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+===================================================+
+======= Testing Techniques Newsletter (TTN) =======+
+======= ON-LINE EDITION =======+
+======= May 1999 =======+
+===================================================+
TESTING TECHNIQUES NEWSLETTER (TTN), Online Edition, is E-mailed monthly
to support the Software Research, Inc. (SR)/TestWorks user community and
to provide information of general use to the worldwide software quality
and testing community.
Permission to copy and/or re-distribute is granted, and secondary
circulation is encouraged by recipients of TTN-Online provided that the
entire document/file is kept intact and this complete copyright notice
appears with it in all copies. (c) Copyright 2003 by Software Research,
Inc.
========================================================================
INSIDE THE MAY 1999 ISSUE:
o QW'99: The Biggest, Best Quality Week Ever
o Bad Software Blamed for $1.2 Billion Space Failure (Forwarded by
John Favaro)
o eBayla: A New Flavor of Virus (Forwarded by Jeff Kinzli)
o Call for Participation to the European Summer School on
Reliability and Safety of Human-Machine Systems
o Some Very Simplified Rules of English Grammar (Not Quite Anonymous
Email Sent To The Editor By Walter Baziuk)
o When are Your Projects Ready to Ship? by Johanna Rothman
o TestWorks Corner: Hot Items for TestWorks Users
o Reader Comments (Bill Mosteller)
o Is There a Stepwise Approach to Software Testing Process
Improvement? A Birds-of-a-Feather Session.
o TSEPM Availability Notice
o The Product Safety and Liability Prevention Program: What You
Can't Do Without, by Lewis Bass
o 43rd European Quality Congress: Pre-congress on Business
Excellence for Software Organisations
o Special Issue on Developing Fault-Tolerant Systems with Ada in
International Journal of Computer Systems
o TTN SUBMITTAL, SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
========================================================================
QW'99: THE BIGGEST, BEST QUALITY WEEK EVER
The 12th Annual International Software Quality Week (QW'99) is being
held 26-28 May 1999 in San Jose, California USA. Two days of pre-
conference tutorials are 24-25 May 1999.
QW'99 provides a superb opportunity to join the leading software quality
and testing conference, get introductory and advanced training from the
best experts in the software quality field, and attend an extensive
Exhibition with over 35 vendors plus Vendor Technical Presentations and
Vendor Demos.
The complete program for QW'99 can be found at the QW'99 Conference
WebSite:
<http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/QW99>
o KEYNOTE SPEAKERS (26-28 May 1999) address the Conference Theme
"Facing the Future" in a coordinated sequence of talks:
* Martin Pol (IQUIP Informatica BV) "Facing the Future Means
Facing Test Maturity"
* Jeff Schuster (Rational) "Facing the Future: E-Commerce
Quality and YOU!"
* Cem Kaner (Attorney at Law) "Facing the Future: The Law"
* Roger Sherman (Independent Consultant) "Facing the Future:
Commercial Product Testing"
* Jakob Nielsen (Nielsen Norman Group) "Facing the Future:
Usability Aspects of Quality"
* Brian Marick (RST) "Facing the Future: New Models for Test
Development"
* Boris Beizer (Independent Consultant) "The Mavin"
o PRE-CONFERENCE TUTORIALS (24-25 May 1999) are presented by world-
famous experts in their fields:
A1/A2. Ed Kit & Hans Buwalda (Software Development Technologies)
"Integrated Test Design and Automation"
B1. John McGregor (Clemson University) "Testing Distributed Object
Systems"
B2. Thomas A. Drake (Coastal Research & Technology Consultant)
"Measuring Object-Oriented Software Quality for C++ and Java"
C1. Karen Bishop-Stone, CSTE, CSQA (Testware Associates, Inc.)
