EuroSTAR Free Conference Place Winner

I’d like to extend my thanks to all of you who entered last month's Early Bird Competition to win a free place at EuroSTAR 2008. Congratulations to Jessica Algovik, SEB, Sweden who will be joining us this year in The Hague courtesy of EuroSTAR.
I also would like to congratulate ps_testware who have won a two page advertisement in the year’s conference guide for their cooperation in promoting our Early Bird Competition. Thank you to all the participating companies.


Check out the EuroSTAR 2008 Conference Programme!

Register Now and Save €250!!!!

The EuroSTAR 2008 Programme Chair, Bob van de Burgt and his committee have put together an outstanding conference programme embodying this year's theme - 'The Future of Software Testing'. Bringing a variety of speakers from throughout the world together, for an action-packed week of networking, discussion and debate is how EuroSTAR has established itself as Europe's premier AND largest software testing conference. With over 1,000 delegates present last year we had our largest ever attendance and predict more record breaking numbers in The Hague!

Register online before this Friday, September 19th and save €250!

Be part of Europe's Ultimate Testing Experience-
Register Today!

Win A FREE Conference Place At EuroSTAR 2008!

This competition is now closed

To coincide with the Early Bird Deadline of September 19th we are giving YOU the chance to win a FREE conference place EuroSTAR 2008!
Enter our competition today and you could be joining us in The Hague, this November for Europe’s premier software testing conference.

Software Testing Revolutionized - Automate from day ONE for automated progressive testing!

I would like to invite experts on this forum to comment on this new technology - SCIMITAR for which we have now filed a patent application also - www.sapient.com/scimitar !

With this technology, we are enabling automation for progressive testing (first time testing of new features or new applications) versus the current approach of automating the regression test bed! With this approach you get an automated regression test bed for FREE.

Further more, we are providing a visutal test authoring tool to write these automated test cases which is then so easy to use that manual testers can use it to write these automated test cases (while developers are busy writing code for new applications or for new features). Later, QTP code is generated at run-time to run these test cases in automated fashion.

With this testers can write up to 60% more automated test cases per day compared to number of test cases they typically write manually and 1000% (yes thousand percentage) more test cases per day comapred to number of automated test cases that an automation engineer typically creates per day.

You can read more about it at http://www.sapient.com/scimitar and request for a white paper also.

Please do let us know what you think about it.

EuroSTAR Tutorial Day - Malmö, Sweden

EuroSTAR Tutorial Day - Malmö, Sweden - September 22nd
EuroSTAR will hold a Tutorial Day in Malmö on September 22nd where attendees will learn from renowned test gurus,
Lee Copeland and John Fodeh.
The two full-day courses will run from 9am - 5.30pm. The price for a full day Tutorial is €580


A: Test Management: Roles, Organisation and Processes - Lee Copeland, Software Quality Engineering, USA
The key to successful testing is effective and timely planning. Lee Copeland introduces proven test planning methods and techniques, including the Master Test Plan and level-specific test plans for acceptance, system, integration, and unit testing ...Read More


B: Establishing an Effective Test Metrics Program - John Fodeh, Hewlett Packard, Denmark

This course shows how to establish a set of metrics to support development and testing with estimating, planning, predicting and monitoring. Learn how to collect, analyze, present and communicate metrics effectively ... Read More


Places on each Tutorial are limited so contact us today on +353 91 514470 to guarantee your place at what promises to be a fantastic training experience.
Members of SAST receive a 5% discount on Tutorial Fee's.
Group Discounts available.

Book Now!
Click here for more Information

The Future of Software Testing discussed by James Whittaker and Randall Rice!

EuroSTAR Live 30 minute Webinar.
Join this year's Programme Chair - Bob van de Burgt, together with Keynote Speakers James Whittaker and Randall Rice for a sneak preview of what is in store for you at EuroSTAR 2008, followed by a Q&A session. Don't miss your chance to see these world-class presenters in action.

Date: Wednesday, 11th June, 2008
Time: 2:00pm Dublin- London / 3:00pm CET
Duration: 30 mins

•James Whittaker will discuss ‘The End of Testing As We Know It’
•Randall Rice will discuss ‘Trends That May Shape the Future of Software Testing'
•Followed by a Q&A session- ask the experts your questions!

Recorded version of this webinar is available in our Webinar Archive

EuroSTAR 2008 Programme Now Available!

We are excited to announce the EuroSTAR 2008 Conference Programme is now available online. This year's Programme Chair, Bob van de Burgt and his committee have brought together an outstanding line-up of world class speakers and innovating topics relating to the conference theme -"The Future of Software Testing"

View Programme Today!!!

