QW2001 Panel 4P Mr. Brian Lawrence (Coyote Valley Software) How DO You Test Internet Software?

Key Points

• What is working testing Internet software
• How to analyze the your situation to help form a testing strategy
• Experience reports on Internet testing from the real world

Presentation Abstract

There have been quite a few vendors suddenly proclaiming that they are “the Internet Experts” or “the E-Business Experts” within the last year or so. These are the same vendors that were claiming something else prior to that. No doubt they have something useful to contribute, but where did their instant Internet expertise come from? Do they really have the last word on what to do, or are they just re-positioning what they were already doing to conform to the latest jargon?

How about asking your questions of people who’ve been there and done Internet testing?

This is a 90 minute panel proposal to discuss real circumstances testing Internet software. My panelists will tell you how they figured out testing strategies, and what types of testing they chose to perform. They’ll tell you how well it worked, and what they learned. You’ll have the opportunity to pose questions about your circumstances, and get their opinions on how to proceed. I’ve chosen thoughtful panelists who have had a wide variety of testing experience, both in Internet as well as other types of software. After I introduce the panelists, each panelist will take a few minutes to present their perspective on testing Internet software. Then I will open the rest of the session to audience questions.

About the Panel Moderator

Brian Lawrence has moderated panels in a number of conferences, including at several past Quality Weeks. He has served as a program chair for the SEPG’97 Conference as well as the 1998 International Conference on Requirements Engineering. Brian teaches and facilitates requirements analysis, peer reviews, project planning, risk management, life cycles, and design specification techniques. Brian serves on the editorial board of IEEE Software and as the editor of Software Testing and Quality Engineering magazine.

Panel Members

James Bach heads up Satisfice, a software testing consulting firm with a world class test lab located in rural Northern Virginia. James has extensive experience in a variety of testing situations, including for Silicon Valley startups, and larger organizations such as Microsoft, Borland, and Apple Computers.

Elisabeth Hendrickson is currently an independent consultant specializing in software quality. With over a decade in the software industry, Elisabeth has participated on many projects--some successful, some not successful, and some disasters. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Elisabeth was the Director of Quality Engineering and Project Management at Aveo Inc.

Keith Stobie is the QA Process & Test Architect for BEA Systems, a leading provider of e-business solutions. Prior to working a BEA, Keith served in a leading role in defining testing strategies at firms like Informix and Tandem Computers.

Melora Svoboda is the Director of Engineering Services at Peakstone in Silicon Valley. Melora has worked in senior QA management positions at several e-business software firms on the west coast. Prior to that she defined testing strategies for Microsoft and other software firms.