SoftEd Update
April 2008 |
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IN THIS ISSUE... |
UPCOMING TRAINING COURSES... |
MASTERCLASS - Rapid Software Testing with James Bach
MASTERCLASS - Mastering the Requirements Process with Suzanne and James Robertson
STANZ 2008 - Interact with Leading International Software Testing Professionals - 7th Annual Conference
RECOMMENDED READING - Great Book - On New Zealand's History and Possible Future
HANDY TOOL - Timezones and Researching for Articles
iPOD DRAW - How to win an iPod
FROM THE MD
In the US, TechRepublic and Global Knowledge publish an annual “IT
Skills and Salary Report” . Personally, I think this is one of the most detailed and thought-provoking of all the IT salary survey reports out there, and their recently published 2008 document certainly makes for interesting reading.
The top “job satisfaction factors” were job stability, higher base salary and a challenging job role. To the question “what is important in considering a new job or staying with your current employer?”, the number one concern, by quite a margin, was “keeping up with skills”.
So, are there any excuses left for not investing in training your staff? When IT talent remains scarce (despite the slowly deflating economy), quality training is a great investment.
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SMALL TEAM LEADERSHIP
26 - 27 May, Auckland
28 - 29 May, Wellington
24 - 25 June, Christchurch
Download a PDF Course Schedule
Martyn Jones
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MASTERCLASS - Rapid Software Testing with James Bach
James Bach (USA) international software testing guru returns to New Zealand in June. James specialises in thinking about, teaching, and performing testing as a sophisticated thinking art. He is part of a community called the Context-Driven School. Some of the best-known names in the testing field are part of this movement.
He calls his approach "Rapid Testing". James’s style of rapid testing is tester-centric (as opposed to technique-centric) and is a blend of heuristic testing, risk-based testing, and exploratory testing. His 3 day
"Rapid Software Testing" course introduces you to a complete testing methodology designed for a world of barely sufficient resources, information, and time. His courses are designed to be provocative and experiential.
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James Bach
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MASTERCLASS - Suzanne & James Robertson will soon be here to deliver "Mastering the Requirements Process"(Parts 1 & 2)
In June we welcome back Suzanne and James Robertson (Atlantic Systems Guild) from the UK to deliver their "Mastering the Requirements Process" course. Both Auckland and Wellington events were sold out last time they were here. There are only limited places remaining - call your Account Manager now if you would like us to hold you a place or click on the course you want to book now!
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Suzanne Robertson
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"Mastering the Requirements Process - Part 2"is scheduled to take place in Auckland on the 19 and 20 June 2008. This two day course is based on the Robertsons' book "Requirements-Led Project Management" (Addison Wesley, 2005), a copy of which is included in the course. It's time to take your requirements to the next level!
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James Robertson
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STANZ 2008 - Interact with leading international software testing professionals - 7th Annual Conference
The region's premier event on software testing providing Practical workshops; Latest tips and techniques; Local case studies; Ideas exchanges; Multiple streams plus several international keynote speakers including:
Erik van Veenendaal (Netherlands), Vice President, ISTQB and Vice Chair TMMi Foundation; half day workshop, Risk Based Testing In Practice - practical experiences at companies such as Philips and Siemens and a keynote The TMMi Model - growing in use internationally.
Ray Arell (USA), Intel Corporation; keynote Moving to an Agile Environment and a workshop Building a SCRUM Based Testing Strategy - experiences at Intel.
STANZ is: “An excellent mix of topics and speakers whether you’re just starting out in the testing world or are an experienced tester looking for those extra ‘nuggets’ of wisdom to further improve your skills."
Click on this link for more speakers and programme details
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Erik van Veenendaal
Ray Arell
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STANZ 2008
11 - 12 August, Wellington, Duxton Hotel
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RECOMMENDED READING - A great book by Steven Carden - New Zealand Unleashed
The author briefly describes New Zealand's history and sketches a possible future based on our ability to innovate and adapt to an "uncertain, complex future". Its a very readable and interesting book which raises a number of important questions we need to look at as a society, and offers some great ideas for our future. This book is available from Amazon.
Click here
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USEFUL LINKS
Are you on the hunt for research articles, white papers, journal articles or similar documents?
Take a look here Top
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TIPS AND TRICKS - When Designing Tests
When designing tests at every test level or test phase, always ask yourself “How will I know?” This enables you to critically analyse the requirement, and identify if it is clear and testable. It will also help you decide what test approach or technique you should use to find out if the test condition has passed or failed.
For example: If the requirement is “The Surname field should only accept standard names”. If your first question is “how will I know?” it means that you drive out the ambiguity in the requirement – i.e. what is a “standard” name? Once the requirement has been refined to become “The surname field should only accept entry names with a maximum of 24 characters”. Then you ask “how will I know?” it means that you will be testing what is and what is not a character, and you will also be testing using Boundary Value Analysis (BVA) for the maximum field size.
One question, “how will I know?” allows you to continually refine your testing, your technique, and your requirements analysis.
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HANDY TOOL
Do you need to contact someone in a different timezone? Do you struggle to find the best time to arrange a videoconference or net-based meeting with several people spread around the globe? Click here
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iPOD DRAW - Each quarter someone will win an iPOD
Every person who attends a Software Education course during each three month period can go into a draw to win an iPOD. Use promotion code
NKS048 when you register to enter the draw. Winners will be notified by email and announced in the newsletter following each draw.
Congratulations to our latest iPOD winner - Joanna Dugdale (Westpac)
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SDC CONFERENCE - A Great Success!
Thanks to everyone who helped to make SDC a successful conference and a special thanks to those who completed their evaluation forms. The two lucky iPOD winners from the evaluation draws are:
Paul Wykes from Genesis Energy (Auckland)
Lynley Smith from Department of Corrections (Wellington)
SDC is set to grow and expand. We look forward to seeing you all in 2009.
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NEW APPOINTMENTS IN SOFTWARE EDUCATION
Two new positions have recently been created within Software Education Group, and we’re over the moon at the calibre of the two
individuals who have moved into these roles.
Tim Moore has joined us as Business Development Manager focusing on building the strength of our analysis & design course suite. An Australian, Tim was previously software development manager within the training department of BMW UK (alongside another 89 people in the training department). He has a stellar record in programming, analysis and design and project management in a number of countries.
Sharon Robson is a highly experienced software tester who comes to us from HP NZ. She is also a board member of the Australasian software testing certification body, ANZTB. Sharon joins Sarah Rees as a specialist software testing Knowledge Engineer (aka “trainer and consultant”). We believe that Software Education now has the most talented software testing training team in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Tim Moore 
Sharon Robson
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