Win TWO Tickets To The UEFA EURO 2008 Final!!!

This Competition is now Closed!


Congratulations to the winner Henk van Merode, from KLM, Netherlands!!!

EuroSTAR 2008 is giving you the chance to win TWO tickets to the UEFA EURO 2008 Final taking place this June in Vienna!

EuroSTAR 2008 Call For Papers Deadline - Friday, 7th March!

Read the Call for Papers 2008 today. This is your chance to submit your suggested talk for the EuroSTAR 2008 conference programme.

EuroSTAR 2008 conference theme - 'The Future of Software Testing'

Find out more...

What should every professional software tester know?

As part of the Professionalism in IT initiative, the British Computer Society (BCS) recently asked for input in order to produce a Core Body of Knowledge for IT professionals. The aim of this work is to counter the “silo effect” that has resulted from increasing specialisation within IT:

“As the scope of IT has broadened, those working in IT have become increasingly specialised. As a result, IT professionals have less understanding of what each other do, are less able to work effectively together and are less likely to know who to turn to when faced with problems beyond their own competence.”

I’d be interested in what you think every professional software tester should know, especially with respect to those areas of knowledge that fall outside the domain of software testing.

Please share your thoughts on this topic.

Defining the profession - what next?

Following my keynote at EuroSTAR, a number of people wanted to know, “What do we do next to develop the profession?” and other people saying to me, “We have already started on this by…” so here are just some of the ideas and some of the projects already underway which you could join.

A group from Norway are already looking at links with universities to provide a improved tester education. This is from the Norwegian special interest group – visit http://dataforeningen.no/FgdLS4k.ips and http://dataforeningen.no/?module=Articles;action=ArticleFolder.publicOpenFolder;ID=1930

In the UK, the UK Testing Board is seeking volunteers to help write exam questions; visit the UK Board on www.uktb.org and email info@uktb.org.uk if you want to be part of the exam question group

Two survey activities are taking place; both researchers would value your input and their research will help us have a greater understanding of current position and what we need to do next.

• Brett Sumner is carrying out a survey and interviews for an MBA to look at the evolution of the IT profession and the relationship between IT and the business, and the links to his survey are in the December EuroSTAR Newsletter and are:

For general IT end users, business and management: http://www.surveyconsole.com/console/TakeSurvey?id=416482

For IT practitioners, IT management, etc. : http://www.surveyconsole.com/console/TakeSurvey?id=411081

• Nick Pearce – who spoke at EuroSTAR on cultural aspects of professionalism – is starting research for an MSC dissertation “An investigation into the discipline of software testing and its transition towards a profession.” Nick is looking for volunteers to interview, so please contact him on nick.pearce@infuse.it if you are happy to be interviewed.

If you are interested in the IT route map for development of the profession, look at www.ifip.org and click on “projects”. You’ll also find your country’s IT professional body, if you are not sure what it is.

If you are interested in certification schemes, have a look at the International Software Testing Qualification Board website, www.istqb.org. If you want to look at alternatives, have a look at the debates on the Association for Software Testing website http://www.associationforsoftwaretesting.org/
for discussion of certification schemes in an interview with Cem Kaner.

Two people from France said they would be interested in a special interest group in France – so I have put them in touch with each other – if you know of a SIG in France, we could pass that information on, or if you also want a SIG in France, again, we could put you in touch with each other.

If you are involved with any other initiatives or projects, why not write a short piece for the EuroSTAR newsletter to let everyone know what you are doing?

A number of people said that they are interested in continuing to discuss ideas. So, let’s use the EuroSTAR blog to do that as it already exists! But be aware this will not be “my” group as some of you have suggested! This will be “your” group – for you to control, keep alive and keep interesting! For you to agree, disagree, debate and try out ideas. For you to communicate, form plans and form groups to make things happen! So this is the start of a blog-place for you to add to and discuss ideas...

Thanks for your time. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Isabel Evans

Upcoming EuroSTAR Webinar- Thursday, 15th November.

'Regulating Professional Competence: How do we know we are fit to practice software testing?'
-Presented By Isabel Evans, Testing Solutions Group, UK.

Date: Thursday, 15th November, 2007
Time: 10:00 am London-Dublin / 11:00am CET
Duration: 30 minutes

Key Points
• Education and experience – how professions define competence levels
• Qualification - how professions regulate qualification levels for entry
• Evidence for competence level - how professions regulate individual career progress.

