People & Teams

Conference Presentations

Improve Your Estimating Process--Beginning with a Proof of Concept

Estimating is like the weather; everyone talks about it, but no one does anything about it. This presentation provides the techniques required to execute a Proof of Concept estimating model, allowing an organization to trial run the tools, techniques, and methods required to estimate projects more accurately and earlier in the lifecycle. Learn the key elements of this approach, and obtain templates to employ in your organization.
David Herron, The David Consulting Group, Inc.
Golden Rules and Tools for Establishing a Quality Culture

Developing and implementing a quality program across an entire organization can be a daunting task. Managers want immediate results and value for the money they invest; software developers don't want to be bothered. Learn how to tackle this challenge head-on and discover the "golden rules" to use to help promote and manage quality in your organization.
Laura Jenkins, Lucent Technologies
Tips from the Training Tsarina

This presentation explores ways to plan and execute technical training to ensure the best possible use of resources to meet your organization's objectives. Learn how to avoid the most common problems and shortfalls, including budget woes, business relevance, and lack of commitment. Discover the most effective ways to breathe life into your organization's training program.
Anntoinette Gurvin, General Dynamics Information Systems
Relentless Application Development

Discover ways to develop and operate a team that can rapidly produce a tested, documented, and deployed application in less than three months! This presentation identifies important people, processes, and technologies that must be in place to ensure application success. Gain insight into what fails most often on rapid development, and learn what structures must be in place to succeed.
Linda McInnis, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
What to Do When the Right Person Doesn't Come Along

Finding just the right technical person remains a challenge. Waiting for just the right person to come along, or hiring someone with inadequate skills, can often result in late or high-defect projects. A project will most likely fail if you have not hired the appropriate staff. Learn when to wait when hiring for a position, and when to change what people will do.
Johanna Rothman, Rothman Consulting Group, Inc.
Identifying Testing Priorities Through Risk Analysis

It's impossible to test everything-even in the most trivial of systems. Tight time schedules and shortages of trained testing personnel exacerbate this problem; so do changing priorities, feature creep, and loss of resources. In many companies, test professionals either begin their work on whichever components they encounter first, or the parts they're most familiar with. Unfortunately, these approaches may result in the delivery of a system where the most critical components remain untested. Or, at the very least, critical components are tested later in the lifecycle when there may not be time to fix the problems found. All of this adds to the risk of a project. One way to overcome every one of these challenges is to employ the use of risk analysis. Rick Craig demonstrates the basics of a usable process for assigning testing priorities based on relative risk.
Rick Craig, Software Quality Engineering
Career Path Activities for Test Professionals

Ever wonder how some people seem to find the time to always do that "little extra" to benefit their careers? Have you ever thought about writing an article, speaking at a conference, or even teaching a course, but didn't know where to begin? There are lots of ways to jump-start your career through professional development activities that benefit both you and your employer. Learn how your participation in these activities can enhance your career and market your company. Journey with the instructor and find the inspiration (and energy) to maintain a diversity of activities that'll make your professional mark. Find out how easy it is to get started and where to obtain more information about updating your skills, sharing your knowledge, and helping others within our profession.
Eric Patel, RapidSQA
Four Keys to Better Test Management

Three years ago, Christopher DeNardis embarked on a career as a software tester. After just one year of testing, he was promoted to leader of the test group. In this session, he shows you the four keys to getting through those times and becoming better organized as a test manager: 1. a common set of ground rules on the test progress, defect reporting, and verification; 2. the ability to convey how your team's testing is going on a frequent basis; 3. knowing what needs to be tested and being able to stand behind the reasons why; and 4. maintaining good communication with the development leaders to help move the product through the development phases.
Chris DeNardis, Rockwell Automation
Movin' On Up: Making the Transition from Test Lead to Manager

Want to be a test lead? Ready to take on the responsibilities of test management? Making the transition to a lead, then a management position, takes more than just guts- it takes preparation. This presentation illuminates some of the technical aspects you'll encounter when transitioning to test lead or test manager, including: organizing and managing the testing; working with the project manager and the rest of the project team; and deciding how, when, and what to invest in your test infrastructure. You'll also explore some of the nontechnical aspects such as coaching and mentoring, giving feedback, and providing work direction.
Johanna Rothman, Rothman Consulting Group
Testing In A Squeezed, Squeezed World

All things are possible in the face of adversity, even an under-resourced testing project with an immovable deadline. Many testing projects start out with high ideals then descend into a mad panic when the realities begin to set in. However, usually by this stage it's too late to back out of commitments made to the business, and the risk of delivering a product that doesn't meet expectations may not be an option. This is especially true in the case of a project driven by legislative changes totally beyond your control. Geoff Horne provides useful insights and tips for taking a testing project that's resource- and time-challenged and turning it into a successful exercise that still delivers a quality solution.
Geoff Horne, Integrity Software Testing & Quality

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