Throughout the years, Lightning Talks have been a popular part of the STAR conferences. If you’re not familiar with the concept, Lightning Talks consists of a series of five-minute talks by different speakers within one presentation period. Lightning Talks are the opportunity for speakers to deliver their single biggest bang-for-the-buck idea in a rapid-fire presentation. And now, lightning has struck the STAR keynotes. Some of the best-known experts in testing will step up to the podium and give you their best shot of lightning. Get ten keynote presentations for the price of one—and have some fun at the same time.

1. K3
Keynote
10/2/2013 4:30:00 PM
"Lightning Strikes the Keynotes"
Presented by:
Lee Copeland
Software Quality Engineering
Brought to you by:
340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073
888-268-8770 ∙ 904-278-0524 ∙ sqeinfo@sqe.com ∙ www.sqe.com

2. Lee Copeland
Software Quality Engineering
With more than thirty years of experience as an information systems professional at commercial
and nonprofit organizations, Lee Copeland has held technical and managerial positions in
applications development, software testing, and software process improvement. Lee has
developed and taught numerous training courses on software development and testing issues
and is a well-known speaker with Software Quality Engineering. Lee presents at software
conferences in the United States and abroad.

3. 9/23/2013
Lightning Strikes
The Keynotes
Moderated by
Lee Copeland
lee@sqe.com
Featuring
James Bach
Jon Bach
Rob Sabourin
Dawn Haynes
Melissa Tondi
Bill Curtis
Julie Gardiner and
Pablo Garcia Munos
Geoff Horne
Jennifer Bonine
Hans Buwalda
Griffin Jones
Clinton Sprauve
Pradeep Soundararajan
Matt Heusser
1

4. 9/23/2013
James Bach
2

5. 9/23/2013
Jon Bach
3

6. 9/23/2013
Julie Gardiner
and
Pablo Garcia
Munos
4

7. 9/23/2013
Jennifer Bonine
5

8. 9/23/2013
Hans Buwalda
Misconceptions of
Test Automation
(and keyword testing)
Hans Buwalda
6

9. 9/23/2013
" automation is easy, no need to think
about it much "
Comments:

I'm still waiting to see my first "easy" automation project

Development is hard, testing is harder, automated testing is the
hardest

If you can't do automation well, be ready to lose time and money

However, if you can do automated testing well... good for time-tomarket, good for quality-to-market, good for business bottom line

Timely automated functional testing is particularly also a holy grail
for agile projects ("same sprint")
" test automation means automating
manual tests "
Comments:
+
=

A car is not the same as a carriage with an engine

Good automated testing is not the same as good automation of good
manual testing

Automating manual test designs tends to be cumbersome, uninspiring,
maintenance sensitive, and hard to scale

How you organize and design your tests is the main driver for automation
success
7

10. 9/23/2013
" keywords is a method "
Comments:

Keywords are not much more than a format to write tests in, in itself
not much different from (good) coding of test cases

Some of the worst tests I have seen were keyword tests

I do believe however that keywords are just about the only way to go
for big and complex projects (in addition to exploratory testing). They
just need a method

In my approach organization of tests into "test modules" plays a
central role
Example of a method with keywords:
"Action Based Testing"
Test Module Plan
Test Module 1
Test Module 2
Objectives
Objectives
Tests
Test Module N
Tests
...
Objectives
Tests
Actions
AUTOMATION
interaction test
check prop
control
log in
log in
user name jdoe
password StarEast
window
enter
enter
business test
user
window
value
control
property
expected
log in
ok button
enabled
true
log in
password
jdoe
StarEast
first
last
brand
John
John
Renter
Renter
Ford
Escape
Chevrolet Volt
last
rent car
rent car
model
total
check bill Renter 140.42
8

11. 9/23/2013
" to do automated testing you need to
be a good programmer "
Comments:

A C++ programmer who is working on an airplane control system is not
therefore automatically a good airline pilot

A good programmer is not automatically a good tester, or vice versa

I therefore don't believe we should replace all testers with "developers in test"

Successful automation depends much more on test design and test
organization than on technical skills

Even automation itself is a craft that is different from regular programming
" you need an ROI analysis to
determine which tests to automate "
Comments:
$
$ $$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $$
$ $ $ $
$ $

One of the most commonly found statements on test automation

In my view, in a good automated testing effort, the automation itself is
a secondary practical matter

I therefore prefer to see an ROI on the tests themselves, rather than
on their automation
(ROI stands for "Return On Investment")
9

12. 9/23/2013
" automated tests are dumb "
Comments:

It is the responsibility of the testers to ensure tests are not dumb


lame tests are not likely to find interesting bugs
automation is not an excuse

True is that automated tests are often mechanical and boring, but they
don't have to be

Try to be focused, smart, and mean to the system under test . . .

To help: distinguish between an analytical activity ("what to test") and
creative activity ("how to test")
" homework "
Are these misconceptions ???

" if there are automation problems, debug your automated tests"

"test automation is the same as programming"

"the most important activity in an automation effort is selecting a tool"

"automation is most suitable for regression testing"

"test automation is a technical challenge"

"if you use keywords your test automation will be successful"

"to have more automation, you just need more people"
10

13. 9/23/2013
Rob Sabourin
11

14. 9/23/2013
Dawn Haynes
12

15. 9/23/2013
Geoff Horne
13

16. 9/23/2013
Griffin Jones
WREST
Workshop on Regulated Software Testing
Software subject to review by
an internal or external regulatory body
14

17. 9/23/2013
More Information
 Next WREST: October 4th 2013
 Contact:
John McConda, Griffin Jones
 Website: wrestworkshop.com
A Simple Tool …
15

18. 9/23/2013
Blank Poster Paper
What is Meaningful To You
Quotes or Memory Triggers
Information Radiator
Easily Accessible (Digitize it)
Listen for the Music it is Singing to You
16

19. 9/23/2013
17

20. 9/23/2013
18

21. 9/23/2013
19

22. 9/23/2013
Clinton Sprauve
20

23. 9/23/2013
Melissa Tondi
21

24. 9/23/2013
Bill Curtis
22

25. 9/23/2013
Pradeep Soundararajan
23

26. 9/23/2013
Matt Heusser
24

27. 9/23/2013
Our Thanks To
James Bach
Jon Bach
Rob Sabourin
Dawn Haynes
Melissa Tondi
Bill Curtis
Julie Gardiner and
Pablo Garcia Munos
Geoff Horne
Jennifer Bonine
Hans Buwalda
Griffin Jones
Clinton Sprauve
Pradeep Soundararajan
Matt Heusser
25