenges. He discusses sprint planning with distributed teams, how to structure and assign work, and tools for communicating in real-time to create an Agile global development environment. Learn about the benefits and limitations of using Scrum management practices for offshore development and what it takes to be successful.
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Roger Nessier, Symphony Services
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Validation: What It Means in an FDA Regulated Environment Even though formal validation may not be required in unregulated environments, many mission-critical applications could benefit from performing some of the same activities required for FDA regulated systems. Validation provides documented evidence showing, with a high degree of assurance, that a system will consistently meet its predetermined requirements. FDA validation is required if the use of the computer system could potentially impact product quality, safety, or efficacy, or if the system is used to support a regulatory submission function. Learn how validation is accomplished by looking at a series of qualification exercises typically prescribed in a Validation Protocol. Take back with you templates for a typical Validation Protocol, including the System Development Review, Installation Qualification, Operational Qualification, Performance Qualification, and Revalidation.
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Chrys Kyee, Genentech Inc
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Successful Outsourcing with the Crawl-Walk-Run Strategy Large organizations may have the resources for expensive, big-bang offshore outsourcing projects. But what should small- and medium-sized organizations do when tasked with outsourcing? Based on his experiences, Uttiya Dasgupta describes a usable and inexpensive process for planning an offshore outsourcing strategy for small- to medium-sized development organizations. This crawl-walk-run strategy starts with very small projects and moves to increasingly more complex ones, supported by adequate preparation for each stage. Beginning with a vision of the "run" stage, teams plan the first stages to test out processes and ensure the cultural and technology fit between the internal and outsourced organizations. Uttiya shares his insights for successful offshore outsourcing projects and, especially, the signs and metrics that tell you when you are ready to move from crawling to walking-to running.
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Uttiya Dasgupta, Omnispan LLC
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Process Improvement - Can I Make a Difference? Although some organizations already have formal processes in place, many do not. Most process improvement begins with one person or one department deciding to do something rather than accepting the status quo. With the right attitude, some simple tools, and a proven method for improvement, you can make a difference for yourself, your department, and ultimately, your organization. Stephanie Penland has helped numerous small and large organizations with process improvement. Sharing her experiences-both successes and failures-Stephanie describes her real-world approach for process improvement. Find new ways to overcome obstacles and obtain buy-in from the top down. Learn what it takes to get a process improvement program off the ground. Take back with you a sample of a successful process improvement plan.
- The benefits of process improvement and ways to measure success
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Stephanie Penland, SAS Institute Inc
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Even the Best Get Stuck: Transitioning to Agile Developement For some organizations Agile methodologies like XP, Scrum, and Crystal work well off-the-shelf. However, many companies struggle with these practices and find that lightweight methodologies leave them without support for key aspects of their business. Most end up adopting a hybrid of multiple methodologies mixed in with some old practices. This is risky business. Cherry-picking your favorite parts of Agile methodologies can leave you without enough process and in danger of a code-and-fix mentality that relies on heroics to ship software. Alex Pukinskis looks at different paths taken by organizations as they transition to Agile. He discusses key "process smells" that indicate that a project has gone past agility and is slipping into chaos. Alex offers suggestions to get your foundering Agile transition back on track.
- Patterns for adopting Agile practices
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Alex Pukinskis, Rally Software Development
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