The following is a listing of the events for the 2007/2008 season including presentation abstracts, speaker biographies, and additional event details. Please see the 2007/2008 Season page for the details on the schedule, location and sponsor(s).
Abstract not provided
Michelle Dunn a QA/QC expert, has spent more than a decade in software testing and quality assurance within numerous sectors including Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Transportation, Financial, Government, Commercial/Product, and custom In-house software applications. Michelle's passion is creating first-in-class QA teams. She has spent her extensive and varied career implementing quality practices from the ground up that create dynamic, successful and highly effective QA teams. Michelle is a champion of IT process improvement and ensures that quality practices continually meet and exceed business and company needs.
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
Almost all companies today track costs within their organization. Everything from wages to office supplies are tracked in detail. However, there is one aspect of the business operation that is not normally tracked and that is the cots of quality. Yes, some companies can tell you how many testers or QA people they have on staff and the cost of those services. But they just can?t provide any more definition nor can they tell you the costs of other people performing duties related to quality.
This presentation will provide an overview on some of concepts behind the cost of quality and why some organizations prefer not to track these costs. We will examine how many of the costs associated with quality are hidden from view. We then will look at some strategies for reducing the costs associated with internal and external failure. We will also examine what the quality professional can do to help facilitate the process. A short exercise will take place that highlights the cost of quality.
Jim Armstrong has been involved in Quality for over 27 years. His career spans both the public and private sectors. He has fulfilled roles as a QA Rep, Commercialization Manager, Safety Manager, instructor, and Staff Officer. Jim is a Nuclear Engineering Technologist and holds certifications in Quality Auditing and Quality Management with ASQ.
Presently Jim is a Quality Specialist with NovAtel Inc where he manages a requirements project as well as performs a wide array of other quality related tasks. Jim is also the owner and operator of PQMC Inc, a consulting company specializing in training.
Jim started the ASQ Discussion Group several years ago and continues to be a committed volunteer. He has fulfilled the roles of Section Chair and Treasurer on the executive for ASQ 0409 Calgary.
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
The original aim of this presentation is to give QA/QC staff tools to help Management understand the QA/QC and methodologies. QA/QC staff may want to use this material to communicate the value of the QA/QC process to IT management.
Software Quality Assurance ROI:
- Quantifying the Cost of Quality (and the true cost of bugs!)
- Justifying a Software QA/QC Budget
Applying Quality Principles to Software Development:
- Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control
- Quality Methodologies: Waterfall vs. V-Model
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Explain quantification of the cost/benefit proposition of the QA/QC process
- Show financial justification of a QA/QC budget for an IT department
- Explain the two most used quality methodologies
Thibault Dambrine is a systems analyst with Shell Canada Limited, working in the Data Warehouse Department, which he joined after contracting for 6 years. He has spent most of his career working with IBM mid-range systems and recently certified two levels of ITIL. In recent years, he has seen a trend towards more stringent quality practice in software development and became curious about quantifying the value of such efforts.
Presentation Materials: 
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
This presentation will focus on how organizations can introduce Quality into projects throughout the Application Lifecycle. It will discuss how IT organizations can optimize the quality of new applications by focusing on business intent throughout the entire quality process starting with Business Requirements through to Production. The discuss will also touch on how IT leadership can manage the delivery process, equipping them with metrics that matter, both to the IT organization and to the larger business. By providing visibility into the status and quality of ongoing projects, IT can highlight key metrics and identify problem areas early in the delivery process. With more comprehensive insight into the process, IT can better manage the expectations of the business and deliver value more accurately with higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Elias Murad has over twenty-eight years of experience in the Information Technology industry. He has spent the last 10 years with Compuware where he has held a number of positions including: Director of ADM (Application Delivery Management) Solutions Engineering Global SAP; Offering Manager for Compuware Application Reliability Solution (CARS); and Business Manager for the QA Solutions practice. Prior to joining Compuware Elias worked with AutoTester Inc. where he served as Vice President of Customer Services. While there, he provided direction in the Development of the QA Methodology QualityPoint and created a number of offerings around People, Process and Products. Prior to joining AutoTester Inc., Elias worked in the capacity of CIO for Magnafoods Corporation, a major food service distributor, situated in eastern Canada. While with this company he also managed a profitable software company in Phoenix, Arizona.
Presentation Materials:
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
What a great opportunity to meet with fellow quality practitioners to partake of some fine vituals, hoist a few and talk about software quality, amongst other things, I'm certain.
Once again we'll be meeting our favourite watering-hole, the Auburn Saloon. The Auburn is located at 115 9th Avenue SE. It's on the south side of 9th Avenue, on the west side of the Palliser Square office tower, directly across from the Glenbow Museum.
As always, this is an informal affair. We can start congregating around 5:30 pm and wrap up any time we want. Appetizers/Snacks will be provided. Cost of any beverage is the responsibility of the individual.
Location: Auburn Saloon located at 115 - 9th Avenue SE
Time: 5:30 pm - unspecified
Additional Details: Appetizers/Snacks will be provided; the cost of any beverage is the responsibility of the individual
RSVP: N/A
Often, when we think of automated testing, we think of unattended tests that are executed by computer software. When we think of manual testing, we think of a human executing tests without the aid of a machine. We don?t need to think of these as exclusive activities, we can use automation tools to help us as we undertake manual testing. This talk will explore the intersection between automated and manual tests, and highlight some of the advantages of a hybrid approach.
