risk

Conference Presentations

Deadlines, Defects and Risk: Managing the Three-Headed Dragon

The commercial pressures of the economy and the need for speed often impose unwieldy deadlines for software projects. Yet the nature of software projects demands that teams deal with constant change and scope growth within these fixed deadlines. By understanding software project dynamics, managers empower themselves to make better decisions about promised functionality, thereby controlling the very factors that degrade software quality and reliability. This presentation addresses why software development, an example of "knowledge work," is different from other types of work, and how knowing its behavioral laws can help managers avert disaster.

Michael Mah, QSM Associates, Inc.
STAREAST 2001: Managing the End Game of a Software Project

How do you know when a product is ready to ship? QA managers have been faced with this question for many years. Using the methodology discussed in this presentation, you take the guessing out of shipping a product and replace it with key metrics to help you rationally make the right decision. Learn how to estimate, predict, and manage your software project as it gets closer to its release date. Learn how to define which metrics to track--and how to measure them. Discover how to define the ratings scale for each metric and how to create a spider chart for product readiness. This presentation is a must for any individual or organization that is serious about maximizing the results of positive events and minimizing the consequences of adverse ones.

Mike Ennis, BMC Software
The Role of Information in Risk-Based Testing

With risk-based testing, you identify risks and then run tests to gather more information about them. Formal risk analysis is often necessary for identifying and assessing risks with new domains or technologies. A common problem, however, is how to assess risks when you have little information. Learn how to use testing to identify risks, reach team agreement on risk magnitude, and identify actions which allow these risks to be understood and mitigated.

Bret Pettichord, Satsfice
A Short Course in Managing Expectations

Have you ever delivered exactly what your customers said they wanted, and still they were dissatisfied? This session uses a case study of one such experience as the basis for introducing information, tools, and guidelines to help you better manage expectations. Naomi Karten addresses issues such as how to build a strong foundation, avoid conflicting interpretations, implement effective feedback-gathering processes, and understand the other party's perspective.

Naomi Karten, Karten Associates
Problem Resolution Cycle Time Optimization

No matter how well we plan and execute software development, defects are generated and can escape to the customers. Failure to quickly resolve software problems leads to negative consequences for our customers and increases internal business costs. A quick deterministic
method to prioritize problems and implement their solution helps to reduce cycle time and costs. Achieving this goal requires several steps. The first is to determine a model that links problem resolution performance to institutional variables and problem characteristics. Statistical Design of Experiments (DOE) is a tool that provides data requirements for estimating the impacts of these variables on problem resolution. Once data has been gathered the results of statistical analysis can be input into a mathematical optimization model to guide the organization.
This paper describes such an analysis.

Don Porter, Motorola
Predicting Software Errors and Defects

This paper introduces a fault model that predicts the number of errors and defects throughout the development cycle. Project managers can use this information to quantitatively determine if the development process is in control, may be going out of control, or is clearly out of control. This model is able to adjust estimates based on the most current data available.

Mark Criscione, Motorola
Success Factors and Measures in Outsourced Application Development

Today's e-conomy is creating higher time pressures than ever in application development. Many organizations are responding to the deadline pressures and backlogs through partnering. Whenever new partnering relationships are created, however, conflict can result. Learn the four key critical success factors to help you manage this type of strategic relationship, including how to deal with "shotgun weddings" and creating better dispute resolution frameworks.

Michael Mah, QSM Associates, Inc.
Measures that Predict Change

Prediction becomes more accurate when there are measured trends to show the way. Knowing what to collect and review is only half of the process of predicting change. The rest of the methodology is understanding the data and being able to predict changes so that the project team can proactively respond to change events. Learn how organizations within EDS have begun to accurately predict changes. Explore the methods, decisions, and the necessary steps taken by EDS to develop and use metrics and measures that support key management decisions.

Gail Borotto, EDS

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