Association for Software Testing | Quality Remarks Keith Klain

My journey to Madison for the Association for Software Testing’s (AST) annual conference (CAST), can be summed up in two words: Paul Holland. Not only was I working with Paul the previous weeks at Per Scholas teaching the STEP class, but he was also the lead facilitator at CAST and little known to me, also my travel buddy. I found out that Paul was traveling on the same flight from NYC to Madison at the same time (7am on Saturday), but better than that, Paul swapped his seats to sit next to me so we could share in our sleep deprived state.

Now, ordinarily, as someone who travels a great deal for work, I rarely speak to anyone on a plane, as it is often the only time I get to read, catch up on videos, or just a moment of silence from my busy life. But if you know Paul, he’s a lot like me: once he gets going, he never stops talking! And we were both highly charged from the previous week together, so I feel really sorry for all the people sitting around us who probably learned more than they ever thought they would about the software testing industry. As this was my first CAST, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but if the trip to Madison was any measurement, I was sure it was going to be a corker. Here are my impression from my time in Madison: the good, the bad, and the cheese curds…enjoy!

The “bald eagles” of Testing Testing talent at the Hilton

The good…

Let’s start with what was the real star of the conference: the people. I was honestly not ready for how many fantastic testers would be concentrated in one place, and if you like discussing (or arguing) about things, CAST was the place to be. My day (outside of the couple hours of work beforehand) started at around 9am and didn’t finish until after 1am every day. The time was filled with great conversations with extremely talented testers from all over the world and covered too many topics to list. If CAST is about putting the “confer” back into conferences, then they had this down in spades.

The next part of the conference I really enjoyed was the facilitated discussions. Highly unusual in my experience in software testing conferences, but now something I think is vital to learning at them and getting your money’s worth. Most conferences allow Q&A with the speakers if “time permits”, but in my experience, they are usually taken up with people wishing to make statements or are so off topic they are just a distraction. Some of the facilitators did better jobs than others, but when it worked well (which was most of the time) it added to the experience and guided the “open season” section to wring out all the value of the talk.

Another observation I had about CAST which stood out from other conferences I have attended is the number of women not only in attendance, but also participating as speakers. As someone who hires loads of testers, and feels we should be casting a large and diverse net for candidates and opportunities to enter the field, it was particularly encouraging to see so many talented women software testers in one place. Jean-Ann Harrison, Anne-Marie Charrett, Claire Moss, Dee Ann Pizzica, Anna Royzman, Julie Hurst, Alessandra Moreira, Jay Philips, Lou Perold, and Dawn Haynes are all great examples of excellence in testing for everyone in the field.

Speaking of Dawn Haynes, she absolutely killed her keynote on “Introspective Retrospectives: Lessons Learned and Re-Learned”. Honest. Authentic. Full of self-reflection. I was shocked to hear from her that it was her first talk she had given at CAST. It was so easy to connect with her stories and her style was so accessible, I found myself starting to analyze decisions I’ve made and relationships during her talk. You can watch the entire talk here

But the highlight for me was Erik Davis’s talk on “How to Find Good Testers in the Rust Belt”. Forget about probably one of the best presentations I’ve seen in a long time based on visual and technical merit alone. You maybe even gloss over the fact that Erik basically gave a master class in hiring testers ANYWHERE, let alone in the relative isolation of the mid-Cleveland market. But there was no denying, that his honest and funny communication of key ideas: candidate background risks and issues, casting a wide recruitment net, and LOADS of experiential advice on how to hire (and not hire) testers, was world class in its execution. Pay attention conference chairs: Erik Davis is keynote worthy and has the chops to headline a conference.

“Mr Friendly” Madison, WI

The bad…

So now for some disappointments from my five days in Madison, and to top the list would be despite my personal experience with great discussion – there weren’t enough of them! Specifically, I mean in during the “open season” portion of the talks which is supposed to be where we get up and ask questions of the speakers. I could only count a handful of times where I felt the speaker was being challenged or a contrarian view was being expressed. Some of the brightest minds in software testing were gathered together in one of the few forums to generate some light (or heat), which means we should be taking full advantage of the opportunity. As I tweeted then, “Hey Testers, if you are not getting engaged with the thought leaders at CAST2013 – you’re doing it wrong!”

