meeting in the DC metro area to discuss software QA related topics

Hi Folks,
One of my friends and former co-worker Rick Hower is starting
a Northen Virginia Test Automation Interest Group. I will be there.
If you are in the DC metro area and this is of interest to you I encourage
you to be there. The meeting details are below.
Thanks,
Swam

===========================================================================
MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT:
NOVA TAIG - Northern Virginia Test Automation Interest Group Monthly meetings beginning in January 2009.

Meetings will be on Wednesday nights 6:30 – 9:00; no cost other than food you order and your active participation in meeting discussions.
First meeting Wednesday January 7 2009 (Next meeting is being planned for early February)

INITIAL TOPIC JAN 7:
Test Automation Frameworks: Roundtable discussion (see more info below).

Send e-mail to Rick Hower rickhower@earthlink.net to reserve a spot if you are planning to attend.

LOCATION:
Meetings will be held in the Reston-Herndon area, usually at a local restaurant or company facility. Specific meeting location will be sent in response to reservations.

MEETING FORMAT:
6:30 - 7:00 Networking, food.
7:00 - 7:30 Each attendee introduces themselves and discusses their test automation interests/news/challenges/successes.
7:30 - 7:40 Announcements re automation job openings or those seeking test automation work.
7:40 - 8:40 Topic or Presentation
8:40 - 9:00 Follow-on discussions

INITIAL TOPIC JAN 7: Test Automation Frameworks: Round table discussion re: what is meant by a ‘framework’?, what types of reusable functionality/components/services/practices should be in a framework?, how can frameworks help with management/planning/ROI? Note: We will also spend some time at the January meeting discussing suggestions for upcoming meeting topics.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND:
Please email rickhower@earthlink.net if you are planning to attend the meeting so we can a) let you know the specific meeting location b) so that you can be notified of any last minute meeting location changes.

OTHER INFO:
The meetings will be participatory and discussion oriented.
--There will not be a presentation at the first meeting, but it is expected that future meetings will often include informal discussion-oriented presentations.
--Meetings are expected to be technically-oriented at times (and may include showing and discussing code) Examples: unit testing, automation programming languages, tool specifics, security test automation, vendor presentations, load testing, code coverage, etc.
--Some meetings are expected to be less technical and oriented to design/strategy/management subjects related to test automation. Examples: determining when a software project is ready for test automation, choosing a tool, open-source vs COTS, build vs buy, ROI, how to find a great test automation engineer, automation estimation, etc.
--It is expected that attendees will contribute actively to the discussions and be willing to discuss (in general terms or, if possible, specific terms) past or current automation experiences, challenges, and successes

==========================================

QA questions on linked for September

Asked by Soumen Sarkar on Sept 24th
Is unit testing doomed?

Rick Hower's QA site

I met Rick Hower at Verisign. He has been running a QA Automation Birds of
a Feather (BOF) lunch group here for a little while. His contract is up and
we are sad to see him go as this was a very well run group. Rick is very
active in the QA community and his website
Rick Hower's QA site
is a source of good ideas.

QA questions on linked for July

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Recruiters and headhunters

Hi,
This is a stub for recruiters and headhunters to post comments.
Also can be used by group members to post comments about recruiters.

thanks,
Swam

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Accidentally entered the same above question twice

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Although not strictly on QA it has some relevance. Also it has 85+ responses within
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uncategorized testing links

for further review:

http://sirius-sqa.com/Blog/