"Practical Software Test Case Design"
C2. William Bently (mu_Research) "How to Test an Object: The
Information Flow Approach"
D1. Norman Schneidewind (Naval Postgraduate School) "Development
and Maintenance Process Assessment Using Reliability, Risk,
and Test Metrics"
D2. John D. Musa (Independent Consultant) "Software Reliability
Engineering: More Reliable Software, Faster"
E1/E2. Linda H. Rosenberg (Software Assurance Technology Center,
NASA) "Writing High Quality Requirement Specifications"
F1/F2. Boris Beizer (Independent Consultant) "An Overview of Testing:
Unit, Integration, System Level"
G1. Magdy Hanna (International Institute for Software Testing)
"Establishing a Software Inspection Process"
G2. Tom Gilb (Result Planning Limited) "Advanced Inspection"
H1/H2. Robert Binder (RBSC Corporation) "Modal Testing Strategies for
Object- Oriented Software"
J1. Leonard Verhoef (Human Efficiency) "Improving Software Quality
for Users"
J2. Sally Drew (Tescom UK SST) "E-Commerce Testing -- The Clash of
the Titans"
K1/K2. Michael Deck (Cleanroom Software Engineering, Inc.)
"Requirements Analysis Using Formal Methods"
Complete descriptions of the Tutorials can be found on the Web at:
<http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/QW99/qw99.program.html#T1>.
o REGULAR PAPERS are organized into six parallel tracks:
* Technology Track: Innovative Tools, High-Assurance Systems,
Maintenance Testing, Web Testing, Windows CE Testing, Data
Flow
* Applications Track: Fault Density Methods, Technology
Injection, E-Commerce Testing, OO Methods, Complex Systems
* Tools & Solutions Track: Automated Approaches, Critical
Systems, Client/Server, Requirements, Big Systems, Avionics
* Management Track: Quality Cultures, Maturity Models, Process,
Risk Assessment, Real-Life Lessons
* QuickStart Mini-Tutorials: Y2K Testing, Project Management,
CMM, Test Automation, Risk Management, Interviewing Testers,
OO Testing
* Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions coordinated and chaired by Danny
Faught and Brian Marick with topics such as: Mass Market
Software Testing, Medical and Safety Critical Application
Testing, OS and Embedded System Testing Techniques, Testing
Telecommunications Software, Testing for Military and
Government Software, Status Report On U.S. Software Quality
Laws, Blue Collar Formal Methods, Life as a New Test Manager,
Care and Feeding of a Testing Career, Productivity In Small
Integrated Teams, Client/Server Load Testing, and, Running a
Nightly Test.
Complete descriptions of the entire Technical Program can be found on
the Web at:
<http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/QW99/qw99.program.html#C1>.
o EXHIBITION (26-27 May 1999) of over 35 software product and services
vendors including: AutoTester, AZOR, Inc., Capital One Services,
Cisco Systems, Inc., Computer Associates International, Compuware, CS
VERILOG, Cyrano, Inc., Data Dimensions, ErgoLight, Hall Kinion,
Information Balance, Inc., Interim Technology, International
Institute for Software Testing, Intrinsa, KeyLabs, McCabe &
Associates, MicroCrafts, Ltd., Microsoft, Performance Research,
s.r.l. (ITALY), Q-Labs, Inc., Quantitative Software Management, Inc.,
Rational Software, Reasoning, Inc., Soffront Software, Software
Development Technologies, Software Emancipation Technology, Inc.,
Software SETT Corporation, Software Quality Engineering, Software
Research, Inc., Sunpower Computing, Technology Search International,
Inc., Teradyne Software & Systems Test, and, Testmasters, Inc.
Complete descriptions of the Exhibitors can be found on the Web at:
<http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/QW99/qw99.exhibits.html>.
o CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS and TUTORIAL NOTES are in printed form that
include the material used in the presentations, plus a CD-ROM
containing all of the QW'99 Conference Presentations and expanded
material including full technical papers as supplied by the QW'99
authors.
o FUN-FILLED Events. As well as being the most-information packed,
intensive, software quality event around, QW'99 is also a place where
you can relax, enjoy and have fun at QW'99's Special Events!
o THE SAN JOSE TECH MUSEUM OF INNOVATION: Only a few yards away
from The Fairmont Hotel, the Tech Museum is the all-new Gallery
with hundreds of interactive exhibits focusing on the
technology of the future. Amaze yourself by experiencing space
travel in the jetpack simulator! Ride a roller-coaster you
design! See your bones via ultrasound! Discover the technology
of IMAX -- a state-of-the-art, eight-story dome screen! And
much, much more.
o WELCOME RECEPTION: Mingle and Network with your peers... On
Tuesday evening, May 25, you'll be amicably welcomed to QW'99.
