Pre-Conference In-Depth Tutorials

Each selection runs a full day and includes lunch.

Tutorials for Monday, May 12, 9:00-5:00 (Selections A – I)

A	Test Management and Planning Rick Craig, Software Quality Engineering Often the key to successful testing is effective and timely planning. This tutorial introduces you to proven test planning methods and techniques, including the Master Test Plan and level-specific test plans for acceptance, systems, integration, and unit testing. Rick Craig explains in detail how to complete an IEEE 829-style test plan and test summary report. You’ll learn how to manage test activities, estimate test effort, analyze risks, and achieve buy-in, as well as get test measurement and reporting recommendations for monitoring and control of testers and the testing process.
	About the Instructor Rick Craig is an experienced test manager, consultant, and lecturer. He’s helped hundreds of companies improve their testing in countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas and has been a featured speaker at testing conferences since 1983. He's a technical editor for StickyMinds.com and the co-author of Systematic Software Testing. He’s currently a colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

B	How to Break Software  James Whittaker, Florida Institute of Technology What do you do when you’re asked to test some feature of an application? Truth is, testing theory only gives you general guidelines to test by. It falls short of helping you design a total testing strategy capable of guiding your testing activities. This tutorial intends to change that. ''How to Break Software'' is a set of specific techniques that can be used to effectively test any software application. It explains software fault models to help you understand what software does and how it can fail. Then, this fault model is refined into a set of ''attacks'' that are targeted toward software’s most vulnerable points. James Whittaker takes you through this new software testing paradigm using demonstrations of real bugs in real software applications. Anyone who loves breaking software will gain a lot from — and enjoy — this tutorial.
	About the Instructor James Whittaker is a professor of computer science at Florida Institute of Technology and author of How to Break Software: A Practical Guide to Testing. His interests include software development and testing with a specific emphasis on software security. James runs a research group of hackers, crackers, and testers at Florida Tech, where they specialize in breaking software — and have fun doing it. He regularly consults for major software companies in the United States and Europe.

C	Introduction to Systematic Testing Dale Perry, Software Quality Engineering Too often, testers are thrown into the quality assurance/testing process without the essential knowledge and skills they need to perform the tasks required. In order to be truly effective, you must first understand what testing is supposed to accomplish, and then see how it relates to the bigger project management and application development picture. After that, you can begin to ask the right questions, such as what should be tested; how much testing is enough; how do I know when I’m done; and how much documentation do I need? This tutorial details a testing lifecycle that parallels software development and focuses on defect prevention and early detection. Learn when, what, and how to test, plus ways to improve the testability of your system. Get the basics for implementing a systematic, integrated approach to testing software.
	About the Instructor Dale Perry has more than 25 years of experience in information technology. He has been a developer, DBA, project manager, tester, and test manager. Dale’s project experience includes large-system conversion, distributed systems, online applications, client/server, and Web applications.

D	A Roadmap for Automating Software Testing Michael D. Sowers, Software Development Technologies This tutorial is a practical guide for selecting and managing test automation. Michael Sowers presents core testing tool terminology, concepts, and best practices, while illustrating techniques for evaluating and implementing test tools. Live demos are used to illustrate representative, full-function tools. Learn how to effectively integrate tools into the testing process, and examine a best-of-breed list of tool vendors and test automation products.
	About the Instructor Michael D. Sowers has more than two decades of experience in the engineering and quality fields, with extensive experience in requirements gathering, defect prevention techniques, defect containment approaches, software verification and validation practices, and software engineering methodologies.

E	Software Test for Embedded and Real-Time Systems  Jon Hagar, Lockheed Martin Systems with embedded software are expanding in type and complexity, and software professionals must consider the unique aspects of testing these types of systems. This tutorial teaches you ways to improve the test process for software that’s embedded within a unique hardware platform — software that has real-time performance issues. Jon Hagar covers the real-time test lifecycle, planning, execution, tools, and techniques required and gives special consideration to the evolving role of test support tools, automation, modeling, reduction in test cycle times, and even some new concepts like agile testing. He also discusses important issues for testing embedded systems, including hardware interaction, systems engineering, and software visibility.
	About the Instructor Jon Hagar has more than 25 years of experience in information technology. He has been a developer, DBA, project manager, tester, and test manager. His project experience includes large system conversion, distributed systems, on-line applications, client/server, and Web applications.

