During the past few years, exploratory testing (ET) has gained popularity as one of the most efficient styles of testing for smaller agile development teams. It has a proven advantage of finding defects faster over larger areas of the software. However, exploratory testing is not a mainstay in large-scale, enterprise product testing. Anutthara Bharadwaj explores some of the myths surrounding ET-lack of planning, misconstruing exploration as ad-hoc testing, lack of metrics, deficiency of actionable data in defect reports, and more. Anu addresses these myths with real data from a case study of the Microsoft Visual Studio ALM team that adopted ET over a two-year product cycle on a team with more than one-hundred engineers with an enterprise product servicing several thousand customers.

John McConda presents the story of a test team that challenged the notion of best practices and came out more focused, efficient, and effective. Creating a mission statement and using it as a measuring stick, this team threw out all practices, started with a clean slate, and scrutinized every proposed process and practice. They sought to understand and evaluate each practice-based contribution to the testing mission. Examples: Test cases-don't need them; Automated regression test suite-just enough, thanks; Performance testing-only with accurate operational modeling; CMMI®-just the parts that work for us. The result was a transformed team that began exceeding its goals and earned accolades from a previously unhappy customer. Along the way they learned plenty of lessons about making sure everyone's voice is heard and how to implement sustainable change within a test team.

Many testers mourn the state of their state-undervalued, unrespected, and often excluded from important project conversations. Even though their advice may be dismissed, many testers somehow believe that they are accountable for software quality. Why does this happen? Testers often forget that they are service providers whose role is to provide critical information to the project’s stakeholders. Selena Delesie explains why testing and test reporting should focus on business needs to add the most value and gain respect within the organization. Selena will help testers learn how to ask the right questions, draw out pertinent information, and understand the stakeholders “world view.” Explore key values required to be successful in transforming how the organization perceives testing. Discover communication techniques that will help testers connect with stakeholders and get them clamoring for more testing.

Because 10% to 20% of the general population has disabilities that can impact their ability to use software, systems should be developed to accommodate their needs. Even though web accessibility requirements are included in many development projects, they are often not fully understood and verified during testing. Join David Leistner as he examines the Web Accessibility Initiative and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. First, David explains what web accessibility is, its importance, and who it affects. Next, he introduces the types of technology available for testing compliance and shows how to use analysis tools in testing for accessibility. Gain an understanding of the issues and alternatives with web accessibility development and ways that testers can ensure that people with disabilities can access the web and Internet-access they deserve and, in some cases, are entitled by law to have.