ASQ Section 0511 June 2022 Meeting Announcement

Quality Matters Round Table: Test

Wednesday, 8 June 2022

Moderated by

Muzaffar Zaffar
ASQ Section 0511 Education Chair

Short Narrative/Description:

ASQ Section 0511 is a community of quality professionals of Northern Virginia, with tremendous cumulative experience across multiple industries, companies, and government agencies. Any single one of you in our ASQ Section is a formidable source of takes, opinions, and lessons on a number of Quality Matters.

A Quality Matter is an aspect, focus, slice, segment of the quality landscape that one deals with in a particular situation.
Quality Matters Round Table is a series of discussions on the Quality Matters topics noted at the May 2021 Section Meeting.
In each such discussion, the Section Members share their experience and opinions on one such topic and network as Quality Professionals.

The 8 June 2022 Section 0511 meeting is a Round Table Discussion on one of the 26 Quality Matters topics that you voted for in our June 2021 poll, namely: Test.

Previous Round Table Discussions were:

April 2022 on the topic of "Model-based Process Improvement".
August 2021 on the topic of "ASQ Sections".
July 2021 on the topic of "Plans and Process Descriptions". Its Discussion Report is posted here: http://www.asq0511.org/Presentations/202107/ASQ0511_202107_QualityMattersReport-PlansAndProcessDescriptions-Report.pdf
June 2021 on the topic of "ASQ Certifications". Its Discussion Report is posted here: http://www.asq0511.org/Presentations/202106/ASQ0511_202106_QualityMattersReport-ASQCertifications-Report.pdf

Quality Matters: Questions on ASQ Sections

The following questions on the topic of ASQ Sections will be up for discussion at the 8 June 2022 Section 0511 Round Table:

Definition of Test. What is Test? Test vs. Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control — Is it the same thing? Why is a test team often called a "QA Team" if test and quality assurance are not the same thing?
Injection of Defects vs. Detection of Defects. Is test an inferior activity because it defers to finding defects later? Isn't it better to focus on preventing defects instead? How realistic is it to reduce the defect injection in hopes of reducing the amount of test needed?
Testing for Software, Products, and Industries. What is common and what is different between testing software, testing non-software products, or in different industries (such as web, banking, e-commerce, mainframe, or health care)? In your work, does your product require separate test of the software components vs. test of the non-software components?
Test vs. Inspections (Peer Reviews). Verification can be done in one of two (2) key ways: by looking at the product (inspection) and (2) by making it work (test). What should be the balance between these two approaches? How do you find that balance in your work?
Test Teams. Should test be a team separate from the developers? If yes, then what about Agile's emphasis that the team should test its own product? In your work, do you have different tests performed by different teams such as unit test, integration test, system (functional) test, performance (stress, load) test, user acceptance test, smoke test?
The Role of Test. What is the role of test in assuring quality? Is it just finding defects? Should testers work with upstream teams? How early should the testers engage with other teams — should they participate in requirements definition, design, construction, integration?
Test Timeliness and Entrance Criteria. When should the testing begin - when the product is available? when the schedule says to start testing? Do you use a Test Readiness Checklist? What do you do if the test readiness criteria are not met?
Test Cases vs. Ad-hoc Testing. What portion of test do you conduct by test cases? How detailed are your test cases? Do you trace your test cases to requirements or to design? Is there value in an ad-hoc test not driven by test cases?
Black Box vs. White Box. Should testers have insight into how the product works? If yes, are they expected to have technical skills to understand the product inner construction (such as code or design)? Does your answer depend on the type of testing (such as unit, integration, functional, performance, or user acceptance test)? Does Agile change this?
Regression Testing. Do you distinguish between test of new functionality and regression test? How much of regression testing do you do?
Test Automation. Do you automate your test? Is test automation worth it? Do you try to automate new test, or do you limit test automation to regression test? Do you have additional personnel skilled in automating the test, or do your regular testers automate the test?
Test Coverage. Does test coverage matter? Do you measure test coverage and how? Is it okay not to test some parts of the product? How do you decide not to test them? Do you prioritize the test coverage if test does not have enough time?
Test Metrics. What metrics do you use to know how much test has been completed to-date and how much test is still left? What metrics do you use to describe the test results? Do you have predictions for defects to be found? What decisions does your management make based on those metrics?
Test Sufficiency and Exit Criteria. How much test is enough? Do you use Test Exit Criteria? If yes, what do your exit criteria include? What do you do if your test criteria have not been met but you are out of test time? Do you consider your test successful if it has found a lot of defects?
Great Product. What if the product is great and the test finds no defects? In your work, is it the developers or the testers whose assures the lack of defects? Should test be reduced or eliminated when the product is already great?

