Date: Tue, 01 May 2001 11:00:42 -0400 From: John Pustaver Subject: MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Software Quality Group Meeting, Wed, May 9, 2001: Bill Silver, Best Testing Practices Meeting of the Software Quality Group of New England Meetings of the Software Quality Group are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the facilities of Sun Microsystems, Burlington (Driving directions below). MEETING DAY & DATE: Wednesday, May 9, 2001 TIME: 6:15 PM HEADLINE: Best Testing Practices Speaker: Bill Silver MORE INFO: John Pustaver, 978-443-4254, pustaver@swquality.com LOCATION: Sun Microsystems, Burlington (Driving directions below) DESCRIPTION: This 75-minute presentation explains why the concept of Best Practices is relative not absolute. It defines Practices at a technical level, then shows how test practices relate to the Test Life Cycle, and then shows how life cycle performance metrics determine which practices are Best for given project objectives. As background to understanding how Best is a variable, you will be introduced to the following concepts: Defining a Practice Practice vs. Process Life Cycle Hierarchy Test StoryBoards Test Practice Info (Process Cinemazation) Test Life Cycle Performance Metrics: Variation in Practice Capability (Best) Test Capability and Action Plan Priorities Assessing the Capability Assessment Models And, since what people really want is, Just tell me what are the best test practices?, they will be listed in a number of ways: Best Test Practices (Balanced Objectives) Test Practices with High Capability Variation Situational Best Test Practices High Priority Test Practices (the ones you should implement first) Bill works for ArrAy Inc. of Westborough, Mass. He has executive and hands-on experience in all phases of software engineering, including development, test design, test automation, user documentation, operations, customer service, metrics, and TQM. Bill^Òs former full-time positions include: VP Enterprise-wide Testing, Fidelity Investments VP Customer Service, Computer Corporation of America Director, System QA, Atex (a Kodak company) Director, Software QA, Prime Computer Manager, Advanced Development, Incoterm Senior Software Engineer, Honeywell Multics Bill has consulted with dozens of companies as diverse as: John Deere, Telematics, TRW, HAL Computer, and the New York Stock Exchange. Bill provides clients with: test capability assessments; solutions to operational problems; training; and design and implementation of automated test suites. Bill was the founder and publisher of Software Quality World magazine. Bill's Original methodologies include: 4-Dimensional Test Design Taxonomy 5-Time Project Planning Model High-Satisfaction Software Support Model Process Cinemazation QBOp Test Capability Assessment and Action Plan model Quantum Business Optimization total quality methodology Test Design Trees NEXT MEETING NOTE: The next meeting will be held on June 13, 2001: Sam Docknevich, e-Business Performance Best Practices 1999-2000 Software Quality Group Calendar Oct. 11, 2000: Linda McInnis, Relentless Software Development Nov. 8, 2000: Eric Patel , Web Testing Dec. 13, 2000: Steve Rakitin, Management's Role in Achieving Predictable Software Development Jan 10, 2001: Mark Shelley, Removing Defects through Structural Analysis Feb. 14, 2001: Metrics Panel Mar. 14, 2001: Anna Allison, Meaningful Metrics: Is the Software Improving? Apr 11, 2001: Johanna Rothman, No More Whining: Reframing the Not Enough Problem May 9, 2001: Bill Silver, Best Testing Practices June 13, 2001: Sam Docknevich, e-Business Performance Best Practices July 11, 2001: Annual Hot Topics Night The Software Quality Group holds monthly meetings. Topics covered at these meetings have included software testing, inspections, ISO 9000, metrics configuration management, and demonstrations of vendor QA tools. There is no charge. The Software Quality Group meets monthly at 6:15pm on the second Wednesday of the month at the facilities of Sun Microsystems, Burlington, MA. Driving directions: From 128/95 Take the Rt. 3 exit heading north (not the Middlesex Turnpike exit if you're coming form the south). From Rt. 3N take the first exit (which is Rt. 62 - Bedford Ave). Turn east toward Burlington. Approximately 0.3 mile after the interchange, turn right onto Network Drive, which leads to the campus on your right. Take the second drive off of Network Drive into the Sun parking lot. Park in the visitor lot and enter the lobby opposite the Sun clock tower. Information about future meetings will be available on the Software Quality Page at http://www.swquality.com/users/pustaver. To be on the email distribution list, send a note to pustaver@swquality.com. The Software Quality Group is cosponsored by Sun Microsystems and the ASQ Software Division and all are welcome. There is NO charge. Directors of the Software Quality Group are John Pustaver, Region I Councilor, American Society for Quality, Software Division and Paul Ratty, Sun Microsystems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Software Quality Consulting voice:978-443-4254 fax:978-443-6052 pustaver@swquality.com http://www.swquality.com/users/pustaver