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Software Testing Groups in Vancouver

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Vancouver-software-testing-groups-300x169 Software Testing Groups in VancouverVancouver has a thriving community of software engineers. If you’re looking to network with likeminded individuals, check out these software testing user groups and meetups.

  1. Vivit Worldwide: Are you using HP’s software testing suite? If so, join Vivit to stay on top of the latest news, events, and tips from the community forum. Vivit is an independent HP software user group that organizes events in Vancouver to inform users of the latest improvements to HP’s suite of software testing tools.
  2. VanQ: Are you interested in learning from other software testing professionals in Vancouver? VanQ hosts monthly presentations from QA professionals in Vancouver. Speakers come from leading companies to share their experience in quality assurance. It’s a great venue to learn first hand techniques to improve the software testing process.
  3. VanDev: VanDev is a software development group, but they host sessions focused on software testing as well. This highly rated developer community’s events fill up fast so be sure to RSVP quickly to reserve your spot.
  4. Agile Vancouver: As proponents of agile software development and testing, we are pleased that there is a community in Vancouver focused on the methodology. They host an annual Lean Startup Conference as well as regular events focused on agile development.

At Optimus we are proud to be part of Vancouver’s thriving software community. Connect with us to learn more about software testing events (including invite only events) in Vancouver.

If we missed any local software testing events, please let me know in the comments.

(image credit: JamesZ-Flicker)

Outsourced Software Testing at VanQ

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VanQ Outsourced Software Testing at VanQ

VanQ: Outsourced Software Testing

Join us at VanQ’s event this month on February 24, 2011 to learn best practices when outsourcing software testing. Trevor Atkins, Principal Consultant at Professional Quality Assurance (PQA), will be sharing his experiences gained from over 14 years in various roles on software projects.

Excerpt from the abstract:
“In this presentation, we will use the software testing function of an organization to craft a multi-faceted sourcing solution model aimed at providing benefits on a combination of fronts including cost efficiency, capacity scalability, optimized communication, domain expertise capture/retention, specialized skills access, centralized strategic planning and accountability, etc.”

For more information, please visit the VanQ website and don’t forget to RSVP.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Project Management Processes (PMI) and Quality Management

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Optimus is sponsoring this month’s presentation on Project Management Processes (PMI) and Quality Management. The event organized by VanQ will feature Grace Shi, a project manager from Coast Capital Savings.

Abstract:
Will sound project management processes help assure the quality of project deliverables? How? This presentation will review the key components of the Project Management Institute (PMI) framework as well as the approach for quality management in the framework as one of nine knowledge areas. QA-PM career path potentials and PMP designation related topics will also be reviewed in the presentation.

Optimus is a regular sponsor of VanQ events. To see our coverage from previous events, click here.

For more information and to RSVP, please visit www.vanq.org.

Analyzing Performance Test Data Presentation

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Embedded below is the slideshow from Carles Roch-Cunill‘s presentation on analyzing performance test data.

Optimus sponsored the event organized by VanQ. To see our full coverage of the event and to watch our video recording of the featured presentation click here.

Analyzing Performance Test Data Presentation

 

Analyzing Performance Test Data Presentation

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IMG_0001-300x212 Analyzing Performance Test Data Presentation

Here is Anand Deb of Optimus Information Inc giving a brief overview of Optimus at VanQ (www.VanQ.org) before the featured speaker took the podium.

Carles Roch-Cunill, Test Lead for System Performance at McKesson Medical Imaging Group, shared his expertise in Analyzing Performance Test Data.

Carles emphasized the importance of using the scientific method when conducting performance testing and gave examples from his work testing x-rays, CT scans, and other medical devices. He explained that performance testing should not be pass or fail, instead it should add value to software by identifying precisely where bottlenecks exist.

Optimus is pleased to sponsor VanQ events. VanQ consistently brings in excellent speakers and provides a forum for networking with industry professionals.

To learn how Optimus can help you improve the quality of your software through performance testing, send us an email at info@optimusinfo.com or visit OptimusQA.

The 40 minute presentation is no longer available.

Great VanQ Event Last Night

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DSC_0006-300x225 Great VanQ Event Last NightOptimus at VanQHere’s a picture of our own Anand Deb giving a brief overview of Optimus Information at the VanQ event last night. He then passed the stage over to the featured speaker Elizabeth Snowdon.

Elizabeth presented an introduction to usability testing and drew from her many years of experience. She explained the entire process from planning, to conducting testing, to reporting results. Her overview was excellent as she offered great insights into the process.

She explained the following benefits of usability testing:

  • increased sales and revenue
  • increased efficiency by saving time and money
  • less support calls
  • decreased training costs
  • reduced maintenance costs
  • increased customer satisfaction

She also explained how upfront investments in usability testing save money in the long run by identifying problems early. As we all know, problems identified during development are much less expensive to fix that after deployment.

The Q/A session brought up many interesting points. For example, attendees asked how to get senior management on board with usability testing. Elizabeth replied that usability testing doesn’t have to be a cumbersome or expensive process, with modern technology it can be done very efficiently with little more than a laptop. In order to get senior management on board, she explained that you could conduct a small guerrilla usability test on your own and present the findings. Once management sees direct feedback from users and actionable items to improve they’ll be more likely to jump on board for more testing.

Optimus is proud to have sponsored VanQ last night and is looking forward to next month’s event.

Optimus Sponsors VanQ April Event

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We’re pleased to announce we’ll once again be sponsoring a VANQ event. VANQ is the leading organization for Testing professionals in Vancouver.

For more information visit VanQ: http://www.vanq.org/

Proud to Sponsor VanQ

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New year started well for us at Optimus. We did few POCs for our clients on Test Automation side. We also finished a large Vertica Implementation for a leading Social Games company. Optimus was also proud sponsor of VANQ (www.vanq.org) event in January.

Events

Security Software Shortcuts

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Where do you start with security test cases? How do you ensure your dependencies aren’t adding to security risk? What threat models and attack vectors are common in a cloudy world? What are quick and free wins you can use to reduce risk and improve security?

Come learn about how to get started, some quick wins and a few master level tricks for dev, DevOps and QA in the intersection of security and development.

About the Speaker:
Michael Argast is an experienced cyber security professional with over 20 years of industry experience. He is the co-founder and CEO of Kobalt Security Inc., a start-up security service provider for small and mid-sized organizations. In addition, Michael founded the Sky Northern Security Alliance of independent security consultants (now a part of Kobalt), ran several security functions within TELUS for 5 years, and ran Sales Engineering worldwide at Sophos, leading 120 staff in 17 countries. Michael has been a guest speaker at previous ISACA and BC Aware events and at the Privacy and Security conference in Victoria as well as global lectures in Moscow, Madrid and Oxford University. Michael is a strong supporter of growing the skills, breadth and diversity of the security community and welcoming students and career changers into the field. You can connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter (@michaelargast).

Agenda:
5:30-6:00 pm – Registration & Refreshments
6:00-7:00 pm – Presentation and Q&A
7:00-7:30 pm – Networking

Important note: Because you do need a access key to use the elevator, we ask that you please arrive no later than 6:15 PM, so that we can ensure everyone is able to get up to the event with ease. Thank you!

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