I won’t go into detail about what was said and done because the website has a good Wiki where you can read-up on what went down. I hope all the scribes put up what they have. There should also be some audio tracks up there soon. This post is mainly about me posting some rough & dirty pics. AND of course to rave about how AMAZINGLY GREAT this unconference was. Lots to take home and brilliant people in attendance!

Thanks again to PJ and Jeff for helping us do our own conference! Great stuff!

Starting us all off To CITCON (speak KITKON!!!! VERY IMPORTANT!)

So…..what’s on the menu

Lively discussion

Now this is what I call OFF TOPIC

CI tools and the pro’s and con’s

The objective was here:
http://groups.google.co.nz/group/software-testers-new-zealand/browse_thread/thread/6cbee3a6fb040310

The raised bugs can be seen on http://bugrepository.com – project WTANZ01

The transcript is here: WTANZ Session 01 18-04-2010

As you can see the session was very lively and we had a really good attendance for a first time Weekend testing session. We pretty much kept to the time-frame of 2hrs.

The goal was to test the mortgage calculator on Sorted.org.nz. This is a popular website in NZ to learn about finances and things like retirement amongst others. From the word GO everybody really dug their heels in. One of the first insights was that there seems to be quite a big discrepancy when comparing results between various interest calculators. We really didn’t quite get to the bottom of that but it was interesting that a simple seeming thing can have so many “interpretations”.

Further testing quickly showed the obvious. This website has NO validation checking but….. it doesn’t fall over either. No matter what you threw at it it would process the results. Never mind if the answer was correct. For details see the raised defects.

The testing then focused on usability more general usability and browser testing. This might have all been  bit much for one session but nonetheless there were some good learning points to take home (check from log time 19:25 onwards).

The discussion after highlighted that in such a high pressure testing situation most used the ET path. Some ideas around planning were done and shared with some good insights. I’m sure everyone could take something home from this.

All in all great fun and great sharing. It all made my facilitation role so much easier

So after all the butterflies I’m glad it all went well and we’re all looking forward to Marlena’s session in a fortnight.

Also have a look at Ram’s blog entry that gives even more detail on what we did.

Cheers & till next time!

Matt Mansell’s (DIA) talk about Growing Great Test Analysts contained one comment that really struck a chord (not that the rest of the talk wasn’t excellent). He said (my own interpretation) that calling us testers is really putting down our capabilities and our profession. Instead we should make a point of calling ourselves Test Analysts. We ARE analysts and good testing is learned the hard and painful way. We are not monkeys or Business Analysts in sheep’s clothing.  I am as guilty as are most. I will in future make a real effort in using the proper term of  Test Analyst. It is a small but vital step in the right direction.

Stanz 2009 fltr: Julian Harty, Karen Johnson, Lee Copeland, James Bach

And the above really highlights what Stanz is all about. We go there to get reminded that we are in a testing profession. The speakers entice us to learn more, to read more and to get off our complacent derrierès. The 2009 Stanz definitely had the right set of speakers for this. I again enjoyed the quasi familiarity of the event. I doubt there are many places in the world where the attendees and speakers can get so up-close and personal to exchange ideas.

The effects of the recession were visible but that was to be expected. Even so I’d say the attendance was good and it was nice to see all those familiar faces again and meet some new ones.

Who knows, 2010 might be the year I switch sides from listening to talking. We’ll see…..

Director J.J. Abrams has certainly created his masterpiece. Maybe not technically as a film but for him to take the Star Trek universe and dare to go near the topic and then make such a stunner is definitely a great achievement. The film has a near perfect cast (the only slight let-down is Uhura), a good story and great special effects. Where the special effects never seem to take center stage but enhance the story. I loved the film and sincerely hope Abrams immerses himself in the Star Trek universe and lets us have at least another three masterpieces like this one. The stage is definitely set for more great stuff.

And because Abrams has his fingers deeply in the land of TV series (Lost, Alias) we might stand to hope….. oh that would that not be a dream come true…

With this film I will do something I haven’t done for over 15 years. I am going to watch it again in the cinema. I am so elated to see Star Trek alive and kicking (butt; if I might add!). I was getting somehow jealous of the Star Wars fans (although it depends which fan you ask .

