The following is a listing of the events for the 2011/2012 season including presentation abstracts, speaker biographies, and additional event details. Please see the 2011/2012 Season page for the details on the theme, schedule, location and sponsor(s).
Researchers at the The University of Calgary have been partnering with various Calgary software companies to conduct testing collaboration between the university researchers and industry professionals on various large-scale software testing projects. This session will examine several of those software testing projects. Focus will be given to test techniques and testing tools developed/utilized by the team of researchers and practitioners in these projects. The audience will hear the type of practical testing projects conducted in university settings by using latest test techniques and tools and will also learn that university is not all about theory and boring stuff! Opportunities and benefits for companies in collaborating with the UofC researchers will also be discussed. Session attendees will see that their challenges can be solved in partnership with university folks.
The following selected projects will be briefly discussed as examples of our success stories:
- testing SCADA control software;
- results of a recent survey of software testing practices in Alberta;
- testing embedded software systems;
- how visualization of code (test) coverage would better help testers compared to textual (percentage-base) coverage values.
Vahid Garousi is an Assistant Professor of Software Engineering at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Calgary. He is leading a team of graduate students in the UofC specializing on software quality and testing. The speaker and his team are involved in various research and development-oriented (R&D) software testing projects with Calgary-based software companies.
Vahid received his PhD in Software Engineering from Carleton University, Ottawa, in 2006. His PhD work was on testing and performance engineering of distributed software systems based on UML models. He received his MSc degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2003.
Although Vahid is currently in the "academia", he has had 15+ years of working in the software industry. He is very passionate about bridging software engineering academia and practice. From 1996 to 2006, during and in between his studies, he worked and provided consulting for several software companies and clients both in Iran and in Canada. Thanks to his industrial and practical software engineering experience earned through 15+ years of working for and closely with the software industry, he takes a practical but rigorous approach to software engineering research. This directly influences the type of research & development (R&D) projects he has been conducting with the software industry currently and also in the past. More details at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~vgarousi/.
Presentation Materials: 
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map 
to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
When you start testing mobile apps, it’s tempting to just apply same methods and techniques that you are used to using. Although some concepts transfer directly, testing mobile applications presents special challenges. Jonathan Kohl shares his experiences with testing mobile apps, which can provide different challenges such as dealing with small screens, different input devices, less processing power and communication issues. Join Jonathan and learn from his experience testing mobile applications, so you can start your mobile testing project with confidence.
Jonathan Kohl is an internationally recognized consultant and technical leader. Based in Calgary, he is the founder and principal software consultant of Kohl Concepts, Inc. In addition to assisting teams with testing, Jonathan helps companies define and implement their ideas into products, coaches practitioners as they develop software on teams, and works with leaders helping them define and implement their strategic vision. He is also a prolific writer and popular speaker. As a thought leader in exploratory testing, mobile application testing, developing policy and strategy, and helping teams adjust to methodology changes, Jonathan doesn't just write and talk about developing software, he actively helps teams deliver the best products they can. See more at www.kohl.ca.
Presentation Materials: www.kohl.ca/publications.html#mobile
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
Event Sponsors: Thank you to the following sponsors of the 13th Annual SQDG Networking Event:
- Sabina Fabbian, Newton's Flaws Inc.
- Janet Gregory, DragonFire Inc.
- Janet Hykaway
Location: James Joyce Pub, 114 - 8th Avenue S.W.
Map: Google Map to the James Joyce Pub
Time: 4:30 - 6:30 pm
Cost: Free
Additional Details: Appetizers will be served; cash bar will be available
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
A personal kanban is a pull-type system for visualizing your work so that you can continually improve. Using kanban means understanding your customers, understanding your work from your customer's perspective, designing a task board for posting work items onto, moving work items from left-to-right across the board as they get done, continually analyzing your performance and adjusting as you go. In this talk, Adam introduces personal kanban and presents a starting design for exploratory testers based on his experience mapping exploratory test efforts to kanban. Adam has been using a personal kanban for over three years across a variety of work types, including exploratory testing.