Biography
Isabel Evens, Testing Solutions Group, UK
Isabel is a Principal Consultant at Testing Solutions Group with over 20 years experience in the IT industry, including development of procedures, standards and methods, test management, test design and quality management. As well as presenting seminars and training courses to clients, Isabel has spoken on software quality, testing and test management at conferences in the UK, Europe and the USA. Her book, “Achieving Software Quality Through Teamwork” was published by Artech in May 2004. Isabel is a Certified Fellow of the British Computer Society. After 4 years study part time, Isabel qualified in 2006 with an RHS Advanced Certificate in Horticulture.

Register Today!

and

Save this event to your calendar!

EuroSTAR Webinar - Thursday, 11th October.

'How To Develop A Reliable Test Effort Estimation'
- Presented By Ruud Teunissen, Polteq IT Services, The Netherlands

Date: Thursday, 11th October, 2007
Time: 10:00 am London-Dublin / 11:00am CET
Duration: 30 minutes

Key Points
• Even with little or almost no information available, it is possible to define a global estimate. By asking and answering a few questions, your estimate becomes more accurate.
• The “average” project is a myth! There are always differences that influence the required test effort. Learn how to create an approach for effort estimation that you can tune and that is reliable, defendable and negotiable.
• It's better to be honest than to admit you did not tell the whole truth at the start. It's essential for any estimate!

Biography
Ruud Teunissen, Polteq IT Services, The Netherlands
In the testing world since 1989, Ruud Teunissen has held numerous test functions in different organizations and projects: tester, test specialist, test consultant, test manager, etcetera. Ruud is co-author of Software Testing- Guide to the TMap® Approach and is a frequent speaker at (inter)national conferences and workshops. He was a member of the program committee for Quality Week Europe and EuroSTAR. Ruud is currently an International Test Consultant at POLTEQ IT Services BV.

Register Now!

and

Save this event to your calendar!

Win A FREE Conference Place At EuroSTAR 2007

This competition is now closed.

To coincide with this year's Early Bird Deadline of Friday September 28th, we are giving you the chance to win a FREE conference place at EuroSTAR 2007. Simply click the link below to enter our competition and you could be joining us in Stockholm for Europe's premier software testing conference!

Next EuroSTAR Webinar - Wednesday, 5th September!

An Introduction to Testing on Agile Teams – The Practices & Beyond: presented by Antony Marcano, testingReflections.com, UK.

Date: Wednesday, 5th September, 2007
Time: 10:00 am London-Dublin / 11:00am CET
Duration: 30 minutes



Abstract: An increasing number of organisations are considering, or are in the process of, adopting Agile software development practices. Often, how testers integrate into this process is an afterthought. Worse still, organisations assume that it changes nothing about how testers function and operate. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, a capable Agile team can change the very raison d’etre of a tester in all the ways that testers have often hoped for. No longer does the tester *need* to be the gatekeeper of quality; the whole development team cares about quality like never before. No longer are testers at the end of the process; testers are involved from the outset of the project!

During this webinar, Antony discusses:

Key Points
• What is it that makes a team ‘Agile’? – Practices such as Test Driven Development are a reflection of underlying values and goals. It’s the adoption of these values and goals that allows a team to gain the greatest benefit from adopting an Agile approach to software development.

• What are the common ‘Gotchas’ for testers on Agile teams? – For example, extraordinarily short iterations producing software with end-to-end features can catch out many testing teams. This is especially true if the test team is used to being segregated from the developers as a separate team and/or rely on large amounts of manually executed scripted tests.

• What role do testers play and how can you deliver the most value? – Your primary role is no longer just to inform the project of how the software doesn’t work, but to be a welcomed guide who helps, before the first line of code is written, to make sure that the software does work.

Register Now for this Webinar!

Checklist for Test Preparation

Listed below are questions/suggestions for systematically planning and preparing software testing.

• Have you planned for an overall testing schedule and the personnel required, and associated training requirements?


• Have the test team members been given assignments?


• Have you established test plans and test procedures for


• module testing,


• integration testing,


• system testing, and


• acceptance testing?


• Have you designed at least one black-box test case for each system function?


• Have you designed test cases for verifying quality objectives/factors (e.g. reliability, maintainability, etc.)?


• Have you designed test cases for verifying resource objectives?


• Have you defined test cases for performance tests, boundary tests, and usability tests?


• Have you designed test cases for stress tests (intentional attempts to break system)?


• Have you designed test cases with special input values (e.g. empty files)?


• Have you designed test cases with default input values?


• Have you described how traceability of testing to requirements is to be demonstrated (e.g. references to the specified functions and requirements)?


• Do all test cases agree with the specification of the function or requirement to be tested?


• Have you sufficiently considered error cases? Have you designed test cases for invalid and unexpected input conditions as well as valid conditions?


