2007/2008 Meeting Agendas10 September 2007 Quality and the Software Development Life Cycle Michelle Dunn Michelle Dunn, a QA/QC expert, has spent more than a decade in software testing and quality assurance within numerous sectors including Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Transportation, Financial, Government, Commercial/Product, and custom In-house software applications. Michelle's passion is creating first-in-class QA teams. She has spent her extensive and varied career implementing quality practices from the ground up that create dynamic, successful and highly effective QA teams. Michelle is a champion of IT process improvement and ensures that quality practices continually meet and exceed business and company needs. 15 October 2007 Cost of Quality Jim Armstrong Almost all companies today track costs within their organization. Everything from wages to office supplies are tracked in detail. However, there is one aspect of the business operation that is not normally tracked and that is the cots of quality. Yes, some companies can tell you how many testers or QA people they have on staff and the cost of those services. But they just can?t provide any more definition nor can they tell you the costs of other people performing duties related to quality. This presentation will provide an overview on some of concepts behind the cost of quality and why some organizations prefer not to track these costs. We will examine how many of the costs associated with quality are hidden from view. We then will look at some strategies for reducing the costs associated with internal and external failure. We will also examine what the quality professional can do to help facilitate the process. A short exercise will take place that highlights the cost of quality. Mr. Jim Armstrong has been involved in Quality for over 27 years. His career spans both the public and private sectors. He has fulfilled roles as a QA Rep, Commercialization Manager, Safety Manager, instructor, and Staff Officer. Jim is a Nuclear Engineering Technologist and holds certifications in Quality Auditing and Quality Management with ASQ. Presently Jim is a Quality Specialist with NovAtel Inc where he manages a requirements project as well as performs a wide array of other quality related tasks. Jim is also the owner and operator of PQMC Inc, a consulting company specializing in training Jim started the ASQ Discussion Group several years ago and continues to be a committed volunteer. He has fulfilled the roles of Section Chair and Treasurer on the executive for ASQ 0409 Calgary. (Click here for Jim's Presentation) 19 November 2007 Software Quality ROI Thibault Dambrine, Shell Canada The original aim of this presentation is to give QA/QC staff tools to help Management understand the QA/QC and methodologies. QA/QC staff may want to use this material to communicate the value of the QA/QC process to IT management. Software Quality Assurance ROI:
Applying Quality Principles to Software Development:
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
Thibault Dambrine is a systems analyst with Shell Canada Limited, working in the Data Warehouse Department, which he joined after contracting for 6 years. He has spent most of his career working with IBM mid-range systems and recently certified two levels of ITIL. In recent years, he has seen a trend towards more stringent quality practice in software development and became curious about quantifying the value of such efforts. (Click here for Thibault's Presentation and here for his article) 10 December 2007 The Importance of Building Quality into the SDLC: From Requirements to Production Elias Murad, Compuware This presentation will focus on how organizations can introduce Quality into projects throughout the Application Lifecycle. It will discuss how IT organizations can optimize the quality of new applications by focusing on business intent throughout the entire quality process starting with Business Requirements through to Production. The discuss will also touch on how IT leadership can manage the delivery process, equipping them with metrics that matter, both to the IT organization and to the larger business. By providing visibility into the status and quality of ongoing projects, IT can highlight key metrics and identify problem areas early in the delivery process. With more comprehensive insight into the process, IT can better manage the expectations of the business and deliver value more accurately with higher levels of customer satisfaction. Elias has over twenty-eight years of experience in the Information Technology industry. He has spent the last 10 years with Compuware where he has held a number of positions including: Director of ADM (Application Delivery Management) Solutions Engineering Global SAP; Offering Manager for Compuware Application Reliability Solution (CARS); and Business Manager for the QA Solutions practice. Prior to joining Compuware Elias worked with AutoTester Inc. where he served as Vice President of Customer Services. While there, he provided direction in the Development of the QA Methodology QualityPoint and created a number of offerings around People, Process and Products. Prior to joining AutoTester Inc., Elias worked in the capacity of CIO for Magnafoods Corporation, a major food service distributor, situated in eastern Canada. While with this company he also managed a profitable software company in Phoenix, Arizona. (Click here for Elias' Presentation) 10 December 2007 Ninth First Annual Quality Soiree Open to all discussion group participants What a great opportunity to meet with fellow quality practitioners to partake of some fine vituals, hoist a few and talk about software quality, amongst other things, I'm certain. Once again we'll be meeting our favourite watering-hole, the Auburn Saloon. The Auburn is located at 115 9th Avenue SE. It's on the south side of 9th Avenue, on the west side of the Palliser Square office tower, directly across from the Glenbow Museum. As always, this is an informal affair. We can start congregating around 5:30 pm and wrap up any time we want. Appetizers/Snacks will be provided. Cost of any beverage is the responsibility of the individual. 