STARWEST 2001 - Software Testing Conference

PRESENTATIONS

A Framework for Testing Real-Time and Embedded Systems

What do we mean when we say local, remote, simultaneous, and distributed testing? Alan Haffenden of The Open Group explores the differences, and explains why the architecture of a distributed test execution system must be different from that of non-distributed systems. An overview of POSIX 1003.13 profiles and units of functionality helps advanced users build a good foundation for testing both their real-time and embedded systems.

Alan Haffenden, The Open Group
A White Box Approach to Testing an eCommerce System

This presentation gives one team's experience installing and testing a multiserver eCommerce system that had storefronts that were to be created by the customer.

Andrew O. Mellinger, Critical Path Software
Accessibility Testing for Users with Disabilities

Testers have taken a lead role in providing disabled persons access to computer resources. On behalf of the nearly twenty percent of Americans with disabilities, companies are now improving the accessibility of their Web sites, hardware, and software products. This presentation describes the regulatory framework for accessibility issues and suggests approaches for testing a range of accessibility aids including screen readers, voice recognition software, refreshable Braille terminals, and alternative point-and-click devices.

James Speer, VeriTest
An Introduction to Web Load Testing

This session walks participants through the process of Web load testing. Jim Hyatt takes this opportunity to cover everything from what testing tools are available to how to plan for load testing. Get a basic understanding of what Web load testing is and how to do it correctly.

Jim Hyatt, Spherion
Bottlenecks Exposed: The Most Frequently Found Performance Problems

Dan Downing's experience with stress testing projects has revealed a handful of common denominators present in most Web site performance problems. These include memory starvation; a CPU-gobbling database access; improperly sized heaps, caches, and pools; poor application design; and load balancing that doesn't balance. This presentation uses actual B2C and B2B project examples to show you a symptom-measurement-diagnostic approach to understanding, exposing, and documenting these common problems.

Dan Downing, Mentora
Challenging Conventional Wisdom

The earth is flat. Mankind will never fly. Reasonable people believed these “facts” for
thousands of years, but advances in knowledge and technology proved them wrong. Does the software testing industry have any such "facts"? In this paper, Elizabeth Langston will explore common testing beliefs. Using experiences from SAS, she attempts to confirm or refute these pieces of conventional wisdom.

Elizabeth Langston, SAS Institute Inc.

Concise, Standardized, Organized Testing in Complex Test Environments

There's a need for standardized, organized hardware and software infrastructure, and for a common framework, in a complex test environment. Gerhard Strobel focuses on the experience of testing diverse products on many different platforms (UNIX, Windows, OS2, z/OS, OS400)-how they differ and how much they have in common. He explains how to configure and profile test machines, then highlights the technical areas where test efficiency can be increased. He also covers methods of execution control.

Gerhard Strobel, IBM Germany
Create Your Own Luck: Get Organized for Test Success

The four "lucky" organizational factors are: clearly defined roles within-and interfaces between-test team and project; early test team involvement in project; sharing of test cases, data, and tools across test participants and phases (levels); and a project culture that promotes understanding and valuing test team's contributions. How do these factors promote test success? How can we institute these auspicious circumstances on our projects?

Rex Black, Rex Black Consulting Services, Inc.

Creating Quality From Scratch: How to Build a Testing Organization

With more and more companies realizing the need for testing throughout the product development process, there's a growing demand for bigger, better QA teams. If you find yourself the first member of a newly formed department, it's likely you'll be asked to do the testing and build the team simultaneously. This presentation presents a strategy for meeting the day-to-day testing challenges, while planning for the future of the department. It tells you how you can lay the foundation and build the house-all at the same time.

Eric Patel, Nokia Home Communications
DAST: The Diagnostic Approach to Software Testing

Every test manager knows the pain of testing in a chaotic environment. The DAST (Diagnostic Approach to Software Testing) process allows you to cut through the chaos by implementing a strategic way to test products and releases, even when you don't have good product requirements or documentation. Founded on the premise of asking systematic questions to build test cases, Hung Nguyen takes participants through the process, which ultimately leads to valid requirements, specifications, and test cases.

Hung Nguyen, LogiGear Corporation

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