From Mandate to Acceptance: How do I ensure that the developers build what I really need?

In April, for the first time in a while, I'll be addressing the Scrum Breakfast on a topic which probably causes more pain than any other aspect of software development: testing.

As Project Leader, Business Analyst, Product Owner, you want your development team to build the right product and build it right. If you wait to the end of the project to start thinking about quality and the end of the project, you risk building the wrong product, building a system which doesn't work, or building a product which requires extensive (and expensive) corrections between the "end" of development and the actual release.

Scrum and Lean Thinking encourage you to build quality in. How do you specify a software product and ensure that it gets fully tested without causing massive rework in the test phase?

Topics:

• How does the customer perceive quality?
  
• Acceptance Tests - the interface between development and management
  
• Case Study: How to increase the chance of doing it right
  

As usual, namics zürich is providing the location, coffee and gipfeli, and swissITbridge is enabling the webinar. You can register for either online.

• Date: April 1, 2009
  
• Time: 8.00 to 10.00, talk starts at 8.35
• Location: namics ag, Konradstrasse 12, CH-8005  Zürich
  
• Details in German (the talk will be held in German)
  
• Register online (also for the webinar)

BTW - exactly 1 year ago, I entered self employment and became an independent Scrum Coach and Trainer. The start was little bumpy, but I am really happy I did it. To mark the occasion, I will bring a bottle or two of South African Champagne. Look forward to seeing you there...!