Both Spocks are great and Kirk is the son of a b*tch he’s supposed to be (although I still don’t dislike him quite as much as the Shatner-Kirk which I loved to hate). Karl Urban as Bones and Simon Pegg as Scotty are excellent choices that match the originals easily. Especially Karl is a chip off the old block.

So if you’re a Trekker or Trekkie “May you watch long and be happy”. I’m not going to say “go watch this film” because I know you will but drop me a comment here what you thought.

1. Will the financial crisis be over in 2009?
2. How will Obama fare in is first year?
3. Will NZ change due to the National government?
4. Will Apple release a Netbook/Tablet computer?
5. Will Windows 7 continue the XP legacy?
6. Will Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) blow everything away?
7. Will Ubuntu 9.04 bring a renewal of Linux desktop?
8. Will the Ocean levels rise?
9. Will we see the breakthrough for electric cars?
10. Will Israel ignite the middle east again?

So looking forward to it…:-D

I think the store’s definitely worth a visit. It will do a lot for Wellington Mac sales. The posh stores to the left and right fit the designer ambiente. Good choice of location.

MagnumMac Wellington will definitely suffer from this new store. In comparison they have little to offer. If I’m not mistaken The Bay is even a little cheaper. They also do the whole warranty and repair thing too.

So a good day for Macs & Apple in NZ.

Some quick snaps of the opening (click on them for larger images):

I’m sure the DVD will be a success. I think it just hits the sweet spot with people starting to think about immigrating to NZ. It’s not as pricey as an immigration consultant and not as tedious as hunting for the answers yourselves. A good side effect is that the DVD is English only. People should take that as a guide to judge if their English is good enough. If they have big problems following the DVD they should probably invest more time in their English studies.

The DVD has also had amazing buy-in from Immigration New Zealand and the IRD. That makes the DVD as official as you can get.

All in all I’m sure the DVD will make life lots easier for loads of immigrants. Stands to hope we won’t get overrun in the near future

Oh and… a BIG congrats to Melanie & Brian for making their dream come true!!

The fist since she’s visited NZ 10 years ago. I found the strength and vitality of this lady just amazing. Like (e.g.) the Dalai Lama she has a strong conviction about what she talks and captivates her listeners in wonderful stories of a wild Africa.

What was new to me was the direct connection she makes between animals and humans. She points out the many ways in which animals are necessary for us humans to survive.

I’ve included a picture of Jane with our local 34-year-old Tuatara. It was the first time I’ve seen a Tuatara up close and must admit this is a VERY unique reptile. I know nothing that comes even close. It really looks like a small dinosaur. The Tuatara really gave Jane a run for her money. Two celebrities at once is a tall order I am definitely a new Tuatara fan!

Although I haven’t yet worked in an agile environment (and to be honest haven’t even seen one yet if you ignore the ones that call themselves agile) I think this is the thing to take on board for the future. If you don’t want to be left behind get on the bandwagon. Interestingly enough it looks like agile in testing doesn’t require an all-project agile approach. If the right methods are adopted it can still work in favour of reducing bugs.

Oddly enough I heard a new song from the tool vendors. They used words like “open”, “flexible” and “cheaper”. My guess is they are feeling the pressure from agile, that definitely favours the small, quick and dirty testing tools. Open Source makes it’s weight known here too it seems. Elizabeth showed what’s on the horizon for Open Source testing tools and I must say that I am mightily impressed. The evolution of the FITnesses & Co is just around the corner and it will go a long way to appease those that miss the test management side. More on that once it’s out of the woodworks.

By the tools and methods presented I also see a strong trend towards the development-tester or technical tester. In Wellington these are under represented. So to all testers out there I’d strongly advise to not shunn the learning of script languages and test automation. I know that I will focus more on these and sread the know how I have already.

As for the ISTQB/CMMi/TMMi/old world group, they were there too. What surprised me was the lacklustre uptake and the open discussion on the sense & sensibility of what was taught. The certification discussion group was empty bar the certifiers. Maybe we’ll see a turn of the tide towards more brain than more certification (still missing my button James ).

This Stanz was very good and I’m looking forward to the next one. Hope SoftEd keeps up their game.

Stanz is especially useful for those getting into testing and those who want to mingle in the scene. For a small market it is amazing that Wellington has such a large and successful test conference. My wish would be more in depth tracks for the “old” pro’s in the field. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for next year.