Software Process Improvement Network
(A-SPIN)
Are we there yet? Anthony Nichols, QA Lead, BearingPoint
To view slides of Anthony Nichols' s August ASPIN presentation on Release Criteria, please click here.
Overview:Testing and QA... that stuff that seems to always be pushed back or compressed as a schedule slide occurs; Can we know a little more about what the goals are and specifically when a release is ready? Even in an agile shop, where TDD, collaboration, solid technique, and collective code ownership prevail... we perhaps still could be smarter about the ultimate release criteria.
Real-world software apps need performance verification, security checks, concurrency testing.... sometimes there are support docs, user manuals. Have we thought about release notes, migration, existing customers? And there is always some functionality that must be for a future release.
Even if we have a plan and some policies - how much plan is enough? How do we know? When are we done?
This talk focuses on Release Criteria and lessons learned about their real-world usage..
- Why we need Release Criteria
- Is the application ready?
- Do we have to stop testing now?
- Using Release Criteria to drive process improvement
- What should be included
- One size doesn't fit all
- Commercial vs Consulting
- Iterative vs Waterfall vs Phased
- Where do UAT and Beta fit
- Optional Program Management Items
About the Speaker:
Anthony Nichols is a QA Lead for Bearingpoint; responsible for over 100
deployed web applications and portals. He has over 12 years experience
in the industry ranging from Computer Games to Government, from Instant
Messaging to Distributed Computing in both traditional and agile environments.
He has created and managed multiple QA/Test teams from the ground up including
defining all QA processes and procedures.