Food for Thought-An e-newsletter published by Software Quality Consulting, Inc.
December 2008, Vol. 5 No. 8 
Quality Concerns in a Down Economy

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*** In This Issue ***

In This Months� Topic, I discuss the impact the current economic 
situation has on software quality and the software quality profession... 

Regular features to look for each month are:

- Monthly Morsels
  Hints, tips, techniques and reference info related to this month�s topic 

- Calendar
  Conferences, workshops, and meetings of interest to software engineers, 
  QA engineers and anyone interested in software development 

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*** This Month�s Topic ***

QUALITY CONCERNS IN A DOWN ECONOMY

If past economic downturns are any indication, the current economy could 
have a dramatic effect on the quality of software products currently in 
development. When software development companies reduce staff, quality 
assurance and testing positions have often been among the first to go. 
Quality assurance and testing positions are usually the last added in an 
expanding economy and the first cut in a down economy.

Most economies are cyclic in nature. Like the stock market, what goes up 
eventually comes down and what comes down almost always goes back up. 
Forward-thinking software companies have taken steps to deal with the 
current economic situation and more importantly, are already planning for 
the next upturn as well. QA engineers and testers need to do the same...

WHAT CAN MANAGEMENT DO?

Executive management has many difficult decisions to make. Managers who 
are only looking at the short-term often cut staff they feel is not 
directly involved in product development. Software development managers 
often are very protective of key resources - even though these resources 
may not be able to contribute in the short-term.

QA Managers are often asked to reduce staff in ways that are detrimental 
in the short term. Cutting QA and tester positions often means the current 
product in development will be released with far more defects than 
customers will tolerate.

- Reduce the backlog of defects 

  When customers are not spending on new products, there is an opportunity 
  for management to focus the limited resources they have on reducing the 
  significant backlog of defects. By working on reducing the defect 
  backlog, companies can improve the overall reliability and dependability 
  of existing products. Given that customers are not likely to be spending 
  money on new releases, improving the quality of current releases can 
  help position your company for the next upturn.

- Bring offshore development work back to the US 

  In a down economy, the cost of sending work offshore can be higher than 
  in an expanding economy. Labor costs often go down when the economy 
  tanks so any cost-savings from offshore development may be nil. By 
  recognizing this and using local resources, companies can cut costs and 
  save money. In tough times, companies need to be more socially conscious 
  and aware of the impact providing jobs has on their reputations and the 
  local community. 

WHAT CAN QA STAFF AND TESTERS DO?

If you are a QA engineer or tester who has been or expects to be laid-off, 
there are several things you can do to help soften the blow and plan for 
the next upturn.

1 Improve your resume by getting certified:

  ASQ-Software Division (http://www.asq.org/software/getcertified/index.html)

      - Certified Software Quality Engineer 

  QAI-Worldwide (http://www.qaiworldwide.org/certifications/index.html)
    
    Associate-Level Certifications

      - Certified Associate in Software Quality (CASQ) 
      - Certified Associate in Software Testing (CAST) 

    Professional Certifications

      - Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) 
      - Certified Software Tester (CSTE) 
      - Certified Software Project Manager (CSPM) 
      - Certified Software Business Analyst (CSBA) 
      - Certified Software Process Engineer (CSPE) 
      - Certified Quantitative Software Process Engineer (CQSPE) 

    Advanced Certifications 

      - Certified Manager of Software Testing (CMST) 
      - Certified Manager of Software Quality (CMSQ) 

  IEEE Computer Society (http://www2.computer.org/portal/web/getcertified)

      - Certified Software Development Associate 
      - Certified Software Development Professional 

2 Improve yours skills:

  Software quality and testing short courses, speakers, and networking 
  opportunities are available from conferences and professional 
  organizations such as: 

      - Software Quality Consulting 
        (http://www.swqual.com/seminars/courses.html)

      - ASQ Software Division 
        (http://www.asq.org/software/getcertified/index.html)

      - Boston SPIN 
        (http://www.boston-spin.org/)

      - NYC SPIN 
        (http://kuperpresents.com/nycspin/)

      - Software Quality Group of New England 
        (http://www.swqual.com/SQGNE/main.html)

      - Twin Cities Quality Assurance Association 
        (http://www.tcqaa.org/index.htm)

      - Quality Assurance Association of Maryland 
        (http://www.qaam.org/index.htm)

      - Toronto Association of Systems and Software Quality 
        (http://www.tassq.org/)

      - Ottawa Software Quality Association 
        (http://www.qaiworldwide.org/chapters/osqa.html

