The Science of Testing

In the past decade the software development paradigm has shifted to “deliver fast” -- with concomitant frameworks and methodologies to support that emphasis – but without proper consideration of quality. So most teams end up failing fast and hard when development continues beyond a shaky foundation. To bring about positive change, we must improve both our knowledge base and our processes to achieve quality delivery without disturbing the bookkeeper’s project delivery timelines. Lessons learned from a career in research science can be applied to QA, with parallels to industry product quality models. Testing techniques and product delivery processes from research science will aid not just testers but the entire team in delivering quality software. More than just day-to-day team activities and testing tools, the science of testing is about the pursuit of knowledge and understanding for its own sake. Testers should foster their skills in the community with professional development activities. Those in attendance will learn about the successes and failures of applying a scientist’s approach to testing software, from the “publish-or-perish” mindset of science to “deliver fast” in IT.

The Rise and Benefits of Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a term given to technology that allows developers to programmatically emulate the actions of a human to execute a business process. RPA often operates on the user interface (UI) layer to capture data or interact with an application or across multiple applications to perform tasks that are considered repetitive or time-consuming. Originally focused on business processes, many RPA solutions now integrate with SDLC tools. While the promises of easy adoption and scaling are made by almost every vendor, the reality is long-term commitment to an RPA program is the same as any new application. In this presentation, the audience will learn about the benefits of RPA, multiple RPA use cases, and how RPA can be assimilated into a enterprise.

The Automation Firehose: Be Strategic and Tactical

The widespread adoption of test automation has led to numerous challenges that range from development lifecycle integration to simple scripting strategy. Just because a scenario CAN be automated does not mean it SHOULD be automated. Teams that adopt automation often rush to automate everything they can -- the automation firehose. For those scenarios that should be automated, every team must adopt an implementation plan to ensure value is derived from reliable automated test execution. In this session, the audience will learn how to automate both strategically and tactically to maximize the benefits of automation. Entry criteria will be demonstrated for automation in the development lifecycle along with a set of checks to determine automation feasibility & ROI.

Do It Yourself: Continuous Improvement For The Win (DIYCIFTW)

In the constant flux of software development, everyone involved in creating new technologies and features must adapt to changes or be left behind. One obstacle facing professional development is lack of support and/or guidance from management. According to a recent survey by Robert Half Finance & Accounting, only 26% of employers allow their employees to attend continuing professional education courses during business hours. However, all is not lost: change can come from within rather than management. Employees can take the reins of continuous improvement and generate positive change for themselves & their organization. In this session, the audience will learn how to implement a robust continuous improvement curriculum that can be integrated into an organization's culture -- one training class, one conference, one professional group at a time.

Example Mapping: The New Three Amigos

Example Mapping is a collaboration technique used by teams to help refine requirements. Every team should have a set of “ready” criteria that includes some kind of workshop between development team members to establish a shared understanding. In a time-boxed Example Mapping session, rules will summarize examples or constraints about a user story, and questions about outcomes or dependencies are documented for future refinement. The end result are requirements written as user behavior with a shared understanding among all roles on an Agile team. The audience will participate in a live Example Mapping session and learn how to implement the workshop within their own team.

Building Trust and Breaking Barriers (with LEGO!)

LEGO(R) sets are fun to build, but who has ever attempted to build a set without looking at the instructions? In this workshop, attendees will form teams and attempt to build a LEGO(R) set without instructions. Through a series of iterative exercises that provide more product details, the teams will attempt to build & test their product as close to the instructions as possible without peeking.

Each group will learn different approaches to collaborate on product development and testing during the meeting to build a set according to a customer's needs. The workshop will highlight the gap between what we set out to build & the finished product as well as the gap between what our customers expect & the finished product. Our goal as a group will be to refine our techniques so we deliver a product on-time & on-budget that customers will love.

*Teams will learn collaboration techniques to build & test with limited information
*Attendees will learn to approach testing from the perspective of customer needs rather than strict requirements
*Attendees will learn how to question assumptions by breaking down requirements before testing begins
*BONUS: Some special attendees will receive LEGO(R) sets of their own to take home

Test Data Management: There is no silver bullet but we can nuke it from orbit

Test data is a pernicious issue facing every IT operation. Teams have challenges with stale data, differences with data between environments, referential integrity across systems, generating data dynamically for testing at runtime, having control over their data, or even understanding what data they actually need. The challenge is compounded for large enterprises with complex interconnected systems all overseen by internal compliance and external regulatory bodies. In this presentation, we'll explore the steps you can take to defeat the test data management problem, such as:
<> access control over test data
<> identifying the right data to subset for testing
<> using data to control how tests execute in different environments
<> avoiding the use of shared data
<> tooling to both generate and manage test data