Bridging the Gap: Leading Change in a Community of Testers Keith Klain, Barclays Capital Global Test Center When Keith Klain took over Barclays Capital Global Test Center, he found an organization focused entirely on managing projects, managing processes, and managing stakeholders—the last most unsuccessfully. Although the team was extremely proficient in test management, their misaligned priorities had the effect of continually hitting the bullseye on the wrong target. Keith immediately implemented changes to put a system in place to foster testing talent and drive out fear—abandoning worthless metrics and maturity programs, overhauling the training regime, and investing in a culture that rewards teamwork and innovation. The challenges of these monumental changes required a new kind of leadership—something quite different from traditional management. Find out how Keith is leading the Barclays Capital Global Test Center and hear his practical experiences defining objectives and relating them to people’s personal goals. Learn about the Barclays Capital Global Test Center’s “Management Guiding Principles” and how you can adapt these principles to lead you and your team to a new and better place.

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Evaluating Testing: The Qualitative Way Michael Bolton, DevelopSense, Inc. For years, testers and managers alike have wrestled with the problem of evaluating software products and testing efforts, often using approaches derived from manufacturing, construction, and physical sciences. These approaches have been only partially successful because software products aren't physical products. Rather, software is part of a complex web of relationships among programs, computing equipment, networks, and, most importantly, people. Michael Bolton explains how he uses interdisciplinary and exploratory methods to make sense of both the products we test and testing itself. He explains how anthropology, which describes cultures and artifacts, can guide our testing; how investigative journalism can show us how to build a compelling testing story; and how sociology can help us understand how people interact with their tools. Move beyond the old ways of thinking and evaluating to more qualitative, social science-based approaches. Take back new insights to help you and your team improve your testing work, develop a coherent and powerful testing story, and help your stakeholders make better project decisions.

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Lightning Strikes the Keynotes Lee Copeland, Software Quality Engineering Throughout the years, Lightning Talks have been a very popular part of many STAR conferences. If you’re not familiar with the concept, a Lightning Talk session consists of a series of five-minute talks by different speakers within one presentation period. For the speakers, Lightning Talks are the opportunity to deliver their single biggest bang-for-the-buck idea in a rapid-fire presentation. And now, lightning has struck the STAR keynote presentations. Some of the greatest experts in testing—James Bach, Richard Bender, Lee Copeland, Julie Gardiner, Janet Gregory, Dawn Haynes, Nate Oster, Rob Sabourin, and Erik van Veenendaal—will step up to the podium and give you their best shot of lightning. With no time to dither or vacillate—and hemming and hawing forbidden—you’ll get nine keynote presentations for the price of one and have some fun at the same time.

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What Managers Think They Know about Test Automation—But Don’t Dorothy Graham, Independent Test Consultant Managers play a critical role in the success or failure of test automation. Although most testers and some test managers have a realistic view of what automation can and cannot do, many senior managers have firm ideas about automation that are misguided—or downright wrong. Dorothy Graham outlines five common management misconceptions and explores ways you can ensure that your executives and managers develop realistic goals and plans for automation. Join Dot to learn why measurements against realistic objectives are critical for success, and how to measure and explain automation return on investment (ROI) calculations. She offers advice on where test automation fits into agile and non-agile development and the critical aspect of staffing and infrastructure. Identifying early indications of problems in test automation efforts, Dot offers advice for how to quickly get your efforts back on track for good. Even with strong management support, test automation is doomed to fail and guaranteed to waste time and money unless managers have sufficient knowledge of critical issues and a true grasp of how to set realistic goals and objectives.

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Testing Trends: Cloud, Virtualization, and Mobility Theresa Lanowitz, voke, inc. Almost daily, we see reports of software failures that harm enterprises and impact the brand, putting testing organizations and their efforts in the spotlight. Fortunately, testers are now in one of the most exciting times in the software industry’s history! Theresa Lanowitz describes how you can begin to use new technologies—cloud, virtualization, and mobility—to deliver more value to your company, enhance your career, and act as a change agent for higher quality. As organizations adopt cloud and mobile strategies, testers must be ready to deliver immediate value on these new platforms while test organizations must complement and extend their existing tools to ensure these new platforms meet the demands of the business—especially in the areas of performance and security. Theresa reports on the ways that leading organizations are using the cloud and virtualization to test over more platforms, deliver greater coverage, and find critical defects prior to production. Find out how your team can begin to use—or enhance your use of—these technologies while improving on all corners of the classic “cost, quality, schedule” triangle.

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