Målgruppe: Testledere, testere og prosjektledere med noen års erfaring

Programkomité: Faggruppen for Software Testing v/Øystein Bach, Kjetil Gjelsten og Ken Graham
 
09:00 Velkommen

09:05 Risk-based Testing in any lifecycle
Julie Gardiner, Grove Consultants
Risks are endemic in every phase of every project. One key to project success is to identify, understand, and manage these risks effectively. However, risk management is not the sole domain of the project manager, particularly with regard to product quality. It is here that the effective tester can significantly influence the project outcome. Julie Gardiner explains how risk-based testing can shape the quality of the delivered product in spite of such time constraints. Join Julie as she reveals how you can apply product risk management to a variety of organisational, technological, project, and skills challenges. Through exercises, you will get practical advice on which approach is useful and how to apply risk management techniques throughout the testing lifecycle—from planning through execution and reporting. Take back a practical process and the tools you need to apply risk analysis to testing in your organisation.

10:15 Kaffepause og nettverking

10:30 Test Estimation - A Pain or painless experience?
Lloyd Roden, Grove Consultants

Introduction:
Test Estimation is one of the hardest activities to do well in testing, the main reason is that testing is not an independent activity and often has destabilising dependencies. During this session we shall uncover some of the common problems in test estimation, how to overcome them together with 6 ways we can estimate test effort

Key Points:

• Uncover the common problems/destabilising dependencies in test estimation and how to overcome these
• How to communicate test estimation with senior management and how to appreciate their perspective making us even more effective when it comes to estimating our test effort.
• Discover 6 powerful ways to estimate test effort; some relatively easy methods and some more detailed and complex methods
• Learn how appropriate each method is to the various lifecycles (traditional, iterative and agile)
• This session will also discuss various issues that arise in the initial phases of test estimation and how the test manager/tester can negate these issues

Abstract
Having been a test manager for nearly 12 years, test estimation was one of the hardest things to do well. This talk is based upon experience (usually painful) and research. It uncovers some of the common destabilising dependencies we encounter during test estimation such as quality of the code or quantity of the code being delivered. We shall look at how different methods of estimating are appropriate to the various lifecycles we find ourselves in (Sequential, Incremental and Iterative).

We shall look at 7 powerful ways to estimate test effort, some being easy and quick but prone to abuse. And others being more detailed and complex but taking longer to administer.

Various Estimation Methods:

• FIA (Finger in the Air)
• Formula or Percentage
• Historical
• Parkinson’s Law versus Pricing to win  estimates
• Work Breakdown Structures
• Estimation Models
• Assessment Estimation

We shall also look at how we can approach the “authorised deadlines” that are often presented to us. Spreadsheets and utilities will be given out during this session to help the tester and the test manager. It is hoped that by the end of this session people will feel that the painful experience of test estimation could in fact become a pleasurable experience.

11:50 Lunsj og nettverking

Effective test design using Classification Trees and Pairwise testing
Julie Gardiner, Grove Consultants
Classification trees are a structured, visual approach used to identify and categorize variables within test objects, enabling testers to build effective and efficient test cases quickly. Julie Gardiner describes the fundamentals of classification trees and how they can be applied in both traditional and agile test environments. Using real-world examples, Julie shows you how to employ the classification tree technique, identifies the benefits and rewards of this technique, explains how it complements other testing approaches, and reveals its value at every stage of testing. She demonstrates a classification tree editor available to aid in building, maintaining, and graphically displaying classification trees. Take back a powerful new approach for overcoming the constant struggle we have when maintaining and assessing the impact of changing requirements on our test suites.

14:05 Kaffepause og nettverking

14:20 Top Challenges that we face in software testing today and how to overcome them
Lloyd Roden, Grove Consultants

Introduction
Some people thrive on challenges, while others struggle with how to deal with them. Handled well, challenges can make us stronger in our passion, drive, and determination. Lloyd Roden describes the challenges we face today in software testing and how we can respond in a positive, constructive manner. One of the challenges Lloyd often sees is identifying and eliminating metrics that lie. While we (hopefully) do not set out to deceive, we must endeavor to employ metrics that have significance, integrity, and operational value. Another challenge test leaders face is providing estimates that have clarity, accuracy, and meaning. Often we omit a vital ingredient when developing test estimates—the quality required in the product. A third challenge is convincing test managers to actually test regularly to attain credibility and respect with the team they are leading.

Learning Points:

Understanding what “challenges” are and how we react to them

Before looking at the challenges that present themselves to us, it is important to understand what challenges really are and how we can respond to them.

My top challenges (or opportunities) that we face today in testing

This section is the main part of the session where we shall uncover what my current top challenges are within testing and IT today.

How to apply this in our workplace

What do we do now? It is good to debate and discuss issues like this, but how are we going to apply this to our own situation.

 
Abstract
How humans react to challenges
The study of human behaviour is a fascinating and very complex subject. Our emotions make up a huge part of our personalities and when we are presented with a challenging situation each of us will react in a very different way.  There can be some challenges that provoke a good reaction whilst others may provoke a negative reaction.

My current top testing challenges in testing or IT today

• Using the resources we have in this economic climate
• There is no such thing as “Best Practice”
• Estimating testing is performed wrongly
• We lie with metrics
• Challenge complexity at every opportunity
• Test Managers should test

How to apply this in our workplace?
It is my hope that you would be challenged in your thinking in at least one of these areas. How can we make a difference and change other people’s mindsets? During this session I shall provide some tips for implementing changes and also a personal action plan.

15:35 Spørsmål og svar/erfaringsutveksling

16:00 Avslutning

Presentation of the speakers:

Julie Gardiner, Grove Consultants
In the IT industry for nearly twenty years, Julie Gardiner has spent time as an analyst programmer, Oracle DBA, and project manager. She has first-hand experience as a test analyst, test team leader, test consultant, and test manager. At UK-based Grove Consultants, Julie provides consultancy and training in all aspects of testing, specializing in risk-based testing, agile testing, test management, and people issues. She is also a certified ScrumMaster. Julie won best presentation at STAREAST; best presentation at BCS SIGiST; and best tutorial at EuroSTAR. She has been a keynote speaker at STARWEST, Innovate Test Management, and STANZ.
2006.

Lloyd Roden, Grove Consultants
With more than twenty-five years in the software industry, Lloyd Roden has worked as a developer, managed an independent test group within a software house, and joined UK-based Grove Consultants in 1999. Lloyd has been a speaker at STAREAST, STARWEST, EuroSTAR, AsiaSTAR, Software Test Automation, Test Congress, and Unicom conferences as well as Special Interest Groups in software testing in several countries. He was Program Chair for both the tenth and eleventh EuroSTAR conferences.