Jonathan Kohl is a software testing consultant with Kohl Concepts Inc. based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A noted testing thinker, Jonathan is recognized as an emerging leader in the software testing community. He is a popular author and speaker who believes that testing is a challenging intellectual craft. Jonathan?s blog on software development and testing issues is one of the most well-read testing blogs in the industry. Jonathan is a regular contributor to and technical editor for Better Software magazine. For more information, check out his web site: www.kohl.ca.
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
Often, when we think of automated testing, we think of unattended tests that are executed by computer software. When we think of manual testing, we think of a human executing tests without the aid of a machine. We don?t need to think of these as exclusive activities, we can use automation tools to help us as we undertake manual testing. This talk will explore the intersection between automated and manual tests, and highlight some of the advantages of a hybrid approach.
Jonathan Kohl is a software testing consultant with Kohl Concepts Inc. based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A noted testing thinker, Jonathan is recognized as an emerging leader in the software testing community. He is a popular author and speaker who believes that testing is a challenging intellectual craft. Jonathan?s blog on software development and testing issues is one of the most well-read testing blogs in the industry. Jonathan is a regular contributor to and technical editor for Better Software magazine. For more information, check out his web site: www.kohl.ca.
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
If your background is testing on a traditional project, you are likely used to getting requirements that you can use to develop test cases, and then getting completed functionality to test. In an agile project, you are expected to test on continually changing code with changing requirements. One common pitfall for new agile testers is: ?I?ll test the stories on Tuesday when I get my new QA build?. Waiting for a new build will almost guarantee you?ll always be an iteration behind the developers. One easy way to avoid this trap is to start testing as soon as the developer has completed their story. Sometimes this means you need to be inventive about where and how you test.
Agile testing means a mindset change for traditional testers and new tools and techniques to learn.
- Discover some of the pitfalls of agile that are waiting for unsuspecting testers
- Explore ways to avoid traps that teams fall into, and learn techniques to overcome them
- Make these techniques part of your toolkit
Janet Gregory is a Calgary-based consultant specializing building quality systems and her passion is promoting agile quality processes. She has helped to introduce agile practices into companies as tester or coach, and has successfully transitioned traditional test teams into the agile world. Her focus is working the business users and testers to understand their role in agile projects.
She is currently writing a book on agile testing with Lisa Crispin due out in 2008. Janet has presented at the Agile and StarWest conference several times and is active in the Agile Testing community.
Janet has a degree in Computing Science from the University of Alberta, an Information Management Certificate from the University of Calgary, ScrumMaster certification, and Quality Management Certification from the ASQ.
Presentation Materials:
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
Software development teams typically never use the application they are responsible for creating. You may wonder, why would this be relevant? In this presentation we will turn the tables and examine the quality of the software application through the eyes of the consumer rather than that of the software producer. In particular, I will be using the PAS Application; a new Production Accounting Solutions application for oil and gas companies in western Canada to highlight the quality concerns of the customer.
This presentation will explore the following questions:
- What does a customer have to think about prior to installing the software application?
- What quality concerns should the customer have? Why do they have these concerns?
- Why does the customer perform testing after the software vendor has tested the product for months and have certified the product?
- What is UAT risk based testing?
- What is UAT test coverage?
- What is UAT end to end testing?
- What is upgrade migration UAT?
Join me in the journey of discovering what happens after the software vendor has released their product.
Michelle Dunn, a QA/QC expert, has spent more than 12 years in software testing and quality assurance within numerous sectors including Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Transportation, Financial, Government, Commercial/Product, and custom In-house software applications.
Michelle's passion is creating first-in-class QA teams. She has spent her extensive and varied career implementing quality practices from the ground up that create dynamic, successful and highly effective QA teams.
Michelle is a champion of IT process improvement and ensures that quality practices continually meet and exceed business and company needs.
Michelle has a degree in Applied Math, a Project Management Certificate, an ITIL Certificate, a Pragmatic Marketing Certificate and is a Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE) from QAI (active since 2000).
Presentation Materials:
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
Quality is in the eye of the beholder. The success of implementing Quality Best Practices is often times equated to how it can address Business Needs as well as perceived Business Value.
WHAT, HOW and WHY we attempt to bring and manage QA and QC into an organization is not a cookie-cutter approach. This presentation will explore the evolution of the Quality Lifecycle in various organizations by using Real Life Examples it will highlight different approaches for evaluating, implementing and delivering different Quality practices into various organization. Once delivered, THEN WHAT??? Maintaining Quality and Quality Practices is often times dictated by management perception and economic reality. This presentation will look at the adventure of how we (Quality Practitioners) may be able to effectively adapt to and manage the Change of Quality.
Sabina Fabbian is a QA/QC expert with over 14 years experience in software testing and quality assurance within numerous sectors including Oil and Gas, Telecommunications, Health Care, Government, Financials, Commercial/Product and custom in-house software applications.
Sabina's experience ranges from Software Testing, Test Automation, Team Lead and Management, QA/QC Process Implementation and Improvement as well as Change Management. Sabina has worked with all SDLC's; Waterfall, Iterative and Agile as well as multiple technologies, platforms and applications including Client/Server, Web-based, ERP's, Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence.
Sabina is a highly motivated advocate for quality assurance; her passion is understanding company's business practices and culture in the realm of IT and offering streamlined BEST Practices for Software QA/QC. By marring the needs of the people with those of the product, she articulates and delivers the right process/practice for the right environment.
Location: Conference Center in SunLife Plaza East Tower at 144 - 4th Avenue SW
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via email to the Communications Director
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