Spicon2003

II Floor, Century Centre, No.39 , T.T.K.Road, Alwarpet , Chennai - 600 018.
Phone: 2467 1006, 2498 7146
Email: admin@spinchennai.org Web: www.spinchennai.org
(Regd.)
National Summit on Software Testing
27-28, November 2003, Hotel Taj Coromandel, Chennai
Supported by: Sponsored by:
Background
Testing is an important life cycle activity in a software project. This area is one which has not
received the same level of attention in terms of fora as for example programming languages,
design methodologies, etc. India has become the outsourcing destination of choice for software.
More and more Testing projects are outsourced to Indian companies. It is essential that
organizations understand and appreciate the issues and techniques related to testing to provide
world-class services to global customers.
The two-day National Summit on Software Testing, organized by SPIN, Chennai is aimed at
promoting awareness and interest in the area of Software Testing among the product/ project
managers and the engineers. A set of eminent speakers will be covering topics of importance and
interest to the audience. The objectives of this event are:
• Address the major issues facing testing by different stakeholders covering product
companies, services organizations and academia.
• Provide a well-rounded coverage of all the important dimensions – people, process and
technology – of software testing.
• Field of Testing has to be extended into a new area of concern, namely checking for Secure
Coding – Building secure applications in a networked world.
• Bring in diverse experiences and share the best practices of people and organizations with a
reputation for quality.
• Showcase the latest in tools and technologies for software testing.
• Create a forum of people interested in software testing.
Who should attend?
The program is targeted at managers as well as other levels of practitioners of software, whose
responsibilities include performing or integrating with software testing. In particular, people who
are project managers, team leads, module leads, test leads and test engineers will find this
summit very relevant and useful.

Phone: 2467 1006, 2498 7146
(Regd.)
People with direct test management and test execution responsibilities will find in this seminar
an opportunity to hear from the experts on common issues. People who do not have direct
responsibility in testing activities but have to interact with those performing the testing activity
will get an appreciation of the complexity and challenges of testing, thus facilitating a better
understanding and teamwork.
The participants will also get an opportunity to ask their questions to a select set of panelists in a
panel discussion on “Testing and Quality Careers – Myth or Reality?”
SPIN Chennai is a leadership forum for the free and open exchange of software process
improvement experiences and ideas on all aspects of how an organization improves the way it
develops/ maintains software and delivers software intensive services. SPIN, Chennai organizes
regular talks by eminent speakers on topics of importance to the industry and
conducts Quiz programmes and conferences. Chennai SPIN is managed by a steering committee
consisting of SPIN members who have committed to take on various roles and responsibilities to
achieve the objectives of SPIN. SPIN, Chennai functions from 1994 and has very good
membership base.
Fees
Rs. 4,000/- per delegate
Rs. 3,500/- per delegate for batch of FOUR & above registered
Rs. 2,000/- per delegates from recognized academic institutions.
For confirmed registration, please send the fees with filled in Delegate Registration Form to
reach SPIN, Chennai before 20th November 2003
Organizing Committee
Jayakumar, CEO, AmitySoft Technologies Private Limited, Chennai
Gopalaswamy Ramesh, Consultant and Adjunct Professor, IIIT-Bangalore and Anna University,
Chennai
Srinivasan Desikan, Senior Manager and Architect, Novell, Bangalore
M Rajamanickam, Vice President, Corporate Quality, HCL Technologies, Chennai