Adam Geras is a test manager, and advisor/coach for those that test software. He specializes in systems delivery and test methods that enhance communications within teams. Most recently Adam has been adapting agile principles and methods to large-scale test management services for enterprise programs and projects. Adam has worked in information technology for over 22 years initially as a developer and architect and over the last 8 years, quality assistant, test manager and coach to large projects. He has a Bachelor of Computer and Electrical Engineering from the University of Manitoba (1989) and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary (2004). You can find Adam online on LinkedIn, Adam Geras 
.
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
Have you ever heard that to be a great tester you *must* have solid technical skills? What does that really mean? How do you define technical? In what contexts is this likely true and in others not the case at all? Some people believe you do. Some people believe you don't. What do you think?
Attend this interactive discussion and share your perspective and insights on this topic.
This session will be facilitated. The facilitation technique used by the SQDG allows for diverse conversation on the topic and ensuring everyone has an opportunity to speak.
Session Sponsor: The SQDG is sponsoring this session
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
Additional Details: Refreshments and light lunch are provided
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
In 1982, W. Edward Deming identified 14 key principles for business effectiveness. Janet will discuss how these principles are alive and well in effective agile projects. Many teams struggle to introduce agile by adhering to specific practices rather than have an understanding of basic quality principles that agile methodologies support. Janet will compare and contrast Deming’s principles with agile principles and practices.
Janet Gregory is the co-author of Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Agile Testers and Teams, and a consultant who specializes in helping teams build quality systems using agile methods. Based in Calgary, Canada, Janet's greatest passion is promoting agile quality processes. As tester or coach she has helped introduce agile development practices into companies and has successfully transitioned several traditional test teams into the agile world. Her focus is working with business users and testers to understand their roles in agile projects. Janet teaches courses on agile testing and is a frequent speaker at agile and testing software conferences around the world.
Website: www.janetgregory.ca Blog: janetgregory.blogspot.com
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
Bryan Schultz, System Quality Specialists
Art Thiessen
Vedran Tomasir
In February we will be hosting a discussion panel on "Reducing the Cost of Software Testing". There is constant pressure on development projects to do more with less and very often we see cost cutting measures directed at the testing efforts. This panel discussion brings together experts in the field to discuss how we can respond to the challenge of reducing testing costs with integrity and success. Attendees are encouraged to provide questions for the panel with the goal of covering:
- cost reduction options
- identifying and evaluating tradeoffs
- strategies for communicating with senior management
- ...and more!
This session will be facilitated. The facilitation technique used by the SQDG allows for diverse conversation on the topic and ensuring everyone has an opportunity to speak.
Marianne Murray has finally found the perfect field for putting an overactive imagination to use – Software Quality Assurance! In the past 13 years Marianne's career has included planning fictitious delivery routes, trading mock stocks, playing games online for imaginary winnings, pretending to review medical images, and masquerading as the author of an enormous intranet. Marianne has worked for a number of small companies looking to grow their business and one large company striving to increase their use of software. You can find Marianne online on LinkedIn, Marianne Murray .
Bryan Schultz has a passion for finding and trying new and interesting ways to approach the world of IT from a business perspective. He has 20 years of experience in software testing and QA in a wide variety of industries.
- Founder of System Quality Specialists and Brycol Consulting (with offices in Calgary, Los Angeles and Hong Kong)
- Awarded 28th Fastest Growing Company in Alberta (2002) by Alberta Venture Magazine
- Past Advisory Committee Member of the University of Calgary – Computing Science Department and the DeVry Institute
- Guest Lecturer - Management Information Systems (U of A – Business Admin. Faculty)
- Speaker at numerous North American software testing conferences
- Taught over 100 software testing and QA course across North America
You can find Byran online on LinkedIn, Bryan Schultz .
Art Thiessen is a 14-year survivor of the software testing world. He arrived in the field after several years in the non-profit sector, working with individuals with disabilities. He has always taken an equal interest in the human and the technological sides of QA.
Art has had the privilege of working with and leading some great teams, large and small, local and off-shore. He has worked for companies targeted to a diverse set of markets including newspaper sales and distribution, stock exchanges and oil and gas. He has lived through the craziness of the dot.com era and the recent economic downturn, the latter of which turned his team of three into a team of him. As a result he has recent, hands-on experience implementing testing methods designed to get the most value from limited resources. You can find Art online on LinkedIn, Art Thiessen .