F	Getting Creative: A Fresh Perspective on Software Testing  Elisabeth Hendrickson, Quality Tree Software, Inc. Has your management confronted you with clichés such as “Work smarter, not harder,” “Think outside the box,” or “Be creative”? Well, that’s what this workshop is all about — being creative in your testing approaches. Elisabeth Hendrickson helps you see software under test from a fresh perspective. She shows you new approaches for analyzing the software to be tested — imagining how customers might use it, examining how it might affect the rest of the system, and predicting what could go wrong in the process. And using real-world examples, case studies, and classroom exercises, you’ll get the opportunity to try out the skills you’re learning. Attend and you’ll discover how the business context impacts testing, learn how to gather information even in environments where it's not readily available, explore creative techniques to enhance the power of your tests, and investigate ways to discover innovative testing ideas.
	About the Instructor Elisabeth Hendrickson is an independent consultant specializing in software quality and management. In the software field since 1988, Elisabeth has at one time or another been a tester, test automator, technical writer, programmer, and manager (sometimes simultaneously). She is the founder and president of Quality Tree Software, Inc. An award-winning author, Elisabeth has published more than 20 articles and is a frequently invited speaker at major software quality and software management conferences.

G	Testing Web Sites and Applications Lee Copeland, Software Quality Engineering The realities of Web testing are a challenge for everyone. From a lack of mature testing tools, to rapidly changing development technologies, to the high risks of many Web-based applications, the prospect of testing Web software can be overwhelming. This session teaches you ways to tighten your grasp on Web testing. Lee Copeland discusses how to test rapidly changing Web applications, and recommends approaches you can include in your site’s functional, compatibility, usability, and navigation test suite. You’ll gain an invaluable overview of the most common technologies used to build Web sites and applications today, plus you’ll walk away with tips, tools, and checklists to help you deal with the Web’s inherently tricky testing issues.
	About the Instructor Lee Copeland has more than 30 years of experience as an information systems professional. During that time, he’s held a number of technical and managerial positions at commercial and nonprofit organizations in the areas of applications development, software testing, and software development process improvement. Lee has developed and taught numerous training courses focusing on software development and testing issues based on his extensive experience as an IT professional and a consultant. He is a well-known speaker at software conferences in the United States and abroad.

H	Implementing a Test Automation Framework Linda Hayes, WorkSoft, Inc. Linda Hayes presents a detailed implementation approach for test automation that accelerates the development effort, dramatically shortens the learning curve, allows nontechnical analysts to develop and execute automated tests, and even simplifies test library management and maintenance. Learn how this practical and proven approach can be used with any testing tool and how it applies to Web, client/server, and character-based applications. Sample scripts and a demonstration of a completed test library are provided.
	About the Instructor Linda Hayes, is CEO of WorkSoft, Inc., a software company specializing in test automation. She has more than 19 years of experience in software quality and testing and holds degrees in accounting, tax, and law. Linda is a frequent speaker and award-winning author of books and articles, including a monthly column in Datamation.

I	The Dynamic Answer to Test Automation: Model-Based Testing  Harry Robinson, Microsoft Uh-oh, your beloved automation scripts aren’t finding any more significant bugs — but your customers are. Is it possible to achieve high-quality software releases and still retain your sanity? Model-based testing may be the answer. Model-based testing is a form of intelligent test automation that lets you generate tests automatically from a description of an application’s desired behavior. Plus, model-based tests can be cost-effective, thorough, and are more dynamic than traditional scripted automation. This advanced tutorial introduces you to concepts like state machines, grammars, and “monkeys” that will improve your testing and your software’s quality. Learn how to generate and automatically execute millions of tests for GUIs, APIs, and Web applications, and discover the latest concepts and tools to make your software better.
	About the Instructor Harry Robinson heads up test process improvement on the Microsoft Server Management team and teaches workshops on advanced test automation. Before joining Microsoft in 1998, he spent 10 years with Bell Laboratories and three years with Hewlett-Packard. A software developer for six years before switching to testing, Harry holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, and a bachelor’s and master’s in electrical engineering from the Cooper Union. He hosts the Model-Based Testing Home Page and spends most of his time thinking about breaking software.

Software Quality Engineering Home       Conference Home       To Exhibit       Get a Brochure       Register for STAREAST 2003

feedback  © 2003