STANZ 2013 Speakers

At STANZ 2013 there will be keynote presentations and workshops to choose from and, as always, the speakers will be around all day, allowing you the chance to pick their brains.

Best known as a lead editor for How to Reduce the Cost of Software Testing, Matt Heusser is a well-respected, independent technologist for hire, with expertise in software testing, project management, writing, development and systems improvement.

Matt sits on the board of directors for the Association for Software Testing, is a contributing editor to Software Test and Quality Assurance Magazine, and his blogs (he has several) consistently get top ratings for software testing, Agile development, and development management.

You can often find Matt at software testing conferences; he has presented at Google's Test Automation Conference along with multiple presentations at STAREast, the Software Test Professionals conference, the Better Software Conference, and many more. 12th Annual STANZ is the first conference to bring Matt to NZ and we're excited to introduce him to all you Kiwi Testers.

As well as his keynote presentation "The Great Game of Testing" where Matt outlines how to "win" said game, he will also be running the workshop "Agile Planning and Organising (Tester Version)". Matt can teach you how to reduce the cost of projects, code cleanly and test beautifully and is the founding instructor of the Miagi-Do School of Software Testing (find out about that here and here).

Matt's full bio is here

Matt Heusser presents the opening Keynote at STANZ

The Great Game of Testing

Professional sports players are known to play the game for fame and fortune - but also for the Love of the Game.

If software testing were a game, how would you win? How can we change the way we test to make winning more likely - and what does it mean to play for "Love of the Game of Testing"?

Matt Heusser walks you through these questions and more, providing thoughtful commentary from both his own experiences, but also modern game theory, about how we, the folks in software testing, can improve our game ... including a few things to try tomorrow.

Get hands-on with Matt Heusser as he takes you through

Agile Planning and Organising (Tester Version)

Writing down what to build on little cards is the easy part. The hard part is figuring out how long the work will take, how and when to do it. 

This hands-on workshop begins with a simulation of the actual software project planning process, then moves quickly into specifics, including different models for planning and how to analyse your existing projects

You'll leave with a toolbox of techniques to do planning, how to separate test planning from project planning, communication tips to deal when hopes don't quite match reality, along with a few ways to take skills to test software products, turn them, and use them to test the project plan. 

Testers who participate in this workshop will find new ways to leverage their existing skills, while project managers and other leaders may find a way to bring out their inner tester to drive projects to success.

Sharon Robson
(NZ/AU)
blog

Sharon was recognised as one of the 13 most influential women Software Testers in the world by US magazine Software Test & Performance in 2010. She has spoken at STANZ, Agile Australia, ANZTB conference, ISTQB Special Interest Groups, Test Professional Network (TPN), at STARWest (USA), and has presented to the US Department of Defense. As well as high course participant scores, Sharon also gets great conference feedback for her entertaining and informative style.

She is generous with her time and always keen to meet and talk to testers or anyone involved in software development. At last year's STANZ event she was the last person out of the room in the evening and the first one back in the morning and we're delighted she will be speaking at Fusion.

Sharon was a founding member of the Australia and New Zealand Testing Board (ANZTB) and served on it from 2005 until 2010 and was Chair of the ISTQB Marketing Working Group from 2008 until 2010, responsible for managing and organising the international marketing approach for ISTQB.