F11-704: Test Process Improvement Adoption: Ants on a Doughnut

Track: Test Process

To anyone outside a testing organization, testing looks like ants on a doughnut; lots of activity with no clear purpose or direction. In some ways this is true since many test organizations develop ad hoc in-house methods to define, develop and implement processes. However, in 2009, Sprint Information Technology’s Enterprise Testing Services (ETS) directorate formally adopted Sogeti’s Test Process Improvement methodology to enhance overall quality while addressing procedural opportunities incident to outsourcing and domestic attrition. This presentation serves to highlight assessment, implementation, migration, and maintenance approaches leveraged by the ETS organization over the last 2 years. We speak directly to the investment required and lessons learned to date, coupled with the emerging requirement to move to the next generation of test quality framework(s).


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Session Speakers:

Shawn HudsonShawn Hudson – Supervisor – Test Engineers, Sprint
Shawn Hudson came to the Sprint Nextel Corporation in 2000 after 15 years in the defense industry. Over the past 25 years, He has held a variety of positions spanning the breadth of the software development lifecycle, and is accomplished in many technical disciplines including engineering, testing, fielding, and customer care activities. Shawn’s subject matter expertise as a Methodologist includes Test Process Improvement (TPI), Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) frameworks development and application. He is a Certified Test Engineer and presently a Supervisor of Test Engineers; he maintains responsibility for the delivery of integrated testing and practical execution of end-to-end testing including connectivity, integration, and user acceptance testing for the Sprint Nextel Corporation. With a range of practical experience across multiple industries and technologies, Shawn provides a unique, qualified, and topical perspective to his presentations. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and is a US Patent holder.


Jill CorbittJill Corbitt – Capability and Process SME, Sprint
Jill Corbitt is a seasoned IT professional, working as a developer, test analyst, test leader, and project manager for over a decade. Jill came to the Sprint Nextel Corporation 12 years ago, and currently plies her trade as a subject matter expert responsible for the development and implementation of departmental testing processes for Sprint Nextel Corporation’s Information Technology Enterprise Testing Services directorate, which tests and delivers in excess of 1 million hours of development and support effort annually. Jill is a Certified Tester Advanced Level – Test Manager and Project Manager Professional (PMP), with a Master’s Degree in Teaching. Her vast experience, affords her a multifaceted perspective, which informs first-hand opportunities to develop test process improvements, coordinate and manage User Acceptance Testing, and implement new test methodologies across her organization. A thought leader, Jill maintains exceptional knowledge related to testing and is routinely called upon to deliver high risk and critical work products.