• Have you defined test cases for white-box-testing (structural tests)?


• Have you stated the level of coverage to be achieved by structural tests?


• Have you unambiguously provided test input data and expected test results or expected messages for each test case?


• Have you documented the purpose of and the capability demonstrated by each test case?


• Is it possible to meet and to measure all test objectives defined (e.g. test coverage)?


• Have you defined the test environment and tools needed for executing the software test?


• Have you described the hardware configuration an resources needed to implement the designed test cases?


• Have you described the software configuration needed to implement the designed test cases?


• Have you described the way in which tests are to be recorded?


• Have you defined criteria for evaluating the test results?


• Have you determined the criteria on which the completion of the test will be judged?


• Have you considered requirements for regression testing?

EuroSTAR Webinar Archive

Did you miss last month's webinar? Now you can watch it at a time that suits you! We now have recorded versions available for both our May and June live webinars in our archive.

Webinar Archive...

EuroSTAR Live Webinars

Using Lessons Learned to Challenge ERP Projects -
presented by Paul Gerrard, Gerrard Consulting, UK

At EuroSTAR we know you have a busy schedule full of deadlines and meetings. Our solution is to offer live 30 minute webinars on the latest testing topics presented by some of the industry's leading experts.

A very valuable half an hour!

Date: Thursday, June 14th, 2007
Time: 10:00 am Dublin- London / 11:00am CET
Duration: 30 mins

Key points
• Hear how lessons learned in past implementations can help you to avoid the mistakes of the past
• See some examples of real-world ERP failures and lessons learned
• Hear how the lessons learned provide a framework for future Test Strategies

Register Now!

EuroSTAR 2007 Conference Programme Launched Today!

EuroSTAR is Europe’s ultimate testing experience…
3-6 December, Stockholm, Sweden!

Four action packed days of testing, training, discovery, networking and much more.
Check out our line up of 14 exceptional tutorials, over 40 track sessions and world-class keynote speakers, giving you more choice than ever before!
This year’s conference theme 'Defining the Profession'- is intended to be inclusive and will look at all aspects of software testing. Your participation will make this a conference to remember.

View the EuroSTAR 2007 Conference Programme just launched today!

Registration is now open, secure your place at the most educational and inspiring testing event this year!

RadView Launches World's First Commercial-Grade Open Source Internet Performance Testing Product into $1 Billion Market

WebLOAD, created by the co-founder of Mercury Interactive and backed by 1,600 commercial deployments and 250 engineering years, adopts GPL

SAN RAMON, Calif., April 11, 2007. RadView Software Ltd. (OTCBB: RDVWF), today launched WebLOAD Open Source, the world's first commercial-grade open source Internet performance testing solution. RadView will now focus on products that are based on open source to offer customers a solid alternative to high-cost proprietary performance testing solutions that are often too difficult to implement and lack the flexibility to properly meet customer needs.

WebLOAD Open Source, licensed under the GNU Public License (GPL) version 2, is based on WebLOAD, the company's flagship product that is already deployed at 1,600 sites. Immediately available for free download and use, WebLOAD is a commercial-grade open source project with more than 250 engineering years of product development.

"Current proprietary solutions are too costly and too inflexible, prohibiting developers from tackling performance issues correctly," said Ilan Kinreich chief strategist of RadView and a co-founder of Mercury Interactive. "RadView's open source approach will foster innovation, expand the use of performance testing, provide the foundation for an open source testing ecosystem, and help to define testing standards. Ultimately, open source testing tools will be the key catalyst to improve the quality of Internet applications."

"RadView is embracing an open source approach for building, marketing and selling software," said Yochai Hacohen, RadView CEO. "The power of the open source ecosystem, will make WebLOAD a better product, reduce time to market and increase WebLOAD's reach, enabling WebLOAD to become the de facto standard for performance testing of Internet applications."

RadView supports and distributes WebLOAD under a commercial open source business model. WebLOAD Open Source is a fully functional, commercial-grade performance testing product that is and will always be freely available. Companies that require commercial support, additional productivity features and compatibility with third-party protocols have the option of purchasing WebLOAD Professional directly from RadView.

About RadView

RadView Software Ltd. (OTCBB: RDVWF), is a commercial open source company that develops, supports, and sells WebLOAD, the world's leading commercial-grade open source performance testing solution. Deployed at over 1,600 customers and built with 250 engineering years, WebLOAD improves the Internet experience for everyone by helping developers build high quality Internet applications. More information on WebLOAD Open Source is available at http://www.webload.org/. Commercial customers seeking support, additional productivity features and compatibility with third-party protocols should visit http://www.radview.com/ or call 1-888-RADVIEW