14 January 2008 Interactive Automated Testing — Reprised Jonathan Kohl, Kohl Concepts Inc. Often, when we think of automated testing, we think of unattended tests that are executed by computer software. When we think of manual testing, we think of a human executing tests without the aid of a machine. We don?t need to think of these as exclusive activities, we can use automation tools to help us as we undertake manual testing. This talk will explore the intersection between automated and manual tests, and highlight some of the advantages of a hybrid approach. Jonathan Kohl is a software testing consultant with Kohl Concepts Inc. based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A noted testing thinker, Jonathan is recognized as an emerging leader in the software testing community. He is a popular author and speaker who believes that testing is a challenging intellectual craft. Jonathan?s blog on software development and testing issues is one of the most well-read testing blogs in the industry. Jonathan is a regular contributor to and technical editor for Better Software magazine. For more information, check out his web site: http://www.kohl.ca (Click here for Jon's Better Software article) 11 February 2008 Interactive Automated Testing Jonathan Kohl, Kohl Concepts Inc. Often, when we think of automated testing, we think of unattended tests that are executed by computer software. When we think of manual testing, we think of a human executing tests without the aid of a machine. We don?t need to think of these as exclusive activities, we can use automation tools to help us as we undertake manual testing. This talk will explore the intersection between automated and manual tests, and highlight some of the advantages of a hybrid approach. Jonathan Kohl is a software testing consultant with Kohl Concepts Inc. based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A noted testing thinker, Jonathan is recognized as an emerging leader in the software testing community. He is a popular author and speaker who believes that testing is a challenging intellectual craft. Jonathan?s blog on software development and testing issues is one of the most well-read testing blogs in the industry. Jonathan is a regular contributor to and technical editor for Better Software magazine. For more information, check out his web site: http://www.kohl.ca (Click here for Jon's Better Software article) 10 March 2008 Pitfalls and Perils of Agile Testing Janet Gregory If your background is testing on a traditional project, you are likely used to getting requirements that you can use to develop test cases, and then getting completed functionality to test. In an agile project, you are expected to test on continually changing code with changing requirements. One common pitfall for new agile testers is: ?I?ll test the stories on Tuesday when I get my new QA build?. Waiting for a new build will almost guarantee you?ll always be an iteration behind the developers. One easy way to avoid this trap is to start testing as soon as the developer has completed their story. Sometimes this means you need to be inventive about where and how you test. Agile testing means a mindset change for traditional testers and new tools and techniques to learn.
(Click here for Janet's Presentation) 14 April 2008 (Fully Subscribed) Understanding Quality through the Consumer's Eyes; Reality Unveiled During the UAT of PAS. Michelle Dunn Software development teams typically never use the application they are responsible for creating. You may wonder, why would this be relevant? In this presentation we will turn the tables and examine the quality of the software application through the eyes of the consumer rather than that of the software producer. In particular, I will be using the PAS Application; a new Production Accounting Solutions application for oil and gas companies in western Canada to highlight the quality concerns of the customer. This presentation will explore the following questions:
Join me in the journey of discovering what happens after the software vendor has released their product. Michelle Dunn, a QA/QC expert, has spent more than 12 years in software testing and quality assurance within numerous sectors including Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Transportation, Financial, Government, Commercial/Product, and custom In-house software applications. Michelle's passion is creating first-in-class QA teams. She has spent her extensive and varied career implementing quality practices from the ground up that create dynamic, successful and highly effective QA teams. Michelle is a champion of IT process improvement and ensures that quality practices continually meet and exceed business and company needs. Michelle has a degree in Applied Math, a Project Management Certificate, an ITIL Certificate, a Pragmatic Marketing Certificate and is a Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE) from QAI (active since 2000). (Click here for Michelle's Presentation) |