A message from the AST President
Posted September 17th, 2008 by bsimoDear Members,
First, I want to personally thank each and every one of you for the warm welcome I have received since becoming President of AST. I first heard of AST about two years ago and was intrigued by the idea of a professional association for software testers. I joined AST without very high expectations. Some people I respect greatly were members and I figured it was worth the risk of a year's membership fees to see what it was all about. I quickly learned that joining AST was a wise investment. Since then, I have learned that AST is a great organization filled with wonderful people -- people that care about testing and testers. My experience as President over the past couple months has greatly increased my appreciation for the Association and its members. I am humbled that you elected me to the Board of Directors and that the Board selected me to lead our community as President of the Association. I am committed to doing all I can to live up to the expectations you have of me; and will do whatever I can to enable you to build AST into the organization we all know it can be.
To that end, the rest of this letter is a sort of "State of the Association" address, in which I share a bit about where we've been and more about where we're going. I have seen the Association become more member focused over the past couple years. It is my intent to see that we continue that trend.
Undergraduate Excellence in Software Testing Award
June 2008 Issue of AST Update now available online
Posted August 22nd, 2008 by sbarber
You can download this and previous issues for free here.
Inside you'll find a fantastic collection of high quality articles including:
-- Better Test Strategies by Contering Inattentional Blindness by: Jeff Fry
-- The Mythology of Software Testing compiled by: David Christiansen
-- Five Bugs in Five Minutes by Mike Kelly
-- Model-Based Testing of Embedded In-Vehicle Sofware a peer-reviewed article by Mirko Conrad
-- BBST Foundations: A Student Review by Brian Osman
-- And more...
AST 2008 Annual Elections and Membership Meeting
Posted July 21st, 2008 by mkellyAST recently held it's 2008 Annual Membership meeting at CAST 2008 in Toronto. At the meeting we disclosed the results of the annual election held the night before. We also provided some highlights from the 2007-2008 term, and gave a quick view of what's in store for 2008-2009. Please see the following presentation for a summary of the meeting.
Tester Education
Mission:
The Association for Software Testing's Special Interest Group on Tester Education is dedicated to improving the state of the practice of software testing by improving the education (knowledge, skills, and testing-relevant self-awareness) of software testers. We expect to achieve the mission through advocacy for better testing education in universities and by providing high-quality materials, instructor training and direct courseware for professional development and self-study.
The Tester Education SIG oversees the BBST Training Program.
SIG Leadership:
Cem Kaner
SIG Members:
Scott Barber
Present/Future Activity:
July 20, 2008: BBST-Foundations (Session 100E) begins. Lead Instructor: Scott Barber, Co-Instructors: John McConda, Elaine Conway.
Testing in Financial Services SIG
Visit the AST Software Testing's Testing in Financial Services SIG on CAST247.org.
Vision:
The Association for Software Testing's Testing in Financial Services SIG aims to advance the state of software testing at financial services firms, by developing a community of professionals who are interested in the testing and quality of financial software.
Toward this purpose, the SIG sponsors the Software Testing in Financial Services (STiFS) Workshop, which is a series of 2-day invitation-only participatory meetings of software testers and other QA professionals who work in financial services firms. It is a neutral forum - not biased toward any testing methodology or supporting vendor - to share, debate, and develop ideas on how to improve the testing of financial software.
SIG Leadership:
Bernie Berger - Chair
AST Policies
AST Executive Committee Votes to Raise Member Dues, Effective 9/1/08
On July 1, 2008, the AST Executive Committee voted to raise annual and life member dues with the new rates to take effect on September 1, 2008. Student rates will remain unchanged. Current rates will remain in effect through the end of August. As always, you may pay for one or more additional years of membership at any time -- you don't have to wait until your current membership period expires.
AST's initial dues were set artificially low in 2004 to reflect the limited services that the AST offered its members as the organization worked through the startup process. Over the past 4 years, AST has fostered volunteer activists who have expanded and matured what AST can now offer our members:
Guiding Principles
- AST views software testing as an empirical, technical investigation conducted to provide stakeholders with quality-related information.
- AST views software testing as a cognitively complex activity that requires critical thinking, effective communication, and rapid self-directed learning.
- AST believes willingness to work collaboratively through controversy is vital to the growth and education of the field and those in it.
- AST currently focuses on supporting all experience levels (including students and their instructors).
- AST fosters future generations of leadership in software testing through emphasis on personal growth in ethical behavior and technical competence.
- AST's leaders make decisions based on AST's ethics, AST's brand integrity, and value for AST members while being mindful of the potential for conflicts of interest for our members, volunteers, and staff.
Corporate Programs
AST has developed several corporate programs to recognize and serve the corporations who support us. You can view the programs by clicking the links below or by downloading the AST Corporate Programs Brochure in .pdf format. For more information about AST Corporate programs, email executive.director@associationforsoftwaretesting.org.