Phone: 2467 1006, 2498 7146
(Regd.)
Detailed Agenda
Day I: 27 November 2003
TIME TOPIC / SPEAKERS
08:30 –
09:00
Registration
09:00 –
10:00
Inauguration and Keynote Address: Prof H N Mahabala, Professor, Indian
Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore
This session sets the tone for the entire event, underscores the importance of testing
and presents the big picture of software testing. This session also highlights the
roles that need to be played by academia and industry to nurture and develop the
talents required for software testing.
Professor Mahabala is a pioneer in the field of computer science in India. He holds
a Ph D from University of Saskatchewn, Canada. He has served on the faculty of
the IISc, University of Saskatchewn, University of Waterloo, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, IIT, Kanpur and retired from Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras in 1995. He has served as the President of the Computer
Society of India, and as member Electronic Commission (GOI). He has been
awarded the "Life Time Achievement Award" by Dataquest in 1998. He is currently
expert member of the IT Standards Board set up by the Government of Karnataka.
10:00 –
11:00
Experiences in Product Testing: Girish C. Elchuri, Director, Andiamo
Software Systems (Pvt.) Ltd, Bangalore
The issues confronted in testing by software product organizations are very
different from those by organizations that take up testing as a service. This
presentation is to highlight and capture those issues that are critical to software
product organizations.
Girish Elchuri is currently the Director of Software Engineering at Andiamo Software
Systems (Pvt.) Ltd., a Cisco funded Storage company. He has extensive experience in
product development through his career, covering technical and management activities. He
has worked on the complete life cycle activities of products from conceptualization to
customer release and ongoing maintenance. Prior to his current job, Girish has worked in
Novell, Tata Information Systems Ltd and WIPRO. He was a recipient of the President’s
Award at Novell. Girish holds M.Tech in Computer Science from IIT,Kanpur and B Tech in
Mechanical Engineering from SVU College of Engineering, Tirupathi.
11:00 –
11:15
BREAK
11:15 –
12:15
Testing as a Service: Govindarajan, QA manager, Cognizant Technology
Solutions, Chennai
Indian companies take up testing as a service even if they do not necessarily
develop the product. This offers tremendous cost and time zone advantages. The

Phone: 2467 1006, 2498 7146
(Regd.)
presentation addresses the issues specific to the “services model” of testing and
also identifies the areas that are similar to the product testing that can be leveraged.
Govindarajan (Govind) has over 10 years of experience in the IT industry and is currently
working with Cognizant's E-Test Center, Chennai, Govind is the QA Manager for all
Cognizant's Insurance and Healthcare clients. He is the key player in establishing the
offshore Test Center at Cognizant focused on testing as an independent entity where
functional testing, performance testing and test automation are carried out in an onsite-offshore
model for multiple projects. He holds a BE from College of Engineering, Anna University,
MBA from IIM, Calcutta, India. He also has a Diploma in Business Finance (DBF) from
Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst of India (ICFAI), Hyderabad, India and is a Project
Management Professional (PMP) from Project Management Institute (PMI), USA
12:15 –
13:15
LUNCH
13:15 –
14:15
Testing and Formal Models: Gangadharaiah. C.P, Vice President, Interop
Solutions, Wipro Technologies, Bangalore.
Testing augments and supplements processes. It is tied well into the formal process
models. This presentation addresses how testing process is continuously improved
using CMM, CMMi and Six Sigma frameworks.
Gangadharaiah.C.P holds an M.S in Computer Science from Alberta University, Canada,
M.S in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from IISc, Bangalore and B.E. from UVCE,
Bangalore, where he obtained the first rank in the University. He has more than 25 years of
experience in the industry. He started his career with ITI, Bangalore where he was the
Chief Engineer in the design of microprocessor based switching systems. He then moved
to Wipro where he was initially part of the Telecom group. He is currently heading Interop
Solutions, the Testing and Independent Verification and Validation Division of Wipro
Technologies, where he is leading close to 1000 people focused on testing activities.
14:15 –
15:15
People Issues in Testing – Gopalaswamy Ramesh, Consultant and Adjunct
Professor, IIIT-Bangalore and Anna University, Chennai
The major issues in testing are not just technology related but people related too.
This presentation addresses the issues of hiring, retention, motivation and providing
career path for software testing professionals and the issues faced thereof.
Prof Gopalaswamy Ramesh has over 23 years of experience in the industry. He worked for
over 15 years with Oracle Corporation and played a key role in setting up the highly
successful India Development Center (IDC) for Oracle in Bangalore. Till April, 2002, he
was the Senior Director of Oracle IDC, leading a team of 400+ engineers. He is the author
of the book Managing Global Software Projects, published by Tata McGraw Hill. This book
won the National Award and has been translated to Chinese. He teaches at Anna
University and at IIIT-Bangalore and also conducts workshops on project management.
15:15 –
15:30
BREAK