Meet others whom you will spend the rest of the week with --
sharing your experiences and knowledge. This informal event
will set the tone for your week of learning and enjoying!
o COCKTAIL PARTY: (Sponsored by Interim Technology -- The
Consulting Group) Mingle and Network with the Exhibitors...
This party will be held on the EXPO floor so you can talk to
over 35 vendors about their state-of-the-art tools and
services. Have a great time while you learn how their tools
can help you in *your* work. This party will be held on
Wednesday evening, May 26.
o SWING DANCE PARTY: (Sponsored by Software Research, Inc.)
Bring your dancin' shoes...! After 4 full days of learning,
this diversion will be well deserved! At this Special Event,
you'll kick up your heels and learn swing steps from
professional dancers. Bring alive forgotten classics such as:
The Big Apple and The Lindy Hop! Thursday evening, May 27!
All Special Events are included in the price of registration.
ONLINE REGISTRATION is available at:
<http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/QW99/qw99.register.html>
COMPLETE INFORMATION or to register by phone or by mail is available
from:
SR/Institute
1663 Mission Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94103 USA
Free: +1 (800) 942-SOFT (7638) [USA]
Phone: +1 (415) 861-2800
FAX: +1 (415) 861-9801
E-Mail: qw@soft.com
Web: <http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/QW99>
========================================================================
Bad Software Blamed For $1.2 Billion Space Failure
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Corrupted computer software loaded into
a Titan 4 rocket is being blamed for wrecking a $1.2 billion military
space mission, the most costly in a string of six U.S. launch failures,
a respected trade magazine reported Monday.
A Centaur upper stage booster on the Lockheed Martin Titan 4 rocket
veered off course about nine minutes after blasting off from Cape
Canaveral on April 30, leaving a sophisticated $800 million military
communications satellite in the wrong orbit.
"The Centaur upper stage was launched carrying an inaccurate software
load from Lockheed Martin that went undetected in the company's software
verification process," the May 10 edition of Aviation Week and Space
Technology reported.
After starting to malfunction, the incorrectly programmed booster went
haywire, firing its twin engines at the wrong times and releasing its
costly cargo three hours early into an orbit thousands of miles too low.
Workers at the Lockheed Martin, Littleton, Colorado, plant that prepared
and tested the software were "emotionally devastated" the magazine said.
Employees there were already struggling to cope with the murders of
students at Columbine High School, where many of their children attended
class, and the recent announcement of 900 job cuts.
The Titan 4 failure was the costliest in a string of U.S. space
misfortunes. In the last nine months two satellites were blown apart in
midair explosions, three marooned in the wrong orbits and another
vaporized in the atmosphere. Over $3.5 billion of space hardware has
been lost.
Lockheed Martin, which suffered three launch failures in April alone,
and the U.S. Department of Defense last week announced separate
inquiries into the rash of space mishaps.
This item forwarded by:
John Favaro
Intecs Sistemi S.p.A.
Via Gereschi 32-34
56127 Pisa - Italy
favaro@pisa.intecs.it
========================================================================
eBayla: A New Flavor of Virus
Submitted by Jeff E. Kinzli
Canadian security enthusiast Tom Cervenka, who goes by the handle Blue
Adept, has invented a new flavor of virus: he has created an infected
eBay auction item [1] that he calls eBayla. The exploit works because
eBay allows JavaScript in the member-authored pages describing an item
offered for sale. When an eBay member bids on an infected item, his/her
username and password are e-mailed to Cervenka. EBay's response [2] to
the exploit sets a new low for bone-headedness. Not only does eBay
downplay the seriousness of the security hole; not only do they get the
technical details of the exploit's workings wrong; but they also make
vague threats in Cervenka's direction, because he brought this
vulnerability to their attention. EBay deserves to get slapped, hard,
by its members -- nothing else will make them rethink their
cluelessness. Thanks to Michael Sanders
for the prod on this story.
