1. Issue 02 Page 1 | Q2, 2009
this issue…. Market Update – Q2, 2009
In a recent summit of New Zealand's top 100
Market Update… P.1 entrepreneurs, organizer Andy Hamilton was
quoted as saying "I remember someone
saying 'let's not let a good recession go to
Pearls of Testing Wisdom P.2 waste'.... if anything we need to be more
- Test Design aggressive, not less aggressive to grow this
economy and grow our business"
Release Management and Test P.3 So are we seeing this spirit working its way
into mainstream thinking? Well, yes and no….
-Telecom New Zealand
On the upside, in a recent Hays New Zealand
survey, it recognized that the depth of the
Testing Profile: Carol Cornelius P.5 skills shortage (in NZ) in information
- Inland Revenue Department technology had reduced, and that our largest
trading partner, Australia, has avoided
plunging into recession. We also see positive
ISTQB Training Weekend P.7 signs emanating from the most recent budget,
in that NZ improved its ratings with the credit
rating agencies and that short term interest
The last laugh P.7 rates were due to stay lower than long term
rates for some time (RBNZ).
‘On the street’ however, we’re seeing the
challenging times continue. Redundancies are
still on the radar, albeit less frequent within
ICT specifically, and the continuing theme of
budgets being continually scrutinised, and
risks being addressed, acknowledged and
All information in this newsletter is to the best of the authors quantified upfront is standard fare. The
Wellington ICT market, generally speaking, has
knowledge true and accurate. No liability is assumed by the
shown more resilience that its Auckland
authors, or publishers, for any losses suffered by any person counterpart and an increasing number of
technology professionals are spending time
relying directly or indirectly upon this newsletter. It is
commuting between centers on short and
recommended that clients should consult a senior medium term projects. Price pressure
continues and we see that the markets have
representative of this firm before acting on the information
fallen now anywhere between 10 – 15% for
experienced contract staff.

2. Issue 02 Page 2 | Q2, 2009
Pearls of Testing Wisdom No.2
Interestingly, at our company we have seen an
Test Design
increase in demand for ‘Testing Health Checks’
 Each module should have test cases with
and Test Practice Reviews, which are revealing
expected results.
some real opportunities for short term, quick
 Develop a traceable matrix to understand
wins, alongside some significant longer-term
the test case coverage against the
gains.. All in all, it’s challenging times for
requirements.
companies and only those who are showing
 Avoid writing repetitive UI test cases. This
real ‘value adds’ will forge ahead. Naturally we
causes higher maintenance.
wish to report more positive forecasts next
 Do not concentrate on negative paths for
review…
User acceptance test cases if the business
requirements clearly emphasise application
Lastly, just a small plug for our office in the
behaviour and usage by the business users.
mighty capital. We’re delighted with response
 Try not to write test cases on error
in Wellington and thank those companies and
messages based on your assumptions.
government departments whom have
 Document error message validation test
entrusted us with streams of test consulting
cases when the error message to be
and resourcing work to date. Our Practice
displayed is given in requirements.
Manager in Wellington, Neisha Kindley, is a
 Get the test cases reviewed by module
highly experienced tester having worked with
owners of the development and business
a number of significant firms across NZ
to ensure that all agree.
including TVNZ, AXA Insurance, NZ Lotteries
 Only exclude functionality in test cases
and ING NZ, so she knows the discipline inside
when the test plan indicates it out of scope.
and out. I know she would love the chance to
understand your business challenges from a
Contribution by: Ari Rajavelu, Test
test perspective so please contact me directly
or call her for a meeting/coffee on 021 802151
Manager at Fidelity Life Insurance
Best regards and happy testing
Strategic Partners
Grant Borrie
Director/Test Consultant
Grant.Borrie@testingconsultancy.com

