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This year, STARWEST takes the stage in sunny Anaheim, California, September 29 – October 3, 2008. For the last sixteen years, we have worked hard to put together a program jam packed with information, networking opportunities, and fun. This year is no different, and there’s a lot to talk about and anticipate as we work our way closer and closer to the event.
I’m starting off the STARWEST 2008 blog this year with a little bit about each of the components that make up the educational program; keynotes, pre-conference tutorials, and concurrent sessions. Check back for future blog entries that go a little more in depth on each of these and that also focus on some of the fun that we have in store for you.
KEYNOTES: I’m partial to the keynotes every year at STAR, and this year is no different. You’ll hear from six industry experts who are some of the movers and shakers of the Testing and QA field. All six are outstanding, but to point out a few…Rob Sabourin’s keynote, “Testing Lessons from Springfield”, will be a treat, whether or not you know and love The Simpsons (and I do!). It’s one of a number of the franchise “Testing Lessons from …” that he’s done over the years. Always well-received, it promises to be both entertaining and educational. Jon Bach’s, “Telling Your Exploratory Story”, was selected as the best track presentation at STAREAST this year. Our delegates loved it! Getting the top score earns him a keynote slot at STARWEST, which brings the best of the best to the STARWEST program.
PRE-CONFERENCE TUTORIALS: This year we’ve doubled our number of pre-conference tutorial offerings, which means you’ll be swimming in choices! These are just a couple of the new ones that we’re excited about: James Bach is back with a great new tutorial, “How to Teach Yourself Testing”, based on ideas from his new book, Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar. (Rumor is, the book is fantastic.) Michael Bolton shares his experience on “Difficult Testing Questions and How to Answer Them”, which focuses on the critical thinking skills that are becoming more and more necessary in today’s testing world. Lloyd Roden and Julie Gardiner will be joining us from the United Kingdom to talk to us about “How to Build, Support, and Add Value to Your Test Team”, by growing and retaining a successful test team. Finally, Paco Hope explores the approaches needed to adequately test AJAX applications in, “AJAX Testing: Inside and Out.”
CONCURRENT SESSIONS: The actual conference program is grouped into tracks. This year, we have a new track called Personal Excellence that focuses on skills and behaviors that will help testers expand their skill sets quickly. We have some exciting classes, too. In “The Power of Software Testers”, Thorkil Sonne describes his experiences using people with autism as testers—a fascinating story that shows the human side of testing. In “The Myth of Risk Management “, Pete McBreen presents the theory that risk “insurance” is a better alternative to classic risk management. Finally, in “Understanding Test Coverage”, Michael Bolton talks about how to understand test coverage; we must know what we did not test, and that what we did test was good enough.
I hope this gives you a taste of what’s to come! We’re just thrilled to be planning this year’s STARWEST conference, which is sure to be the best yet. Check back often as I give real-time updates on the planning it takes to make STARWEST the premier testing conference in the world.
Consider this your personal invitation to attend STARWEST, September 29 – October 3, 2008, in Anaheim, California. I look forward to meeting everyone there!
Heather Buckman
Vice President of Conferences
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