All this leads to my next point, which is the large amount of confirmation bias in the discussions I had with speakers and attendees. I realize that there is a high likelihood of this occurring, as we are all self-identified “context-driven” testers, but I was holding out for a bit more controversy. Ranking on the ISTQB (guilty!), ranting about automation, and schools of testing were variations on a lot of the common themes through the days and nights activities. As we grow and mature as a community, I believe we should feel secure in our relationships and scrutinize more of the accepted truths of our world view.

and the cheese curds…

Finally, as someone who grew up in hostile “Sconi” territory (Illinois), I have to say Madison was a great time with good food, good sites and good beer. My overall impression after my first CAST is pure mental exhaustion with too many ideas to plow through in too short a time. Being surrounded by a veritable “who’s who” of CDT experts was quite an experience, and I look forward to the next one – only with less cheese curds.

CAST

It has been an incredible honor and privilege for me to work with Per Scholas as they partner with Barclays to create the Software Testing Education Program (STEP). The outpouring of support from the software testing community has been overwhelming and our partners in this program have been generous beyond my expectations. If you or your company would like to participate in STEP, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be providing updates as the program continues. Thanks – KK

Per Scholas Launches Software Testing Education Program

The global software testing market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 21.15 percent over the period 2012 – 2016. To help meet this increase in demand, Per Scholas has partnered with Barclays to create the Software Testing Education Program (STEP) to prepare students to compete for entry-level software testing roles. Per Scholas is a national nonprofit organization that breaks the cycle of poverty by providing technology education, access, training and job placement services for people in low-income communities. STEP will teach selected Per Scholas graduates industry leading testing skills and techniques, provide access to real life projects, and include field studies for participants to learn alongside working professionals.

The STEP curriculum is two weeks of intensive lab-based instructor-led training supported by exercises, field studies, industry experts, and exposure to leading edge software testing tools. Students will be selected for the program after successful completion of the core Per Scholas 15-week curriculum and successful achievement of Comp TIA A+ certification.

Week One starts with Barclays Introduction to Software Testing, which covers quality concepts, techniques and objectives of testing including exercises on Workroom Productions Black Box Testing Machines. Workroom Productions is a London-based consultancy owned by James Lyndsay, specializing in strategies and adaptive approaches for software testing. The week concludes with a three-day course in Rapid Software Testing which was co-authored by James Bach and Michael Bolton and includes topics of critical thinking, oracles, heuristics and test techniques. Pre-reading and coursework for this week includes current white papers and articles from thought leaders in the software testing industry.

Week Two builds on the lessons from Rapid Software Testing with five days of Rapid Testing Intensive. During the course of the week, students will work through several testing projects and challenges using the tools and techniques they would use in a project environment. Key skills developed include test strategies, coverage, defect analysis and reporting. Students will benefit from the experience of Paul Holland, who will be the principle trainer for STEP and brings a wealth of experience from his testing career at Alcatel-Lucent and the many international conferences and workshops he has presented at and facilitated.

STeP Training

All coursework will be supported by Field Studies, onsite visits to working software testing projects via Barclays and partner companies. Students will also get real world access to professional testers through half-day field studies followed by debriefing at Per Scholas classrooms. Test Tools strategies and techniques will be taught throughout the course and use industry leading software and training from QA Symphony and SmartBear. To make sure students have a working knowledge of a basic tool set, topics covered will include test management and execution, basic test automation, and defect tracking.

In addition to the Career Support provided by Per Scholas, uTest are inviting STEP graduates to attend their uTest “Sandbox” program – a real-world testing exercise – where they can earn money for submitting valuable bugs and receive professional feedback on ways to improve their skills. uTest provides “in-the-wild” software testing to companies of all shapes and sizes through a global community of 80,000 professional testers in 190 countries and students will be able to gain valuable experience on live projects as they transition into full-time testing roles.

A one-year membership to the Association for Software Testing will also be provided to students where they can gain access to industry conferences, videos, and professional testing resources.

Sponsorship can be provided by companies or individuals wishing to participate in STEP through multiple opportunities. Companies may wish to provide facilities for Field Studies which will require 4 hours for students to visit a live project and observe software testing being conducted on a real world project. Alternatively, organizations or individuals may participate in the STEP Mentoring program which pairs graduates with senior test professionals for career guidance and development.