3. Issue 02 Page 3 | Q2, 2009
FEATURE:The Relationship between can I allocate a release resource to begin the
management of this policy.
Release Management & Testing
With such an integrated environment like
Contributor: Joanne Gresslehner
Telecom NZ there is constant urgency to
Principal Release Manager
deliver to our customer needs. Without
planning in place throughout the release and
deployment tasks, there is often conflict
especially around the integrated test
environments.
Joanne has worked with the management and
The largest part of the Release Management
implementation of Release Management for
almost 7 years. Having 20 years experience in role is the release planning phase.
IT, Joanne has travelled extensively, working in Understanding what projects or other change
the UK, Ireland and Australia in a range of requests are in the pipeline, what stage of the
roles from SAS Programmer, Microsoft SDLC are they at and then planning and
Instructor to Management of a Medical locking down the scope of the next release
Software company in Sydney. Joanne’s
with Development and Test teams input. The
current role is managing a centralised Release
Management team for Telecom. Release Manager must guide Project
Managers and other business requests into a
When implementing Release Management release by setting specific entry criteria into
you must first carry out analysis of current the integrated test & pre-production
processes across the SDLC, gather an environments. These rules are part of the
understanding of available environments and release policy and must be adhered to.
what is the pipeline of activity.
I have found in most companies that Test
If implementing to an ITIL methodology, is teams are often testing from un-complete
there current Configuration & Change requirements or design as the push to deliver
Management? Release is typically last on the what was promised can seem far greater than
list when implementing to ITIL, however it can that of quality. Typical statements like ‘but we
be successful without some parts of the ITIL have to deliver on that date – we promised
framework. The key is to remember that you the customer’. In some rare cases this works
tailor ITIL to your company’s requirements, without hiccup. In most, the delivery to live is
not every function may be required. not of quality, and quite often results in
further change required, thus delaying the
In Telecom NZ, I manage a centralised Release pipeline activity.
practice with Enterprise wide principles.
Individual release policies are tailored We found Test timelines were tightened to
specifically in each area we have influence and meet promised delivery dates; standard terms
formally approved by key stakeholders across like ‘de-scope’ or ‘squash’ are used. This
the business. Only once the policy is in place normally resulted in poor quality or delivery of

4. Issue 02 Page 4 | Q2, 2009
change far different than that of the original each new deployment (saving time
requirements. By planning a release to a and money)
release date and guiding change into it, an
understanding of timelines is known up front 4. Increased quality of deliverables to
which limits surprise. live systems resulting in a reduction of
change required and production faults
In Telecom NZ we plan releases sometimes 12 being raised
months in advance with release dates. A
release calendar is published with rules that 5. Greater understanding of pipeline
must be met to be confirmed into a specific enabling better team planning
release. Project Managers during the throughout the SDLC
initiation phase of their project are guided to
the release schedules so they can build their 6. Controlled versioning through
individual release and deployment tasks as key stabilised environments
milestones into their project schedules. This
enables teams further down the SDLC to be 7. No longer reactive but now proactive
more proactive instead of always being in a
reactive state. 8. Greater business and customer
satisfaction – predictable delivery
To give you an idea of some of the benefits dates and ability to manage business
achieved with implementing a robust release change requests as well as project
structure, see below: requests into one release
1. Significant cost savings from taking a In Conclusion:
holistic view across the company by
planning and bundling projects & Not all companies will require Release
business as usual requests that are in Management; a robust Change Management
the pipeline into one release. capability is often enough. However, if you
are managing to an extremely integrated
2. Decrease in throughput time for environment, Release will help structure the
projects – quite often this is evident delivery of change in a planned and controlled
during Test phases as bundling manner limiting conflict and surprise
multiple changes requires one set of
tests, instead of testing in a silo
manner (project by project by project)
Strategic Partners
3. Repeatable release process & single
point of contact – understanding
lessons learnt from previous releases
and not having to learn the ropes for

5. Issue 02 Page 5 | Q2, 2009
Focus on People…. training together with new test practices and
the team soon grew (along with the demand
for Testing!)This really set the foundations for
Carol Cornelius growing our Test processes across the entire
Capability Manager – Testing business. My role allowed me to manage that
Applications Services Delivery - IT initiative, which led to the development of an
Inland Revenue Department organisation wide test strategy and that was a
hugely rewarding ‘feather in my cap’
Views on the testing industry in NZ?
After working in the UK, it was hard not to
draw comparisons the NZ and UK testing
industries and I found it to be quite a contrast.
Having come from an environment that had
allowed me scope to bring about change, the
most challenging aspect here in NZ was
helping raise the profile of testing as a
profession and promote the benefits to the
Carol is a qualified and highly experienced Test rest of the business.
Manager whose career began in the UK, and now I believe that the recent glut of ‘testers’ within
sees her heading up a team of 99 permanent and the industry especially 12-18 months ago
contract staff, focusing on functional and non- possibly helped give Testing a bad rap and
functional system testing, and acceptance testing
ultimately generated a lower quality of skills
at the IRD in Wellington. Carol possesses a genuine
due to the ease in which people could brand
passion for software testing and shares her
thoughts with us around the state of testing in NZ themselves as ‘testers’ when some had had
and some of the challenges it faces... very little exposure to Testing.
How did you choose your testing
path/career?
Back in the UK, I began my career in a ‘techie’
role as a Programmer, which led eventually (as And on finding the right people…..
strange as it may seem to some!) to a Project
Management role within a System Test Group I am strong on interviewing, as it’s so
that was relatively small at the time. I really important to strike the right balance between
enjoyed it as I found test management to be aptitude, knowledge and skill set when finding
more personable and offered more flexibility the right person for not only the project, but
to the role. I began building the test for the team and the organisation. That
capabilities within the team (who were largely balancing act comes down to having solid
Developers at the time) and introduced ISEB knowledge in your area of expertise, strong
interviewing techniques and ultimately