Read these questions now and become familiar with them. The questions discussed at the 8 Jun 2022 Round Table may be slightly modified from the above in case good improvements to those questions are received through our poll; however, they will not differ significantly from the above, if at all.

You Speak Up, I Moderate:

At the June 2022 meeting, YOU are the speaker:

The meeting is a Round Table discussion, not a presentation by a Featured Speaker.
YOU should SPEAK UP. You can get floor multiple times. Please do!
If you decide only to listen what others say and not share your experience and opinions, that is your choice, and it will be respected. You are encouraged to attend the discussion anyway if only to listen; you will not be called out to speak unless you speak up!
Speak of your personal experience and express your personal opinions.
You do not need to prepare a speech or slides, just speak up. You already know your experience and your opinions, and that is all that matters.
Time will not allow lengthy speeches. We have 5 minutes per question, on average. So, be brief and share floor with others, so that several people could speak on every question.
Time will not allow digressions. Speak on the topic and, specifically, on the question that is up for discussion. (Did I mention you should become familiar with the questions above?)
Time will not allow discussion of similar topics. For example, topics such as Quality vs. Process, Agile vs. Quality, Software Tools, Inspections and Peer Reviews, Quality Audits are NOT in scope of this discussion unless mentioning them reflects DIRECTLY upon your experience with and opinions on Test.
The list of the questions will be displayed during the discussion. We will go by the question list, top to bottom. Thus, limit your speech to the question at hand, perhaps drawing on the previously stated material but holding off on the questions that are still down the list.
It is OK to speak on some questions and not on some others. Time will not allow everyone to speak on every question anyway.
Your experience is unique and differs from the experience of others. Make it known! It is irrelevant what some book says on this topic or what they said on this topic someplace else. What matters is what YOU think on this NOW.
A discussion is not a debate. You will get floor to express your experience and opinions on this Quality Matter, not to criticize the experience and opinions of other discussion participants.
A discussion is not a Q&A session with the Moderator. The questions on the agenda are up for you to speak on, not for finding correct answers that do not exist.
Have fun! This is your chance to get to know other Quality Professionals better and allow others to get to know you.

Moderator Background:

Muzaffar Zaffar is a Quality Professional with extensive experience in both software development and pharmacology. He is the Lead SQA Engineer at US Pharmacopeial (USP) in Rockville, which is an independent, scientific non-profit organization focused on building trust in the supply of safe, quality medicine. His expertise includes developing testing plans, implementing risk mitigation strategies, communicating process improvements across teams, resolving conflict between teams, and ensuring that product and software adhere to the organization and industry standards. He also has vast experience developing new SQA teams for offshore offices.

Muzaffar is an ASQ Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE) since 2011. He also holds multiple IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certifications and is a Certified Specialist in IT Management Leadership. He has served as the Section's Certification Exam Proctor since 2014 and its Education Chair since 2016. Outside of work, he is a day tracker and hiker, having hiked the world's three (3) tallest mountain ranges: Himalaya, Karakoram, and the Hindu Kush.

Webinar Link / Meeting Instructions

6:00pm — 7:00pm – Section Leadership Committee meeting

The following information is for a recurring meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of the month:
Meeting link: https://asq.webex.com/asq/j.php?MTID=mf1edec1b32ba1fbd0402e959a365ffba
Joining by meeting information (requires entering the password):
Web address: https://asq.webex.com/asq
Meeting number: 2551 557 3371
Password: FVcQFA8bx63
Joining by phone (you will have to identify yourself by name when you have joined):
Phone number: 1-408-792-6300 Call-in number (US/Canada)
Access code: 2551 557 3371
============================================

7:00pm — 8:30pm – Section Meeting Information
The following information is for this meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of June:
Meeting link: https://asq.webex.com/asq/j.php?MTID=m15daffd1102fd79eefea97b04b1d3e20
Joining by meeting information (requires entering the password):
Web address: https://asq.webex.com/asq
Meeting number: 2556 806 0829
Password: fZbaK5bQP72
Joining by phone (you will have to identify yourself by name when you have joined):
Phone number: 1-408-792-6300 Call-in number (US/Canada)
Access code: 2556 806 0829

Reservations:

There is no charge to attend. To register, please use our on line reservation form which can be used up to the day of the meeting. If your plans change, please contact dba22@asq0511.org, and let us know.

Next Meeting:

Wednesday, 12 July 2022 — TBD

Call for Speakers!!!

Would you or someone you know like to speak at a future ASQ meeting? We're always looking for volunteers. Be creative! Exercise your public presentation skills! Earn recertification credits! Get a free dinner! Please contact programs22@asq0511.org.

About Us:

ASQ Section 0511 is a geographic community that lives intertwined with the network of ASQ Divisions — technical communities specializing in specific quality domains and supporting ASQ Certifications in their domains.