The presentation will introduce the audience to the Lean Philosophy and use a case study to demonstrate how test process improvement can be driven from the bottom-up very effectively by empowering the team members of the Test Process Improvement initiative. The removal of waste (anything that doesn't add value) is at the core of the Lean Philosophy.

Ensuring that the test process is as efficient and effective as it can be facilitates an agility within testing and empowers the test effort to react to change positively and agilely.

The presentation will :

• demonstrate how a team of testers came together and contributed to the improvement of various testing processes and activities.
• address how "easy" change becomes within the testing organization when it is driven by the testers themselves.
• show how test management can facilitate the empowering of its testers while still maintaining a decorum of control.
• address how the usual resistance to change was surmounted by a TPI effort driven by those who are executing the testing.
• include feedback from a recently held Retrospective with Lessons Learned clearly elaborated on.

The presentation :

• aims to debunk the myth that one automation tool fits all; it is essential to tailor and plan the tools and technologies involved to deliver an effective solution.
• highlight that automation is not a panacea for a struggling testing project. In the right circumstances and with the correct strategy, test automation can provide impressive returns on investment, but these efforts must be carefully targeted.
• discuss the factors that need to be considered and the steps that should be taken to ensure the successful delivery of an automation project, and will highlight the problems that are often encountered when deploying a new tool.
• include case studies of SQS Automation projects which ill illustrate these principles in action.