Conference Presentations

Activity-Based Cost Estimating for Web-Based Software

What does it cost to provide a feature or complete a transaction for Web-based software? In traditional activity-based cost estimating, a company looks at a product's sales activity and resources used in order to determine its cost. But how do we measure the resources used by one product, when all of the company's products share a common Web site or server? Avon Leong explores the matters involved in calculating the ongoing cost of providing online functions, and why it's important. He offers participants strategies to tackle these modern-day eCommerce issues.

Avon Leong, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc
Requirements Are Requirements Are Requirements - Not!

"This isn't what I need," states Customer Bob. "But it's what you said you wanted," replies Engineer Joe. "It's not right. I need something else." We've all encountered this classic users-don't-know-what-they-want scenario. The fact that software professionals continue to have this same experience over and over again suggests that we're overlooking the real reasons for the user/engineer disconnect. This presentation contrasts the different uses of the term "requirements" as it explores the possible solutions to improving understanding between business people and technical people.

Robin Goldsmith, GoPro Management, Inc.
Get Real! Creating Realistic, Actionable Project Schedules

The preparation of a realistic, practical project schedule is an essential management function for obtaining stakeholder commitment, setting expectations, and communicating within the team and organization what is achievable. Doing this preparation well is another challenge-one that must be conquered. Rex Black helps participants see the bigger project scheduling picture by focusing on issues such as constituent tasks, the underlying dependencies between them, and the risks attached to the completion of those tasks.

Rex Black, Rex Black Consulting Services, Inc.
Project Management in the e-World

Successful project management in today's e-world depends on more than just solid project planning and tracking skills. A thorough understanding of the unique issues and opportunities faced by e-projects, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the scope and integration needs of these complex projects, is essential. This presentation steers participants through the maze of issues that confronts any e-world project, including its business application, infrastructure, portal, customer experience, content management, and communications requirements.

Bonnie Vaughan, LexisNexis
Refocusing Software Development in the New Economy

A changing economy and fiercely competitive market have raised the bar on what we expect from software development efficiency. But are we getting the degree of productivity we expect? Quite often these questions are never answered adequately, and we don't have the measurement systems required to gain the needed insight. Ram Chillarege's presentation highlights some key principles and methods to help project teams gain the reporting edge they need. This refocusing of software development can make the difference between failed execution and success.

Ram Chillarege, Chillarege Corp.
Deadlines, Defects and Risk: Managing the Three-Headed Dragon

The commercial pressures of the economy and the need for speed often impose unwieldy deadlines for software projects. Yet the nature of software projects demands that teams deal with constant change and scope growth within these fixed deadlines. By understanding software project dynamics, managers empower themselves to make better decisions about promised functionality, thereby controlling the very factors that degrade software quality and reliability. This presentation addresses why software development, an example of "knowledge work," is different from other types of work, and how knowing its behavioral laws can help managers avert disaster.

Michael Mah, QSM Associates, Inc.
Why Are My Pants on Fire?

Sometimes it seems we software managers are so busy responding to crises that we don't have time to go back and figure out how we got in the mess to begin with. Using real-world examples, Elisabeth Hendrickson explores some of the most common causes of constant crisis mode, and what you can do to break the pattern. This presentation arms you with fire prevention tools-and fire-resistant pants.

Elisabeth Hendrickson, Quality Tree Software, Inc.
A Reliable Build-and-Deploy Process for Web Applications

While the Internet provides an array of powerful tools and utilities for developing Web applications, it also requires adequate usage management of these resources. Failing to manage usage could result in significant project setbacks, including delayed initial deployment and prolonged down time on your Web site. Bhushan Gupta discusses a process that takes build-and-deployment activity from a simple manual ritual to an on-demand, fully automated activity. He even illustrates how failures can occur and offers solutions to avoid them.

Bhushan Gupta, Hewlett-Packard Company
Building a Learning QA Organization

As managers, we're stewards of our company's assets. Each team's capacity to learn-and rate of learning-should be treated as something to be developed, just like coding skills and other intangible corporate assets. Like many software teams, the QA team needs to be able to ramp up fast. However, due to the diversity of projects and customers, they need to know and grow even faster than most. Bill Goleman shares tricks of the learning trade and shows managers how to enhance team learning skills at little or no cost to the company.

Bill Goleman, Mangosoft, Inc.
A Rigorous and Highly Effective Approach to Website Load Testing

In this presentation, you will learn how to leverage the power of modern load testing tools to avoid misleading conclusions, and obtain accurate and reliable results by
applying a proven, rigorous, and methodical approach to the three phases of website load testing: planning, execution, and analysis.

Alberto Savoia, Keynote Systems

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