[1] <http://www.because-we-can.com/ebayla/default.htm>
[2] <http://www.news.com/News/Item/Textonly/0,25,35321,00.html>
========================================================================
Call for Participation to the European Summer School on
RELIABILITY AND SAFETY OF HUMAN-MACHINE SYSTEMS
Aug. 29 - Sept. 4, 1999 - Colostrai Village, Sardinia
AIM: There is an increasing use of automation in contexts where humans
and machines interact in process control, manufacturing, transportation,
medical systems and many other fields. The dependability analysis and
evaluation of these systems requires an integrated approach, considering
the hardware, software and human components and their interactions. The
aim of the summer school is to help researchers and practitioners in
developing the inter-disciplinary competencies needed for to the design,
analysis and evaluation of human-machine systems. Lecturers will be
expert senior researchers from the different disciplines concerned
(human reliability and cognitive science, hardware and software
dependability).
PROGRAM: The summer school will be based on a case study where both
participants and speakers will be involved. The case study will deal
with some phases of the lifecycle of a control system. The control
system selected will be characterised by the presence of hardware,
software and human resources and with strong interactions with the
users. Work will be organized in three or four working groups, each one
dealing with one of the following aspects: specification of the
requirements for the control system; high level design of the control
system; definition of its validation and verification plan; safety
analysis and assessment. During this activity students and speakers will
consider all the components of the system (hardware, software, human)
and try to design, evaluate and verify it with an holistic approach.
Speakers will work as moderators and to stimulate the groups. The case
study will be integrated with theoretical presentations of the speakers.
ORGANISED BY: The OLOS research network of the European Human Capital
and Mobility Programme, in co-operation with the University of Siena,
supported by the European Community - DGXII TMR Programme.
ATTENDANCE: The summer school is open to researchers and practitioners
at post-graduate level (or equivalent) or post-doctoral level, with
background in at least one of the discipline concerned with analysis and
evaluation of human-machine systems: software and systems reliability
engineering and safety, all the aspects of hardware reliability, all the
aspects of human reliability and cognitive science.
FEES AND ACCOMMODATION COSTS: Registration: 550 Euro; Accommodation: 600
Euro.
REGISTRATION AND GRANTS: After June 15, 1999 registrations will not be
guaranteed and will depend on accommodation availability. Registration
fees include courses. School will be residential, the accommodation
fees are for full board in double rooms. A limited number of single
rooms are available at an additional cost of 150 Euro. To register fill
in the attached registration form, and send it with a CV to the contact
address by Email. Registration fee must be paid by June 15 with a bank
payment to "Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA CC:50400.66 - ABI:
1030.6 - CAB: 14200.0 BIC: pascitmmsie" specifying that payment is a
"Registration fee for Reliability and Safety Summer School".
Accommodation fees will be paid on site at arrival and must be in local
currency (Italian Lira).
REGISTRATION DETAILS: Thanks to the support of the European Community
grants will be available for European students under 35. Grants will
cover the full cost of accommodation, travel up to an amount of 500 Euro
per person; 370 Euro of the registration fee, the remaining fee of 180
Euro will have to be paid by participants. In case a grant holder will
request the accommodation in a single room, this will be subject to
availability and the supplement of 130 Euro will not be covered by the
grant. Applications for grants should be sent by March 15, 1999. To
apply fill in the attached registration form and send it by Email to the
contact address with a CV. Decisions on grants will be returned to
applicants by May 21, 1999. Applicants selected for grants will be
required to pay a reduced registration fee of 180 Euro by June 15, 1999.
Contact Address:
Alberto Pasquini
ENEA
SP 088
Via Anguillarese 301
00060 Roma Italy
Tel: +39 06 30486189
Fax: +39 06 30486038
Email: pasquini@casaccia.enea.it
========================================================================
Some Very Simplified Rules of English Grammar
We all depend upon communication. Getting the message across is
critical. Here are a few tips for those us who have to write for a
living.
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's
highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words
however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth
shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not
needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist
hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. And finally...
35. Always check your spelling. In the your title too.
Sent In By:
Walter Baziuk P.Eng VE3HIU
Software Engineering Analysis Lab (SEAL)
baziuk@nortelnetworks.com
========================================================================
When are Your Projects Ready to Ship?
(c) Copyright 1999, Johanna Rothman. Reprinted by Permission.
"Ship it!" Do you say these words with a feeling of pride? Or a feeling
of desperation?
For any project, the big question is "when will the project be ready to
ship?" When is the project complete? You can't know when the project is
ready, unless you know what "complete" means. I use release criteria for
helping to decide when a project is complete.
Release criteria can be any of these statements and others like them:
- No critical open defects.
