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APRIL CONTENTS
Become your own expert
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What's New
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Upcoming Events
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Learning Center
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Change Agents: Getting Down and Dirty...By Ed Weller
LESSONS LEARNED
Become your own expert
-Alison Wade, CEO, SQE Training
We recently discovered that our home, built in 1925, had asbestos in the attic. The quotes we received for removal made us feel like we should own a portion of the company that provides the service. Being a resourceful family, we decided that we needed to learn everything we could about asbestos removal before deciding how to approach the task.
Our due diligence began online where we discovered that it is legal for home owners in Florida to remove asbestos from their homes. Next we picked the brains of three more experts who came to consult with us about our asbestos and give us additional quotes, which by the way were no cheaper than the first. We got some of the best information from these experts. My husband learned that everyone planned to use the same basic technique — wet removal. Using a spray bottle, you wet down the asbestos and then wrap it in industrial strength plastic before removal. From the city we learned that once removed the asbestos must be double bagged and taken to the city’s toxic waste dump, fifty pounds at a time.
My husband then visited the wholesale supply store and purchased the official tools of the trade: hazmat suit, including gloves and booties, heavy duty plastic, a respirator, and hazmat disposal bags. He was quite a sight outfitted in all of the garb. Picture my husband coming down from our attic looking like something out of a movie about a plague of the future.
I like to think that we at SQE Training can offer you these same kinds of resources when you have an urgency to learn. The next time you are in need of an expert, we have some of the best subject matter experts in the world. Feel free to call us and pick our brains. Training is a great way to take your knowledge and skills to the next level and prepare yourself and your team to be your own in-house experts.
One thing we did learn from the asbestos removal was that the suit did not breathe; my husband lost five pounds during a day’s worth of removal. We are planning on marketing this as a new weight loss program!
Learn, become your own expert, and build better software.
WHAT'S NEW
Attend the Next Training Week Coming to Chicago
Hurry, Register Now! Time is running out to attend training in Chicago.
Chicago, IL • June 2 - 6, 2008
Hilton Chicago Northbrook
Don't miss out on these NEW courses!
Choose from 11 specialized training courses:
THREE-DAY COURSES (Monday - Wednesday)
TWO-DAY COURSES (Thursday - Friday)
ATTEND A COMPLIMENTARY SEMINAR
New Agile Software Development Training Weeks
Boston, MA • May 12 - 16, 2008
Hilton Garden Inn - Boston/Burlington
Seattle, WA • June 2 - 6, 2008
Courtyard Seattle Hotel Sea-Tac Area
SQE Training's New Agile Development Courses Will Help You...
Become a Scrum Master
Learn test-driven development techniques
Understand how to use design patterns in an agile environment
Write user stories and estimate development in an agile development process
Choose From these courses:
Scrum Master Implementation Workshop
Practical Test-Driven Development
Design Patterns Explained
User Stories and Estimation in Agile Development
Don't Miss Requirements Training in Boston
May 19 - 23 • Boston, MA
September 8 - 12 • Washington, DC
Combine and Save!
Combine two courses in the same week at the same hotel and save up to $300.
Register Now!
View the Entire 2008 Software Training Schedule
Take a look at all the new courses that we are offering this year.
http://www.sqetraining.com/Public/Courses.aspx
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Testing Training Weeks
Don't miss out on the Testing Training Week's coming to Chicago, New York/NJ, and Washington, DC. Register today!
Maximize the impact of your training by combining courses in the same location to create a customized training week. Testing Training Weeks offer 11 different testing courses in one location—pair two courses and save up to $300! View the full Training Week schedule. Can't get away for the whole week? Attend a complimentary seminar and experience what SQE Training has to offer.
- Software Testing Certification Training
Coming to Denver, San Francisco, Orlando, and Seattle. View the full Software Testing Certification training schedule.
Are you looking for an internationally accepted certification in software testing? Look no more! Your hard work and expertise matters...with over 80,000 Certified Testers worldwide...why not you? Delivered by top experts in the testing industry, "Software Testing Certification" is an accredited certification training course to prepare you for the ISTQB Certified Tester—Foundation Level exam.