Vedran Tomasir has always had a passion for all things computer-related. Upon finishing his degree in Software Engineering, Vedran realized that he really enjoyed breaking things – so much so that he chose to centralize his career in the testing field. He has been working with Shaw since 2009, and most recently assumed the position of Practice Leader of Quality Assurance where he is focused on building a QA practice community of likeminded, skilled, and efficient testers through coaching and mentoring, process implementation, training, and standardization.
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
What do birthdays, iPods, happiness, Las Vegas and a game show host have to do with better IT management decision making, testing and QA? EVERYTHING!
No matter what you do in the IT world, you need to know why!
Come to this entertaining and thought provoking presentation to get a practical and easy to remember understanding of the counter intuitive nature of randomness and uncertainty so you can:
- Make better and faster decisions business and IT management decisions
- Improve your ability to determine test coverage and testing focus
- Improve your ability to determine the appropriate level of QA
- Clarify choices based on rational thought rather than irrational emotions and fear
- Reduce your stress
Be warned...after this presentation you may not do things at work the same way again.
Bryan Schultz has a passion for finding and trying new and interesting ways to approach the world of IT from a business perspective. He has 20 years of experience in software testing and QA in a wide variety of industries.
- Founder of System Quality Specialists and Brycol Consulting (with offices in Calgary, Los Angeles and Hong Kong)
- Awarded 28th Fastest Growing Company in Alberta (2002) by Alberta Venture Magazine
- Past Advisory Committee Member of the University of Calgary – Computing Science Department and DeVry Institute
- Guest Lecturer - Management Information Systems (U of A – Business Admin. Faculty)
- Speaker at numerous North American software testing conferences
- Taught over 100 software testing and QA course across North America
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
In April we will be trying a new format for the SQDG - "Lightning Talks". Lightning talks provide an excellent forum for covering diverse topics and generating interesting discussion. Be sure to check out this unique format!
What is a "Lightning Talk"?
A lightning talk is a 5 minute talk given by a presenter on a specific topic. Since the time allotted is only 5 minutes, presenters are asked to present on a small slice of
their chosen topic. The talk is timed and when the 5 minute period runs out, the presenter is asked to finish their sentence and the talk ends. Another 5 minutes is allocated for Q&A about the presentation. After the Q&A session has completed, another presenter is called and the same process starts again. Lightning Talks are widely used at peer conferences and workshops. SQDG is excited to offer this new format as part of the 2011/2012 season.
Confirmed Presentations
- "Perceptual Psychology in Testing" by Gordon Bird
- "Have I Shown You My TiddlyWiki?" by Ken Horovatin
- "Testing with Mindmaps" by Lynn McKee
- "Benefits to automating your User Experience" by Marianne Murray
Gordon Bird is a standard nerd with a habit of thinking about everything cock-eyed. From the early stages of disassembling his toys to find out how they work to compromising digital locks on his gadgets, he has been testing since he was old enough to manipulate. After obtaining his Bachelors in Psychology, Gordon joined the formal software testing movement, with an applied focus on how to approach testing and problem solving without falling into the common pitfalls and traps associated with “Quality Assurance”.
Ken Horovatin has been playing and working with technology for longer than there have been “personal computers”, starting when he and a friend soldered together and programmed a MITS Altair 8800 - the computer that sparked the microcomputer revolution. His software testing experience has included a wide variety of products and projects, including database publishing systems, web and desktop geographic mapping systems, a healthcare scheduling system, an email client, a video encoder, and an enterprise-wide Oracle database upgrade to name a few. He is constantly seeking to learn new ways to improve himself, his job and the products he or his team are testing.
Lynn McKee is an independent consultant with 17 years experience in the software industry and a passion for helping organizations, teams and individuals deliver valuable software. Lynn is an advocate of the software quality management practices espoused by Jerry Weinberg and provides consulting on software management, leadership and testing. Lynn is active within the software testing community by speaking at conferences, writing articles, contributing to blogs and forums. She is also a co-founder of the Weekend Testers Americas and the Calgary Perspectives on Software Testing Workshop. You can reach Lynn online at www.qualityperspectives.ca.
