STPCon Fall 2011 – Dallas, TX

Software testers, test and QA managers, and senior test professionals gathered in Dallas, Texas, October 24 – 27, 2011 for the leading conference on software testing to learn about the latest tools, trends and issues affecting software testing. The conference offered a combination of 40 informative sessions, compelling keynotes, and a variety of optional pre-conference workshops as well as several networking opportunities designed to help attendees solve the challenges they face every day. In addition, the second annual Software Test Luminary Award recipient, Ross Collard, was recognized as a moral and intellectual thought leader who has impacted the industry in multiple ways.

Conference Program: Tracks, Sessions, Speakers & Presentations:

 

Track: Leadership Perspectives for Testers

Understanding the business side of testing is as important as amplifying our approaches and techniques. In this track you will learn how to effectively lead diverse test teams, communicate with stakeholders, and advocate for testing. This track includes topics related to building test teams, leading business testers, handling the challenges of remote teams, communicating the value of testing, and the using metrics in the decision making process.

Track: Test Strategy and Design

Before you begin testing on a project, your team should have a formal or informal test strategy. There are key elements you need to consider when formulating your test strategy, if not, you may be wasting valuable time, money and resources. In this track you will learn the strategic and practical approaches to software testing and test case design, based on the underlying software development methodology. This track includes topics related to developing a test strategy, test estimation, risk management and data management.

Track: Agile Testing

More and more software development organizations are “going Agile”. This track will help participants understand how they can fit traditional test practices in to an Agile environment as well as, explore real-world examples of testing projects and teams in varying degrees of Agile adoption. This track will include topics related to challenges in Agile testing, utilizing Agile testing techniques, coaching an Agile test team, and using games to internalize Agile principles and practices.

Track: Test Process

Test teams are constantly challenged to adjust by evolving project constraints. The ability continually adapt testing processes to meet the changing needs of the project and the organization sets high performing teams apart. Presentations in this track will share methods for enabling teams to more effectively handle project challenges. This track includes real-world approaches to responding to change, leveraging testlists, testing in production, process improvement, and transforming organizations using metrics.

Track: Performance Testing

Performance Testing is about collecting data on how applications perform to assist the development team and the stakeholders make technical and business decisions related to performance risks. In this track you will learn practical skills, tools, and techniques for planning and executing effective performance tests. This track will include topics such as: performance testing virtualized systems, performance anti-patterns, how to quantify performance testing risk, all illustrated with practitioners’ actual experiences doing performance testing.

Track: Test Automation

Which tests can be automated? What tools and methodology can be used for automating functionality verification? Chances are these are some of the questions you are currently facing from your project manager. In this track you will learn how to implement an automation framework and how to organize test scripts for maintenance and reusability, as well as take away tips on how to make your automation framework more efficient. This track includes topics related to test automation architecture, continuous integration, agile automation, and what other tasks you need to perform after you designed your framework and scripted your test cases.

Track: Specialized Application Test Environments

Gone are the days of a cookie cutter piece of software. Software runs in more places and is a cornerstone of more industries than ever before. Mobile devices, cloud computing, specialty medical devices – non-traditional environments pose their own testing challenges. Testing also has to accommodate specialty needs for different industries. This expansion is altering the way we exchange information and do business. In this track participants will learn testing techniques from real-world experiences in these different environments. Topics in this track will include cloud-based testing, testing in regulated industries, testing embedded software and testing mobile applications.

Track: Keynote

Join us for innovative keynotes designed to motivate and inform. These thought provoking general sessions will give you insight into what’s happening in your industry and inspire you to bring back best practices to improve your organization.

Track: Pre-Conference Workshops

Get more out of the conference experience. Pre-Conference workshops are valuable in-depth educational sessions. Register now to take advantage of bundled discounts and educational offerings all in one location.

Track: Open Jam Testing Sessions

Are you looking for a hands-on session? Where you not only discuss testing concepts but actually get to participate in something interactive? If yes, then “Jam Sessions” are made for you! Whether you are looking for a test simulation, games and exercises to teach lateral thinking, a workshop to explain the dynamics of testing to your larger organization, or another creative learning approach, you’ll find it in a Jam Session.

 

Thanks to our Sponsors for making this conference possible:

Compuware


uTest