- Agile Software Development Training
Implementing agile in your organization? Tackling challenges on your latest agile project? Build an agile training program from our NEW courses including: Scrum Master Implementation Workshop, Design Patterns Explained, User Stories and Estimation in Agile Development, and Practical Test-Driven Development. Coming to Boston, Seattle, and Washington, DC. View the full Training Week schedule.
- Requirements Training Week
Learn the complete process of eliciting, writing, and testing requirements and understand exactly what your customer wants—and needs. Maximize the impact of your training by combining requirements courses in the same location—pair two courses and save $300! Coming to Boston and Washington, DC. View the full Training Week schedule.
- CMMI® & Software Measurement Training Week
Join us for two NEW courses on CMMI® & Software Measurement. Learn practical software process improvement and how to develop and improve your software measures and metrics. Coming to Washington, DC and Boston. View the full Training Week schedule.
- New Microsoft® Visual Studio® Team System Training
Join us for these courses on Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 Team System! Learn how these new sets of tools help development teams communicate and collaborate more effectively—ultimately improving software development practices. Coming to Boston and Chicago. View the full Training Week schedule.
LEARNING CENTER
- Web Seminars
Attend the latest Web Seminar—"Creating an Effective Quality Management Strategy for Web 2.0 and SOA," brought to you by StickyMinds.com and Better Software magazine, and sponsored by HP. If your organization counts on Web 2.0 and SOA, you need to ensure the quality, performance and security of those applications. QA needs a solid strategy for approaching Web 2.0 and SOA so that teams are not caught in a confusing battle of tester versus developer versus the business. Join industry experts from Capgemini (Americas CTO, Sam Ceccola) and HP Software to hear what is in store for the future of Web 2.0, how it affects the enterprise, and why you need to act now to address the quality issues of this new enterprise architecture. Join us April 22, at 2 p.m. ET. for the upcoming Web Seminar.
- StickyMinds.com Books Guide
Find the resource you're looking for in the Books Guide. See reviews and comments from your peers on how they rated the book.
- eLearning
Searching for training to improve your testing skills? Experience interactive lessons in a multimedia format delivered right to your desktop. Register now and receive a copy of the reference book, "A Practitioner’s Guide to Software Test Design," written by Lee Copeland, along with a complimentary PC audio head set. Try the online eLearning demo! Get started today!
- Career Learning Path
Are you looking to build your current skill set or become more specialized? Create a training program to fit your career path. We have developed a series of training plans, based on your job function, to help you gain the knowledge you are seeking. Whether you're looking to develop or broaden your skills in the areas of test engineering, test management, requirements, development, or project and process management—we have a plan for you.
ON-SITE TRAINING & CONSULTING SPOTLIGHT
Change Agents: Getting Down and Dirty
-Ed Weller, Principal of Integrated Productivity Solutions
All too often change agents talk the talk, but fail to walk the walk. Have you ever been in a process group that never planned more than two days ahead? When you introduce a new tool or process, do you “leave it to the student” to figure out how to use it? One of the more enlightening experiences I had occurred about ten years ago when I asked Mike, one of our lead architects, when his group would create the traceability matrix for its project. Mike’s reply was “You keep asking us to do more, but never give us tools or automation to make the work easier.” As I went back to my desk, I reflected that Mike’s statement was valid. So, I set off to create an application that would automate building a traceability matrix (TM). Keeping Mike’s statement in mind, I looked at the intended use of the TM, maintaining links between requirements, design, and test specs and test cases. To make a long development a short story, I did build a tool. Now, how to get the users to use it without mandating it through management, a sure way to raise resistance?
The tool “just happened” to allow the testers to document their test cases, as I figured there had to be some incentive to use the tool. I then “loaded” the database with the functional specification requirement statements and design specifications (a lot of cut and paste mouse work) and created the links to the design specification. Not exactly glamorous or interesting work, but if I wouldn’t do it, could I ask others to do it? When I passed the database to the testers, they found that documenting test specs and cases in the tool was easier than creating a word document or other documentation.
The bottom line is that the TM and associated functionality saved enough effort that the testers took the tool with them to their next project, and their next project, and their next project…
Keep this in mind the next time you introduce a change:
- Look for a way to “take work out”
- Find things that appeal to the users
- Do the grunge work until the users can experience the savings and sell the change for you
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TRAINING CALENDAR
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