- Fewer than 30 minor defects and all defects assessed by project
manager.
- Ship on May 31. (Your company might need the revenue. There might be
a political reason. Whatever the reason, better to get the dates
explicit, than to be surprised.)
- All tests run, > 90% pass.
- Installation and startup tested and pass.
I use release criteria to manage expectations, those of senior
management, the project staff, and the customers. Here's how I develop
criteria:
1. Define what's special about this project. Every project has some
overriding reason(s) for existence. When you define what those
reasons are, you can define what special reasons would make you ship
or not ship the project. Include your time to market, performance,
usability, installation, compatibility, defects, and other
requirements for this release of this product.
2. Draft milestone criteria, at least for the release, additionally for
other milestones. I like to have milestone criteria for every
customer-visible milestone, such as ship and Beta. In addition, I
like to set criteria for milestones such as system test, feature
freeze, and code freeze. That way the project team can make a yes/no
decision-did they meet the criteria for this milestone?
3. Negotiate criteria with product development, marketing, and senior
management. Although I might have the "big picture" vision, unless
I'm part of senior management for this product line, I don't
necessarily have enough information to know if my criteria are
necessary and sufficient for this release. I like to draft the
criteria with a small group from product development, and then
present and negotiate the criteria with marketing and senior
management. Senior management must understand what they will get for
their investment.
Once the release criteria are defined, I publish them to the entire
project team, so everyone knows what will make the project complete. As
a project manager or program manager, I use the criteria to continuously
assess project state. I can use the milestone criteria as an early
warning, to see if the project is meeting criteria early in the project.
If the project is not meeting the release criteria, it's time to observe
what's really going on, and determine what actions to take, to get the
project back on track. If you can't get the project back on track, don't
just change the criteria or not meet the ship criteria. Either action is
demoralizing to the project team, and doesn't help you ship the product
any faster. If you realize partway through the project that the criteria
are not correct or the project can never meet the criteria; renegotiate
the criteria and republish them.
If the project starts to meet the criteria, then the project is
progressing well.
Use release criteria to know when the project is complete, so that you
can take pride in your projects.
Rothman Consulting Group, Inc.
http://www.jrothman.com jr@jrothman.com
========================================================================
TestWorks Corner: Hot Items for TestWorks Users
Here are several items that will be of interest to current and
prospective TestWorks users:
o The latest builds of our new CAPBAK/Web capture replay system are now
available for download. This is a beta release and users are
encouraged to forward comments. Go to:
<http://www.soft.com/Products/Downloads>.
o We are offering free "2-Deep TestSuite" for a specified URL to help
CAPBAK/Web users get started. Go to:
<http://www.soft.com/Products/Web/CAPBAK/2deep.request.html> to request your
SR-generated suite and to learn more about what this suite can do for
you!
o The latest SCO ODT3/ODT5 builds of TestWorks are downloadable from
the WebSite. Now all of the Windows products and nearly all of the
UNIX products can be downloaded direct.
o If you want to be added to the regular TestWorks Software
Installation List (SIL) mailing please make the request to
. This monthly mailing has a wealth of current
pointers and other details about the TestWorks solution.
Complete information about TestWorks can be obtained by Emailing
.
========================================================================
Reader Feedback:
I enjoyed this issue, as I have all to date. I particularly liked Tim
Van Tongeren's article on testing web-based applications. To it, I
would add two thoughts:
Under Browsers: One problem we've encountered we call bizarre
renderings. For example, on one browser (I forget whether it's MS-IE or
NetScape) it's possible to create a scrollable, single-line entry box.
But the construct is unusable: the user types text, hits enter (or fills
the field) and the text disappears. Most upsetting and disconcerting!
The text actually just scrolled, but the situation isn't obvious. We
upped the lines to display in the entry box to resolve the problem. The
point is it's important to use the application from all the browsers you
anticipate actual users will employ.
Printers: One problem we've noticed with some web sites and
applications is screens that print as blank pages. The problem here is
that the color settings on the page that relate to interesting text,
what the user would have wanted to print, have been mapped to white
rather than black. The problem is browser independent. It's a good idea
to print all pages you think users will wish to print.
