| The Software Quality Advisor Newsletter February, 2010 You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up at my web site, www.riceconsulting.com. This newsletter is published monthly by Randy Rice of Rice Consulting Services, Inc. |
 Greetings!Welcome to this issue of the newsletter. Many people are interested in how to measure their testing efforts. So, the featured article is on what it takes to grow a good set of testing measures and metrics. We have a lot of exciting things going on here at Rice Consulting that will help grow your software testing success, such as new public courses for advanced software testing certification. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know at
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Instant Metrics There aren't any instant software testing metrics, at least none that give much meaning. If you are looking for instant testing metrics, sorry, this article won't provide them. I confess this title is a "hook" to get your attention. However, if you are willing to consider that it takes time to grow and understand metrics, then keep reading.
Discounts for Federal, State and Local Government Customers! After months of hard effort, we are finally on the GSA schedule so that Federal, State and Local governmental agencies in the United States can now easily obtain our services. These offerings include ISTQB Foundation and Advanced Level Training. To find us, just go to http://www.gsaadvantage.gov and search for Rice Consulting. Go Deeper in Your Software Testing Career by Pursuing ISTQB Advanced Level Certification. Rice Consulting Services has teamed with Grove Consultants (http://www.grove.co.uk) to provide an outstanding training experience for advanced level certification. The trainer for Rice Consulting is Randall W. Rice, CTAL, with over 20 years software testing training experience in major organizations worldwide. The materials are licensed from Grove Consultants in the U.K. If you have seen any conference tutorials or presentations by Grove Consultants, you know the high quality and engaging nature of their presentations and materials. We are excited to launch the first of these advanced ISTQB certification courses as public courses held in Oklahoma City starting in May of 2010. To see the course schedule, click here. Software Testing Courses in Rome - June 14 - 17, 2010 I'll be in Rome this summer teaching two courses: Innovative Software Testing (2 days) - June 14 - 15, 2010, Rome, Italy Practical Software Test Automation - June 16 - 17, 2010, Rome, Italy Want a Class in Your City? If you have six or more people interested in a particular topic, call me at 405-691-8075 and let me know. I'm happy to bring a course to cities in the USA where there is interest. Virtual Conference on Application Performance Management I'll be speaking at a virtual conference on application performance on Feb 24. My topic will be "Finding, Diagnosing, and Fixing Performance Bugs: Choosing Tools, Refining Best Practices." We're just 2 weeks away from the complimentary virtual seminar 'Application Performance Management: Build, Bug and Lifecycle Strategies.' Gain access to industry experts and real-world practitioners who reveal new insights to boost app performance and ensure it remains a key focus throughout your application development lifecycle. Don't miss this opportunity - register here and mark your calendar: TITLE: Application Performance Management: Build, Bug and Lifecycle Strategies WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 TIME: 9:30 am - 6:00 pm EST WHERE: Your Desktop COST: None
Now on Facebook and Twitter Hey, become one of my fans on Facebook! You can find Rice Consulting at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oklahoma-City-OK/Randy-Rices-Software-Testing-Page/205723278494?ref=ts You can also follow me on Twitter. There are quite a few Randy Rices out there. My Twitter name is "rricetester".
It's a new year with new challenges. You are probably being told to do more with less. You may be finding that it's been awhile since you've had any training. I offer three main vehicles for building skills: Live, in-person training with me as the trainer. Pre-recorded e-learning with 12 months access, even after you finish the course. We have 13 courses now in e-learning format, including our ISTQB Foundation Level course. Live, online training with me or an associate as the trainer. Very economical. You can learn more about our training at http://riceconsulting.com/home/index.php/Table/Software-Testing-Training/  Resource of the MonthEach month, I highlight one or more sites, tools, books, etc. that can help you be more effective and efficient. This month, I want to point you to: Have you ever looked for "an alternative to..." some application or tool? Perhaps one that is less expensive, or easier to use? This site does the looking for you. It covers Windows, Linux, Mac and Online (software as a service or cloud computing). Recently, I was looking for a good "To Do List" application for my Mac and didn't feel like paying $49 for such a basic app. So, I found Simple Task for free. This is a good site to bookmark!   Book Review Managing the Testing Process, 3rd. Ed. by Rex Black  Published by Wiley, 2009, 638 pages In the third edition, Rex extends a work he started in 1998 with the first edition. At that time, and still today, practical books on software test management are in a minority of the books on software testing. This book has become a commonly referenced work on software test management for a reason - it is practical. Two things I really like about this book are that it is very readable and it has broad coverage of test management topics. As a trainer of thousands of test managers, I have learned that many test managers are thrust into the role with little knowledge or preparation. So, my perspective is that test managers need to know the mechanics of the software test profession as well as the managerial and leadership aspects of the job. This book delivers well on both counts. By reading and applying the information in this book, you will learn the testing process from test planning and building the test architecture to building a test team, measuring test results, and conveying those results in a value-added way. Rex covers topics that are very relevant including test outsourcing and the context of projects and software lifecycles. I also very much appreciate the discussion of dealing with the people issues in testing. Just a note on the use of spreadsheets and vendor non-specific tool examples is that once you understand the structure of organizing testware, you can apply that structure in a specific test tool. Plus, not everyone owns a commercial test management tool. I know many people who manage a lot of test items using Excel. I can highly recommend this book to test managers and leaders, as well as people who aspire to be in those roles.
Quote of the Month "Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got." Jim Rohn American Business Philosopher September 17, 1930 - December 5, 2009
Rice Consulting Services, Inc. P.O. Box 892003 Oklahoma City, OK 73189 405-691-8075 | |
Last Updated on Thursday, 11 February 2010 11:47
