Software Education NewsletterDecember 2008 |
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A Message From Martyn Jones, Managing Director...
"Companies should use this period [the economic downturn] as an opportunity to upgrade talent" was the recent recommendation in a report from McKinsey
("Upgrading Talent", December 2008, by M. Guthridge, J. McPherson and W. Woolf).
Certainly there are plenty of reasons for continuing to invest in staff skills during these challenging times, not the least of which is
that there remains a world-wide shortage of IT experience. Whilst training might be seen by some managers as low-hanging fruit to be cut, all the evidence points to such actions, in our industry, being counter-productive. What interests me is that within Software Education's market (NZ and Australia) some
of the biggest training and consulting assignments right now are coming from industries that seem hard hit - insurance companies, banks, etc.
So Software Education remains busy. Our "Software Development Conference"
(SDC) in March next year is one-third full already. We have a strong order book going into the first quarter of 2009, so again I'd suggest prompt bookings to ensure you can get exactly what you want, when you want it.
From all the team at Software Education we wish you a happy and safe
Christmas.
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Merry Christmas!
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Test Automation the Smart Way with Dorothy Graham
 Let the tool do the work for you. If you don't know where you are, a map won't help you. You will leave this MasterClass with an assessment of your own test automation maturity and a strategy for moving forward. This MasterClass is personally delivered by Dorothy Graham
(UK), a very popular and entertaining speaker at conferences and events world-wide, holding the European Excellence Award in Software Testing.
After this course you will be able to conduct testing "triage" to find important bugs first; plan and schedule testing in a dynamic, unpredictable world; put into practice session-based exploratory testing to find show-stoppers and change the way you test; blend exploratory, scripted and automated testing.
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Download a PDF Course Schedule
Upcoming Training Courses...
Business Systems Analysis
16 - 20 February, Auckland
23 - 27 February, Wellington
Small Team Leadership
19 - 20 February, Auckland
17 - 18 February, Wellington
Business Process Modeling
23 - 25 March, Auckland
09 - 11 March, Christchurch
11 - 13 March, Wellington
Managing the Testing Process
25 - 27 February Wellington
04 - 06 March, Auckland
15 - 17 April, Christchurch
11 - 13 May, Wellington
Facilitation Skills Workshop
16 February, Wellington
31 March, Auckland
04 May, Wellington
09 June, Christchurch
Use Cases for Requirements Gathering
16 - 17 February, Wellington
02 - 03 April, Christchurch
23 - 24 April, Auckland
07 - 08 May, Wellington
Power of Persuasion & Influence
11 - 13 March, Wellington
01 - 03 April, Auckland
10 - 12 June, Christchurch
Advanced Test Analyst
(ISTQB Accredited)
16 - 20 March, Wellington
30 March - 03 April, Auckland
29 June - 03 July, Wellington
Software Project Management
16 - 18 March, Christchurch
20 - 22 April, Wellington
27 - 29 April, Auckland
.NET Development with C#
02 - 06 March, Auckland
27 April - 01 June, Christchurch
11 - 15 May, Wellington
Advanced Business Analysis
06 - 08 April, Christchurch
27 - 29 April, Wellington
06 - 08 May, Auckland
Introduction to SQL
20 February, Wellington
22 April, Auckland
04 May, Wellington
26 June, Christchurch
User Acceptance Testing
16 - 18 February, Wellington
13 - 15 May, Wellington
27 - 29 May, Auckland
10 - 12 June, Christchurch
Agile Project Management
02 - 03 February, Christchurch
30 April - 01 May, Wellington
04 - 05 May, Auckland
Test Automation the Smart Way
24 February, Christchurch
25 February, Wellington
02 March, Auckland
Introduction to Agile Methods
23 March, Auckland
24 March, Christchurch
25 March, Wellington
Introduction to XML
19 February, Wellington
06 April, Wellington
08 April, Auckland
Web Testing
06 - 07 April, Wellington
23 - 24 April, Auckland
Object Oriented Design Patterns
04 - 05 June, Auckland
08 - 09 June, Wellington
11 - 12 June, Christchurch
Introduction to Java
02 - 04 February, Wellington
20 - 22 April, Auckland
22 - 24 June, Wellington
Download a PDF Course Schedule
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SDC 2009 - Extend Your Capability in Business Analysis
 Business Case for Requirements Workshops.
