Topic: Test design and development
Date: Saturday June 27, 2009
Location: DeVry University Indianapolis Center
Time: 9:00 AM - Noon
Format: Half-day workshop

In this workshop, we will focus on what past IWST attendee Brett Leonard calls "the big WHAT" - test design and development. We'd like to learn more about how you decide what to test and you organize your tests to make the most of your limited project time. Experience reports might cover topics such as: how do you go about analyzing an application and business process to determine what to test, how you distinguish between new, legacy, customer-facing, business-facing, off the shelf, and custom developed products, or how you look to integrate functional, automated, performance, regression, or security focused criteria into your analysis. etc... Specific techniques, project examples, or artifacts are fair play for this workshop (if you'd like to talk about them). We'd also be interested in experiences on training other testers on how to focus on "the big WHAT."

On Saturday August 1, 2009, for the second time, John McConda and his family will be hosting the IWST cookout. It's a relaxed event where you can enjoy some food, games, and informal discussions about work, life, and testing. Family, friends, and children are welcome. Contact John McConda for more information on the event.

Topic: Testing mobile devices
Date: Friday August 28, 2009
Location: Mobius Labs
Time: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Format: All-day workshop

Mobile devices, or hand-held devices in general, are becoming more common as platforms for everyday software. Testing on these platforms can have some interesting differences from testing on more traditional platforms. It can also have some interesting constraints. Experience reports for this workshop could cover test design or execution for mobile phones, PDAs, or other hand-held devices. We are interested in how you address some of the challenges of testing on these platforms. We are interested in what participants have done to work around those issues. It could include testing on physical devices or emulators, embedded or user-facing software, automated or manual testing.

Topic: Automation and performance logging
Date: Saturday September 26, 2009
Location: DeVry University Indianapolis Center
Time: 9:00 AM - Noon
Format: Half-day workshop

A large part of the test design problem for automated and performance tests is figuring out what to log and when to log it. It's often difficult to know down the road what type of information would have been helpful when the tests were originally developed. And going back and making updates is often more time consuming then designing for test log extensibility upfront. In this workshop, we'll be looking for experience reports that look at some of the tips and tricks people use when they decide what to log when they design their tests. We're interested in what's worked, what hasn't, and lessons learned. Experience reports around specific projects, or general design techniques, are welcome.

Topic: Time management for testers
Date: Thursday October 29, 2009
Location: Nora Branch Library
Time: 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Format: Panel discussion

Many knowledge workers struggle with effective time management. In testing, it often feels like this problem is compounded due to how much we need to learn as testers (about the product, the business, the technology, etc...), balancing test design with test execution, working with others on the project team, and personal development. We don't know if testers have more demanding time constraints then others on the project team, but at times, it feels like it. As managers, we've been asked over and over again how someone can more effectively use their time. In this panel discussion, we'll try to bring together some people who can answer those questions. Panel members to be announced closer to the date of the panel discussion.

A panel discussion is new for us in 2009. If it works well, we'll look at doing more of them in the future. We will target four or five people for the panel, and we'll have a facilitator to ask questions and to make sure time is distributed as fairly as possible. If we're successful, it will look a lot like what IQAA did in 2005. We will try our best to not limit attendance, but it will depend on the venue we can obtain.

Topic: Managing your focus while doing exploratory testing
Date: Saturday November 21, 2009
Location: DeVry University Indianapolis Center
Time: 9:00 AM - Noon
Format: Half-day workshop

For many, the most difficult part of exploratory testing is managing focus. It's staying on mission, managing the various test ideas, and knowing when you've hit good enough coverage so you can move on to the next problem. When testing, it's easy to get distracted by both the noise of the external world (email, cell phones, that guy sitting next to you) as well as by the application you're testing (What was that weird screen flicker?, Do you think the developer put a constraint on the database for this value?, I wonder what would happen if....?). It's our experience that different people have different ways they manage focus while testing. In this workshop we'd like to look at experience reports where testers share some of their techniques for how they manage their focus while testing. What works and what doesn't. How have their techniques changed over time, and how do they change based on what they are testing? Experience reports can cover personal behaviors, documentation techniques, tools, pairing, work environment, or anything else that helps you focus while testing.