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International Agile testing specialist Janet Gregory in South Africa in June


Johannesburg, 20 May 2014
Janet Gregory co-author with Lisa Crispin of Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams (Addison-Wesley, 2009), will be in Johannesburg from 23 June 2014.
Janet Gregory co-author with Lisa Crispin of Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams (Addison-Wesley, 2009), will be in Johannesburg from 23 June 2014.

Janet Gregory co-author with Lisa Crispin of Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams (Addison-Wesley, 2009), will be in Johannesburg from 23 June 2014.

Hot on the heels of its announcement of an exclusive partnership with Agile testing specialist DragonFire, Johannesburg's IndigoCube in collaboration with the Special Interest Group in Software Testing (SIGiST) is hosting a seminar with Janet Gregory, DragonFire founder and principal. Scheduled for 26 June, 08h30 at the IBM Auditorium in Johannesburg, Gregory will discuss the role of testers on software development projects which follow the Agile methodology.

Agile is based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organising, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery and encourages rapid and flexible response to change.

Aldo Rall, Principal Consultant at IndigoCube, says the company is seeking to change perceptions of software testers in an effort to boost the quality of locally developed code. "While they are usually brought into most projects as something of an afterthought, testers can and should play an integral role in software development from the very start. With their active participation from an early point, better quality software is the likely outcome," he states.

Calgary-based Gregory is internationally recognised as a thought leader in software testing. IndigoCube's relationship with Gregory and DragonFire provides South African companies with exclusive access to intellectual property which includes 'The whole team approach to Agile Testing', a training course she developed.

In her presentation, Gregory will challenge the traditional approach taken with most software projects which sees testers joining the team after coding has started, or even later when coding is almost finished.

"Testers often have a limited role in advising the project team early regarding quality issues but focus only on finding defects. They become accustomed to this style of working and adjust their mental processes accordingly," Gregory says.

In Agile, the role of testers is more integrated. "They must collaborate closely with customers and programmers throughout the development lifecycle. Their focus changes from finding defects to preventing them; the tester's role changes to include testing early and incrementally, and responding to changing requirements" Gregory explains.

That means a change in the tester's mindset from 'How can I break the software?' to 'How can I help deliver excellent software?'

Rall says this mindset shift raises the profile of the tester and changes their role to an inclusive one. "To find out more, we invite developers and testers to register their interest in this free presentation. Seats will be limited, so we urge you to book soon," he says.

Training course - The Whole Team Approach to Agile Testing

Janet Gregory will also be running a three-day training course, accredited by IC Agile, from 23 to 25 June 2014 at the IndigoCube offices in Johannesburg. The training course will explain how testers can become valued agile team members, how they contribute to delivering a continuous stream of business value, and ways to overcome common cultural and logistical obstacles in transitioning to an agile development process.

"This is a unique opportunity to be coached by an internationally acclaimed Agile consultant. Janet is passionate about promoting agile quality processes in software development," notes Rall. "We highly recommend this course."

For more information on Janet Gregory's three-day training course go to http://indigocube.co.za/training/testing/training-schedule/60-the-whole-team-approach-to-agile-testing-by-janet-gregory/event_details

For bookings to the seminar on 26 June as well as to the three-day training course, contact marketing@indigocube.co.za.

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Janet Gregory

Based in Calgary, Janet Gregory is a passionate advocate of Agile quality processes in software development. Her focus is on helping business users and testers understand their roles in Agile projects, and helping other team members understand the role of testing.

Gregory practices Lean principles, Extreme Programming and Scrum, and she has extensive experience as a quality assurance manager in both traditional and Agile environments. This range of experience gives her a rare understanding of the issues faced by most teams, and has helped her to introduce lasting change into organisations around the world.

In 2009, she co-authored Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams with Lisa Crispin. She is also a regular contributor to industry publications such as Better Software, Software Test & Performance and Agile, and enjoys sharing her experiences at conferences and user group meetings around the world. She was named one of the 13 Women of Influence in testing by Software Test & Performance magazine in its January 2010 issue.

Gregory has a degree in Computing Science from the University of Alberta, an Information Management Certificate from the University of Calgary, Scrum Master Certification, and took her Quality Management Certification from the American Society for Quality.

IndigoCube

IndigoCube enables and improves the productivity of key business processes. It specialises in the areas of business analysis, software development, software testing and application security. The application of best practices and the development of requisite skills is core to all its solutions and it partners with some of the world's leading vendors. IndigoCube is ideally positioned to boost productivity and long-term return on investment in its focus areas. www.indigocube.co.za

Special Interest Group in Software Testing (SIGiST)

The SIGIST is an Institute of Information Technology Professionals of South Africa (IITPSA) Special Interest Group which draws testing professionals mainly from the Gauteng area. The groups responsibility are to the testing community at large and do not affiliate themselves with any company.

Mission

The SIGiST strives to unite and strengthen the South African software testing community through discussion, involvement and the dissemination of testing information. The forum allows testers to network with each other and gain industry exposure. The SIGiST aims to be the leading forum for promoting excellence in software testing.

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