Requirements workshops can provide business value by reducing the time it takes to gather requirements, boosting team productivity, and reducing the risks associated with projects.
Ellen Gottesdiener
(USA), who will be here for SDC this
coming March, explains... more >>>
Ellen Gottesdiener is an expert reviewer for the International Institute of Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOKŪ). At SDC 2009, Ellen will deliver two major sessions, the keynote
Requirements by Collaboration and the half-day workshop Successful Agile Requirements: Collaborating to Define and Confirm Needs.
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Effective Business Requirements
Ideal for those who have previously attended our
"Business Systems Analysis" or "Mastering the
Requirements Process" courses, this course will help you take
your requirements work to the next level. With a focus on the "engineering" of requirements,
"Effective Business Requirements" offers
pragmatic techniques for business analysts to elicit, document, prioritise, and manage both functional and non-functional requirements.
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ISTQB Advanced Test Manager
 Become a sought-after ISTQB Certified Advanced Test Manager. Rex Black will personally deliver the new "Advanced Test Manager" course in Wellington during 9-13 March. This is the second advanced-level ISTQB course now available through Software Education. Exams are now accessable through ANZTB. If you are an
experienced tester/test manager and interested in advanced certification, this is the one for you!
You will be taught by Rex Black, President of ISTQB, and also receive a copy of his new book "Guide to the ISTQB Advanced Certification as an Advanced Test Manager".
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In-house (on-site) Training provides flexibility
If you have a team of 6 or more then delivery of any Software Education course in-house can offer a number of benefits including:
- Finding a date that works best for you and your project deadlines.
- The option to customise the course and involve discussion specific to your working environment or projects. Turn the course into a contribution to a real project as well as a learning experience!
- With larger numbers, a very cost-effective per person charge.
- The ability to adjust duration up or down (reductions in length are likely to necessitate course segments to be removed).
- At the top end, utilisation of Software Education's unique international contacts - we can facilitate getting the world's best onto your premises.
To discuss your in-house requirements please
contact us
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ISTQB Software Testing Foundation - Now Delivered in 3
Days
 The highway to a successful Software Testing career. This ISTQB accredited course, provides the essential ideas, processes, tools and skills needed to set yourself on a path for true testing professionalism. The course is designed by ISTQB President Rex Black, co-author of the ISTQB Foundation Level Syllabus.
Note we have
reduced sections of this course so it can run in 3 days
(previously 4). Minus some exercises, but still the same
great content (= a solid grounding in testing + prep for the ISTQB Foundation Exam).
The book "Foundations of Software Testing" by Dorothy Graham, Erik Van Veenendaal, Isabel Evans and Rex Black is supplied to each participant on the public course.
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Tim Lister and James Bach - Do You Want To See Them in 2009?
  We have the opportunity to bring out another two big names in 2009...
Tim Lister (A principal of the Atlantic Systems Guild, based in New York) to deliver his
Software Risk Management course around July and James Bach (International Software Testing guru from the US) to deliver his
Rapid Software Testing course in August.
If you are interested in either of these courses, please let us know, and if we get sufficient demand we will go ahead and confirm the dates.
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Web Testing Course - NEW
Deal with the challenges of testing
web-based applications. This brand new course is your chance to really understand and practice the solutions to the challenges faced when testing
web applications. You will learn how to reveal the specific technical and business risks, and to assess these risks using a professional testing approach.
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iPod Draw - Each quarter someone will win an iPod
 Every person who attends a Software Education
public course or conference during each three month period can go into a draw to win an iPod. Use promotion code
NKS128 when you register to enter the draw. Winners will be notified by email and announced in the newsletter following each draw.
Congratulations to our latest iPod winner -
Dennise Aiken (NZ Transport Agency).
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