SoftTest Ireland (www.softtest.ie) in association with it's sponsors (InterTrade Ireland, Sogeti and Software Skillnet) would like to announce the following event featuring two international speakers Geoff Thompson and Graham Thomas.

"Testing, so many problems but we have the solutions don’t we?"  with Geoff Thompson

Sir Humphrey Davy said “The most important of my discoveries have been suggested by my failures.”

This is as true today as it was when Sir Humphrey said it. I have been working in the test process improvement field for many years and see the same issues coming up time after time. For example, I see testers blaming everyone else for the issues they have with requirements but not doing anything to get the issues resolved. I see many test teams arriving on a project and they seem  to start from a blank sheet of paper each time, repeating every error and taking all the same risks as they have always done, it’s as if they never learn or want to learn.

As a profession we need to look at ourselves and the common failures and understand why they happened and how we stop them happening again, and who knows maybe we will find the testing silver bullet?

This presentation will provide an overview of the common problems testers face today (problem patterns) from various perspectives:

•             Outside the test project looking in

•             Test Organisation

•             Test Management

•             Test Environment

•             Test Design and execution

•             Test Automation

alongside some suggestions for how to avoid them in the future.

Biography for Geoff Thompson

Geoff is the Consultancy Director for Experimentus Ltd, a leading Software Quality Management consultancy based in the UK.

Over the last 20 years he has an excellent track record in Test Management and Process Improvement. He is particularly passionate about Test Process Improvement.

In 1997 he started working with ISEB developing the original Software Testing Foundation syllabus and exams; he then managed the development of the original Software Testing Practitioner syllabus and exam in 2002.

Geoff initiated the ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualification Board) and is the UK representative to the board. He Chairs the UK Testing Board.

He is a founder member and Chairman of the TMMi Foundation Management Executive (see www.tmmifoundation.org.uk), He is also the Vice Chairman and Treasurer of the BCS SIGiST (Specialist Group in Software Testing).

Geoff is a popular international speaker on all things testing, having delivered keynote presentations in the UK, Australia, Malaysia and India and being a regular speaker at the EuroSTAR conferences. This year (2011) he is particularly proud to have been selected to Chair EuroSTAR in Manchester.

He is also co-author of the biggest selling testing book on www.amazon.co.uk – ISTQB/ISEB – A Software Testing Foundation.

In 2008 he was awarded the European Testing Excellence award for his work in the field of testing.

"Test Process Improvement – Answering the BIG questions!" with Graham Thomas

A lot of people talk about improving the testing process, but very few people actually answer the BIG questions, such as:

•         Why?  Is it just to save money, or do it quicker?
•         How?  Do we follow an accepted method – TPI, TMMI? What change methodologies are there that we can use?
•         What? Is it just automating test execution? What about planning, preparation, measurement and metrics, etc.?
•         Where and When? So where in our organisations, large and small, do we do this, and when is the best time?
•         And Who? Is this just a testing team initiative? Do we need help? Who else is involved? 

It is easy to ask the BIG questions but what we really want to know are the BIG answers! This session will work through these questions to draw useful conclusions from the group’s collective experience.

A lot of people talk about improving the testing process, but very few people actually answer the BIG questions:

•        Why?  Is it just to save money, or do it quicker?
•        How?  Do we follow an accepted method – TPI, TMMi? What change methods are there that we can use?
•        What? Is it just automating test execution? What about planning, preparation, measurement and metrics, etc.?
•        Where and When? So where in our organisations, large and small, do we do this, and when is the best time?
•        And Who? Is this just a testing team initiative? Do we need help? Who else is involved? 

Let’s work together on the answers. 

As the Greco/Roman Scholar Plutarch said,  “To find fault is easy, to do better is harder”.

Well what did they know 2000 years ago that we don’t know now?

This presentation will take a journey through the 6 big questions of test process improvement.  These are:

Why?

Asking why we are doing test process improvement.  Is it just to save money? Is it to do it quicker?  Exploring these questions to find out the real reasons behind why we actually carry out test process improvement.

How?

Looking at key types of change methodology.  And asking which kind of change is right for your organisation, your team, and you?  Understanding how to change is as important as the change itself. 

What?

So what do you change? And what is the rationale behind that decision. Looking at continuous improvement versus set levels. And understanding the social and people aspects to change.

Where?

Where do you do this change? In a centralised team? Top Down?  Or team by team, individual by individual.  Asking about the topography of change.

When?

And when do we change? As soon as we can? The next big project?  Does timing even matter? 

Who?

And who do we change?  Mahatma Ghandi said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”.  So how do we go about being agents of change?

These big questions will be illustrated in a highly interactive session which will use analogies and examples to trigger ideas, though, discussion and debate.

Let’s dare to be different and actually Answer The Big Questions! 

Biography for Graham Thomas – Independent Software Testing Consultant

I wrote my first computer program at college in 1978.  Started working in IT in the early 1980s as a programmer, and discovered software testing in the early 1990s.  I have formal qualifications in programming, analysis and design, project management and software testing.

I have worked for a large consultancy, several smaller management consultancies, and also a systems house, as well as various end users.

I have wide-ranging experience of IT, development and software testing, covering the public sector, retail, finance, banking, insurance and treasury.

Currently I work as either a program test manager or implementing testing change. Prior to this I worked as a test manager.

I am frequent and popular speaker at testing seminars and conferences around the world. I won the 2006 BCS SGST Best Presentation award, and have give time to conference programme committees, presentation review panels, and testing award deliberations.