      - Atlanta Quality Assurance Association 
        (http://www.aqaa.org/)

      - Chicago Quality Assurance Association 
        (http://www.cqaa.org/)

      - Sacramento Area Quality Association 
        (http://www.saqa.org/)

      - Southern California Quality Assurance Association 
        (http://www.scqaa.com/)

      - Software Quality Assurance Association of Denver 
        (http://www.squadco.com/)

      - San Fernando Chapter
        (http://www.scqaa.net/)
 
      - QA Utah 
        (http://www.qautah.org/)

      - Tech Maine 
        (http://www.mesda.com/)

      - Quality Assurance Association of Connecticut 
        (http://www.qaac.org/)

      - Greater Kansas City Quality Assurance Association 
        (http://www.kcqaa.com/Index.html)

      - IEEE Boston Section 
        (http://www.ieeeboston.org/)

      - IEEE Providence Section 
        (http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/providence/)

      - IEEE CT Section 
        (http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r1/ct/)

      - IEEE NY Section 
        (http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_york/)

      - IEEE NJ Section 
        (http://www-ec.njit.edu/~ieeenj/)

      - IEEE North America 
        (http://www.ieee.org/web/geo_activities/home/northamerica.html)

      - ASQ Wash DC and Metro Maryland - Software SIG 
        (http://www.asq509.org/ht/d/sp/i/2499/pid/2499)

      - ASQ Ottawa
        (http://www.asqottawa.com/)


3 Attend conferences sponsored by professional societies such as: 

      - ASQ Software Division 
        (http://www.asq.org/software/)
 
      - Quality Assurance International 
        (http://www.qaiworldwide.org/)

      - Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference 
        (http://www.pnsqc.org/)

      - STAR East and STAR West Conferences 
        (http://www.sqe.com/stareast/)

THE BOTTOM LINE

The economy will probably get a bit worse before it starts to get better. 
But it will eventually get better.

- Forward-thinking companies are taking the long-term view and are using 
  this opportunity to cut their backlog of defects in current products. 

- If you are a QA Engineer or tester who has been laid-off, finding 
  another job will not be easy in the current economy. Use this time to 
  learn new skills, network with other people, attend meetings, and get 
  yourself positioned for the next upturn. These are all positive things 
  that can help you get through this downturn. 

We will get through this because we are resilient and we will persevere...

�Til next time...

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*** Monthly Morsels ***

Every month in this space, you�ll find additional information related to 
this month�s topic.

- Resources - here�s a collection of software testing jobs websites: 

  1 Software Quality Group of New England Jobs Page
    (http://www.swquality.com/users/pustaver/jobs/)

  2 QA Jobs.net
    (http://www.qajobs.net/)

  3 Software Testing Jobs in the Northwest
    (http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/jobs-l-Redmond-WA-k-software%20testing)

  4 Software Testing Jobs at Accenture
    (http://accenture.jobs2web.com/go/Software-Testing-Jobs/13775/)

  5 Software Testing Jobs at Simply Hired
    (http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-Software+Testing)

  6 Software Testing Jobs at Tech Republic
    (http://jobs.techrepublic.com.com/a/jobs/find-jobs/q-Software+Testing)

  7 Software Testing Jobs at boston.com 
    (http://boston.monster.com/search.aspx?q=software+testing&lid=452%2C366%
    2C683%2C461%2C590%2C642&fn=&cy=us&x=45&y=8)

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*** Calendar ***

Every month you�ll find news here about local and national events that 
are of interest to the software community...

- Software Quality Calendar 

  There are many organizations that sponsor monthly meetings, workshops, 
  and conferences of interest to software professionals. Find out what�s 
  happening...
  (http://www.swqual.com/links/upcoming.html)

- Workshops Offered by Software Quality Consulting 

  Software Quality Consulting offers workshops in many topics related to 
  software process improvement. Get more info...
  (http://www.swqual.com/seminars/courses.html)

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*** About SQC ***

Software Quality Consulting provides consulting, training, and auditing 
services tailored to meet the specific needs of clients. We help clients 
fine-tune their software development processes and improve the quality of 
their software products. The overall goal is to help clients achieve 
Predictable Software Development(TM) � so that organizations can consistently 
deliver quality software with promised features in the promised timeframe. 

To learn more about how we can help your organization, visit our web site
(http://www.swqual.com/index.html?AboutSQC) or send us an email
([email protected]).

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I hope this newsletter has been informative and helpful. Your comments and 
feedback are most welcome. Send me your feedback...

Thanks,

Steve Rakitin
[email protected]

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