-- Bill Mosteller
========================================================================
The Engineer vs. The Programmer
A programmer and an engineer are sitting next to each other on a long
flight from LA to NY. The Programmer leans over to the Engineer and asks
if he would like to play a fun game. The Engineer just wants to take a
nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few
winks.
The Programmer persists and explains that the game is really easy and a
lot of fun. He explains "I ask you a question , and if you don't know
the answer, you pay me $5." Again, the Engineer politely declines and
tries to get some sleep.
The Programmer, now somewhat agitated, says "OK, if you don't know the
answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you
$50." This catches the Engineer's complete attention, and he sees no
end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game.
The Programmer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the
earth to the moon?" The Engineer doesn't say a word, reaches in to his
wallet, pulls out a five-dollar bill and hands it to the Programmer.
Now, it's the Engineer's turn.
He asks the Programmer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes
down with four?" The Programmer looks at him with a puzzled look. He
takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps
into the Airphone with his modem and searches the Net and the Library of
Congress. Frustrated, he sends E-mails to all his co-workers and
friends. All to no avail.
After over an hour, he wakes the Engineer and hands him $50. The
Engineer politely takes the $50 and turns away to get back to sleep. The
Programmer, more than a little miffed, shakes the Engineer and asks,
"Well, so what is the answer?" Without a word, the Engineer reaches into
his wallet, hands the Programmer $5 and goes back to sleep."
Web-Master Rajesh Channi
Techno Website
http://channi.cjb.net/
channi-web@apexmail.com
========================================================================
Is There a Stepwise Approach to Software Testing Process Improvement?
Birds-of-a-Feather Session
Monday, 7 June 99, 18:00-19:00,
ESEPG'99, Amsterdam
Facilitated by Morten Elvang-Goransson, Nokia Research Center
One of the significant strengths of the CMM is the clear priority of
which areas to address first in Software Process Improvement. From the
perspective of Software Testing, the CMM has been criticised for not
offering enough guidance. In a response to this perceived deficiency -
and for many other reasons - a number of improvement models for Software
Testing have been proposed.
The question raised in this BOF session will be approached first by a
short introduction from the facilitator to indicate how the question can
be answered by a number of the existing improvement models (15 min).
Then participants will be asked for additional input and for comments
(0-15 min). In the 2nd half we will open the discussion (30-45 min):
What are the natural steps for Software Testing Process Improvement and
what are the Key Process Areas within each step. Discussion subjects
include similarities, variations, strengths and weaknesses of existing
approaches to Software Testing Process Improvement. And who knows -
perhaps the answers we are searching for can already be found in one of
the existing proposals?
If you want to contribute input and/or represent one of the existing
approaches to Software Testing Process Improvement, then you are
encouraged to contact the facilitator and/or to prepare one slide with your input to the
discussion.
========================================================================
TSEPM Availability Notice
Scott Fingerhut
Editor - TSEPM
journal@marotz.com
The May issue of TRENDS IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING PROCESS MANAGEMENT is
accessible at: <http://www.tsepm.com/may99/may99.htm>
========================================================================
THE PRODUCT SAFETY and LIABILITY PREVENTION PROGRAM
WHAT YOU CAN'T DO WITHOUT
May 25, 1999, Anaheim, CA
This program is sponsored by the American Society for Quality (ASQ).
This program will address the issues that are not covered by regulatory
compliance and is applicable to any industry. The speaker is Lewis
Bass, J.D., P.E.
To obtain more information, call ASQ Registration Services at 800/248-
1946, fax 414/272-1734 or email Lew Bass at .
========================================================================
43rd European Quality Congress:
Pre-congress on Business Excellence for Software Organisations
The European Software Institute (ESI) has organized in collaboration
with the European Organisation for Quality (EOQ) and the Asociacion
Espanola para la Calidad (AEC) the pre-congress symposium
"Business excellence for software organizations"
in Madrid, 8th June 1999, within the 43rd European Quality Congress
This one day conference is focused on the use of the emerging
international standard SPICE "ISO/IEC 15504 Information Technology -
Software Process Assessment" and its application in a Total Quality
Management context as a key tool for the improvement in software
intensive organizations.
It will include a presentation of the emerging standard, European
industry experiences from different viewpoints (acquirers, developers,
service providers and assessors of software processes), the latest
technologies for achieving Business Excellence in software organizations
and SPI experiences driven by the organization's business objectives.
