Judy Mckay

Planit Software Testing

I have spent the last 25+ years working in the software industry with particular focus on QA and testing. I owned a training and consulting company for 10 years and have authored two books: "Managing the Test People" and “A Software Test Engineer’s Handbook”.

In addition to being on the board of directors of the American board of the ISTQB, I work for Planit Software Testing in New Zealand as a Principal Consultant. I established the Christchurch testing team in 2014 and continue to manage that growing team as well as providing consulting and training services to the New Zealand market.

Quality is Key

Friday 10:50am - 11:20am, ITP Conference (ITP 3 Room)

Objective:

New Zealand can and should become a world leader in ICT. PMs must ensure we are building software that will meet the needs of the current and emerging markets. Building in quality is key to creating, delivering and maintaining the software that the world needs and will soon demand.

Abstract:

As the world becomes more dependent on software, new markets will continue to open and will be captured by those who can meet the rising needs quickly. It’s not just new capabilities that will be needed. Usability and performance will be critical. Reliability and accuracy will be expectations.

The competition will be fierce and PMs will be expected to manage more and more software development projects to meet this growing demand.

So what can we do to build software that will meet today’s needs, allow us to move into new markets quickly and easily, and ensure our market presence worldwide? Quality is key. We have to build high quality products. This is not a new concept and it’s even more valid today. Building a quality product from the start results in less expense, shorter schedules and happier customers. Who guides this quality effort? The project manager. Only the PM can demand quality and ensure that it is delivered.

This presentation will focus on eight steps a PM should follow to effectively manage quality projects in an environment that is dominated by the need for more features, faster time to market and reduced cost. Quality steps + quality focus = successful projects.

1. Pick the right lifecycle
2. Hold vendors accountable
3. Understand and track the cost of quality
4. Review the requirements – don’t jump to code
5. Set unit testing expectations and verify they were achieved
6. Plan for and execute the right testing (integration and system)
7. Conduct an effective UAT
8. Reward for quality, not schedule