6. Issue 02 Page 6 | Q2, 2009
understanding and managing the risks around Analyst role. There really is a whole lot more
recruiting. I have found that one of the issues to testing than just execution!
in finding that right balance between
contractor and permanent resource is that Advice for those considering testing as a
contractors are often there to do a job for a career?
set period and that does not always call for
handover of IP, which is something that is The main advice I would give to anyone out
seen to be very valuable to a business. Huge there who is considering a career in testing is
efficiencies can be gained by the business if to really think about the area they would like
the handover and transition of knowledge is to specialise in, for example; System Testing,
well understood and well managed and I Performance, Integration, Non-functional ...
would like to see a greater emphasis on this There are some great resources out there to
when agreeing a statement of work for staff help investigate different options this industry
who are contracting. has to offer and not all come at an expense,
for example:
What are your greatest challenges and those
of the Testing Industry in NZ? - www.stickyminds.com
- Testing blogs
For me, one of the greatest challenges both - NZ Computer Society sessions
here and in the UK has been gaining the (http://www.nzcs.org.nz/events )
support and endorsement for Testing across - ISTQB – training and syllabus
an organisation. Being involved in such an information
achievement brings great rewards to both the (http://www.istqb.org/syllabi.htm )
business and Testing teams involved. In terms - Books such as my favourite: “Lessons
of the Industry here in New Zealand, I think learned in Software Testing”, by Cem
the biggest challenge is how we communicate Kaner, James Bach & Brett Pettichord
and translate what Testing Services “actually
means” for the business. I think that Testing Also, I would highly recommend that
Services teams need to approach this in a individuals and businesses invest in test
collaborative way with the business to achieve services, team and personal development.
a common understanding. By reaching an Exams and training options are more readily
understanding, it will help us make the shift available than previously and more and more
away from the “anyone can test” type we are seeing candidates who can show they
mentality that still exists out there in the have invested in training (for example the
industry. ISTQB Foundation course is a great start). And
beyond the Foundation course, I believe the
Wish list for testing. ISTQB Advanced will soon play a key role in
helping distinguish between the competencies
One of the activities and core competencies of a Test Analyst and a truly ‘Advanced’ Test
that I believe we need to be building and Analyst.
promoting is the Analysis aspect of a Test

7. Issue 02 Page 7 | Q2, 2009
The last laugh…..
ISTQB Foundation Course A software developer/tester convention was
Weekend of 8-10 August 2009 being held. On the train to the convention,
Auckland, New Zealand there were a bunch of developers and a bunch
of testers. Each of the developers had his/her
The current economic climate has led to
train ticket. The group of testers had only ONE
greater demands for business dexterity and
TTC has adapted to this need by planning an ticket for all of them. The developers started
ISTQB Foundation Course over the weekend of laughing and snickering. Then, one of the
August 8-10 2009. This allows those wanting software testers said, "here comes the
to learn and attain this certification to conductor" and then all of the testers went into
complete the bulk of learning over one
the bathroom. The developers were puzzled.
weekend without a detrimental effect on your
annual leave (or earnings)……. The conductor came aboard and said "tickets
please" and got tickets from all the developers.
Nesta Jones is our ISTQB Foundation trainer He then went to the bathroom and knocked on
for the weekend course. With over 15 years the door and said "ticket please" and the
of software testing experience in the UK and
testers stuck the ticket under the door. The
New Zealand, having held various roles
ranging from Test Manager, Project Manager, conductor took it and then the testers came out
Test Team Lead, Test Architect, System Tester of the bathroom a few minutes later. The
and Integrator. A dynamic trainer, with developers felt really stupid. So, on the way
exceptional interpersonal and communication back from the convention, the group of
skills, she believes in active participation and developers had one ticket for the group. They
real life examples. She comes highly qualified
started snickering at the testers, for the whole
having actively consulted to some of the
world’s leading companies. In her role with group had no tickets amongst them. Then, the
TTC she assists in providing high level test tester lookout said "Conductor coming!" All the
plans and implementation procedures for the testers went to one bathroom. All the
financial, retail, transport and utilities developers went to another bathroom. Then,
industries. For further details, please contact
before the conductor came on board, one of the
Florence Pretorius on 09 948 2225 or email
her: florence@testingconsultancy.com testers left the bathroom, knocked on the other
bathroom, and said "ticket please."
More information on the Foundation level
syllabus can be found at the following: Lesson learned: Any test that passed in unit
http://www.istqb.org/downloads/syllabi/Sylla
testing can fail in system testing
busFoundation.pdf