AUDIENCE
This pre-congress symposium is addressed to:
* Senior managers of software companies or IS departments who pursue the
business objectives of their organization
* Senior managers and quality managers of non-software organizations
with a strong dependence on software.
It will be include a presentation by Mr. Tito Conti, AICQ President and
ex-president of the EOQ, and the following companies: Asociacion
Espanola para la Calidad (AEC), European Software Institute (ESI),
Asociacion Espanola de Normalizacion y Certificacion (AENOR), Ericcson,
Ibermatica, Objectif Technologie, IEI-CNR, Iberdrola Sistemas, and
Arthur Andersen.
For the full conference description and inscription form, go to:
<http://www.esi.es/Events/Year99/EOQ>.
Itziar Ortega
Information Services Manager
European Software Institute
Parque Tecnologico 204
48170 Zamudio - Vizcaya SPAIN
http://www.esi.es/
Tel. 34 94 4209519
Fax. 34 94 4209420
========================================================================
International Journal of Computer Systems: Science & Engineering
(http://www.dircon.co.uk/crl/csse.htm)
Call for Papers:
Special Issue on Developing Fault-Tolerant Systems with Ada
Aims and Scope: In spite of all efforts devoted to improving the
quality of software systems, the goal of meeting high dependability
requirements cannot be achieved without accepting that there are always
design faults in software, that hardware can fail, operators can misuse
systems and environment can misbehave. Fault tolerance techniques are
traditionally used for dealing with such problems.
Ada is a safe language used in many industrial application areas. The
new standard, accepted in 1995, opens a new era in developing software
because it is unique in that it combines object-orientation,
concurrency, real-time, distributedness, etc. within a single language
framework.
Applying general fault tolerance schemes in practice is not a simple
task because the most widely used languages and operating systems have
no explicit fault tolerance mechanisms. Due to the uniqueness of Ada, a
lot of problems related to constructing fault tolerant algorithms can be
addressed on the language level. This simplifies the understanding of
solutions, eases result promulgation, allows re-use and facilitates the
inclusion of fault tolerance software into many development phases (e.g.
debugging, testing). The challenge here is to develop a convincing
number of useful fault tolerance techniques, to summarise experience and
to intensify the sharing of all results related to fault tolerance in
Ada. We believe that it is the right time to collect the results of
developing fault tolerant systems and fault tolerance techniques in one
special issue because this will have a serious impact on using the
language in industry and, hopefully, will improve the dependability of
the systems under development.
The solutions we are looking for should be easy to apply, re-usable and
should use all advantages of the language. We encourage submissions
which include access to software prototypes.
Topics: This special issue invites papers with focus on research
results, experience reports, and brief surveys/tutorials on emerging
research challenges related to developing both Ada fault tolerant
software and Ada fault tolerance schemes in, but not limited to, the
following areas:
- General topics:
- tolerating hardware faults
- tolerating software faults;
- structuring techniques and fault tolerance;
- validation of fault tolerant systems;
- developing new fault tolerant architectures.
- Techniques:
- software diversity;
- error detection;
- assertions;
- reliable communication;
- replication;
- using exception handling for fault tolerance;
- backward and forward error recovery;
- state restoration and checkpointing.
- Application specific problems:
- distributed systems;
- heterogeneous systems;
- asynchronous and concurrent systems;
- real-time and safety critical systems;
- control systems;
- multi-language systems;
- survivable systems;
- web applications.
- Results and experience from industry
Submissions: An electronic version of the abstract is to be sent to A.
Romanovsky at: alexander.romanovsky@ncl.ac.uk. Full submissions are to
be forwarded to one of the guest editors (electronic submissions are
encouraged).
Important dates:
Email submission of abstracts: June 1, 1999
Full paper submission: June 15, 1999
Notification of acceptance/revision: August 31, 1999
Final revised versions of papers: September 30, 1999
Expected publication date: January, 2000
Guest Editors:
Dr. A. Romanovsky
Department of Computing Science
University of Newcastle upon Tyne,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
Email: alexander.romanovsky@ncl.ac.uk
Professor A.J. Wellings
Department of Computer Science
University of York
Heslington
York, YO10 5DD UK
Email: andy@minster.cs.york.ac.uk
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