Marianne Murray has finally found the perfect field for putting an overactive imagination to use – Software Quality Assurance! In the past 13 years Marianne's career has included planning fictitious delivery routes, trading mock stocks, playing games online for imaginary winnings, pretending to review medical images, and masquerading as the author of an enormous intranet. Marianne has worked for a number of small companies looking to grow their business and one large company striving to increase their use of software. You can find Marianne online on LinkedIn, Marianne Murray .
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
Janet Hykaway
Rob Irving
Nancy Kelln, Unimagined Testing
We are hosting a debate panel on "To Certify, Or Not!". This is a highly debated topic in the software industry and there are greatly varying views in favor and against certification. This panel discussion brings together experts in the field to discuss different viewpoints on the value of certification.
This session will be facilitated. The facilitation technique used by the SQDG allows for diverse conversation on the topic and ensuring everyone has an opportunity to speak.
Sherry Heinze is a Test Strategist, Tester, Quality Assurance / Quality Management Process Analyst, and Trainer with 30 years of information technology experience. Her focus is on testing from the analysis phase forward and on testing related processes. Sherry is passionate about learning and communication, often training, coaching or mentoring staff at all levels.
Janet Hykaway is a Quality Assurance Analyst with 12 years of testing experience in capital markets, retail and oil and gas. Janet advocates giving back to the community as past coordinator and current member of the SQDG advisory board. She is an active learner (Rapid Software Testing 2010, blogs, websites, articles, testing books) and a regular at the SQDG sessions. Janet is an ISTQB, Certified Tester at the Foundation Level (CTFL) 2009.
Rob Irving has over 16 years of experience in the IT industry, starting out as a Systems Tester working through Operations support and VAX Cluster system analysis, leading to 9 years in IBM in various lead and management positions. He moved to Canada 3 years ago from the UK, initially working for SMART Technologies as the QA Manager for Educational Products, he now works as the QA Manager for Pason Systems supplying drilling and data recording tools for the oil and gas industry. Rob is a keen advocate of Agile Testing methodologies and the continuous improvement of testing practices within the industry.To occasionally escape the world of ‘testing and continuous improvement’ he likes to snowboard in the winter and hike in the summer.
Nancy Kelln is an independent consultant with 13 years of diverse experience within the IT industry. Nancy is motivated by working with teams who are implementing or enhancing their testing practices; providing adaptive testing approaches in both agile and traditional testing teams. She has coached test teams in various environments and facilitated numerous workshops and presentations. She is an active member of the Calgary Software Quality Discussion Group, Association for Software Testing and the Scrum Alliance and has co-founded the Calgary Perspectives on Software Testing Workshop (POST). You can reach Nancy online at www.unimaginedtesting.ca.
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
Offering testing as a service to the BAs, Devs, PMs … is an approach that is being established by Shaw Testing community. This involves educating our testers to be successful service providers and also educating the stakeholders about what to expect and how to use the service effectively. The prerequisites of this approach is that the tester has an understanding of how He or She can be effective throughout the software development life cycle. Some of the positive side effects of successfully providing this service might be: testing would not be seen as a bottle neck, testers are not approving or disapproving a delivery, testers working more closely with other teams and creating extra visibility into other processes than just testing.
Manu Sharma is as Test Lead at Shaw Communications. He has over 9 years of experience in IT and has served in a number of companies including Replicon, Chartwell, ThoughtWorks and Shaw. Manu loves to share ideas about improving software development. He is a big supporter of effective and timely communication, and collaboration between testers and stakeholders.
Session Sponsor: This session is not yet sponsored. Please contact the Programme Director if you are interested in sponsoring this event.
Location: Inteqna Conference Room on the main floor of 715 - 5th Ave SW
Map: Google Map to Inteqna
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, doors open at 11:30 am
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
-- CANCELLED --
This is our annual planning session where organizers, volunteers and participants, active or otherwise, get a chance to make their mark on next season's sessions. Everything is up for discussion. Bring your ideas and suggestions to make the SQDG an even better discussion group next season.
SQDG has sponsored this event by providing appetizers. A cash bar will be available.
Location: Beer Revolution, 1080 - 8th Street S.W. (Same building as Brewsters)
Map: Google Map to Beer Revolution
Time: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
RSVP: Register in advance via LinkedIn Event
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