Phone: 2467 1006, 2498 7146
(Regd.)
15:30 –
16:30
Software Test Strategy: Arun Ramu, Associate VP and Head, Independent
Validation Solutions, Infosys, Bangalore
With the advent of the Internet, testing has become a business critical function. It
has now become extremely important that adequate time be spent in planning and
executing tests. This presentation will take the audience through the process of
coming up with an optimized Test Strategy that will ensure a tight control over the
quality of the product being released and highlight some of the best practices in
tuning the strategy to suit the situation.
Arun Ramu is a B.Tech (Electronic & Communication) from REC, Suratkal with over 20
years of experience in the IT field. Arun started his career with Tata Burroughs (now Tata
Infotech) in Mumbai as a software engineer. In the 13+ years at Tata Infotech, Arun has
played various Project stream and Quality stream roles including being responsible for the
ISO 9001 certification of Tata Infotech Bangalore office. For the next 5 years Arun was with
Trigent Software Ltd, playing varied roles like Head of Quality, US Operations in-charge,
etc. He moved to Infosys 3+ years ago where he has established an Independent
Validation practice providing Testing related services and consultancy to Fortune-1000
customers across the globe.
16:30 –
17:30
Vendor Presentations
17:30 –
18:30
Panel Discussion: Testing and Quality Careers – Myth or Reality?
The panel discussion focuses on career planning issues in the area of testing. This is
an important issue for managers and test engineers alike. With representation from
academia and industry, the audience will have a unique opportunity to address their
questions and get valuable multiple perspectives.
Panelists: Prof H N Mahabala, Girish Elchuri (Andiamo), Arun Ramu
(Infosys), Gopalaswamy Ramesh, Srinivasan Desikan (Novell) and T.Ashok
(Stag Software), Govindarajan (Cognizant) and Dr Prakash Muthalik (RelQ)

Phone: 2467 1006, 2498 7146
(Regd.)
DAY 2: 28 November 2003
TIME TOPIC / SPEAKERS
08:30 –
09:00
Registration
09:00 –
10:30
Fundamentals of Testing: Srinivasan Desikan, Senior Manager and Architect,
Novell, Bangalore.
This presentation covers the fundamental concepts of testing and addresses the
different types of tests like black box tests, white box tests, etc. The presentation
underscores the relevance of each of these types of tests and shares some of the
practical experiences from the industry.
Srinivasan has more than 14 years of experience in testing products that have several
million customers worldwide. He has extensive experience in the areas of test automation,
test management, test processes and in setting up test teams from scratch. He has
delivered talks on testing in the international testing conferences of QAI-India, ASIASTAR-
2002 (Melbourne-Australia), PSQT/PSTT-2003 (Washington,USA) and at several
companies and universities in India. He has written many articles in the area of testing for
international publications. etc. Some of his articles can be accessed at:
http://www.stickyminds.com.
10:30 –
10:45
BREAK
10:45 –
12:15
Testing Process: T. Ashok, Director, Stag Software, Bangalore
The success of testing is dependent on the thoroughness of the testing process that
is followed. This presentation covers the basic process of testing that includes test
planning, test specifications, test design, etc.
T. Ashok is the founder director of stag software private limited, a test engineering
company based in Bangalore India. He has over seventeen years of experience in the
software discipline and has worked in all phases of software development cycle. Prior to
founding stag software, he was instrumental in creating a world-wide test organization for
VeriFone. Prior to these he has worked with HP Division of Blue Star and Sunray
Computers. Ashok is passionate about software testing and is a regular speaker at several
national and international conferences. He holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science
from Illinois Institute of Technology and B.E in Electronics and Communications from Anna
University, Chennai.
12:15 –
13:15
LUNCH
13:15 –
14:45
Testing Solutions: Balasubramanian, Karthik Josium and Anand, Cognizant
Technology Solutions, Chennai
Testing solutions span a wide variety of services -- these include usability testing,
security testing. There are also specialized tests required by regulatory authorities
in certain specific domains. This presentation presents an overview of these diverse
testing solutions in three parts – regulatory compliance, Usability Testing and

Phone: 2467 1006, 2498 7146
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Security Testing.
Balasubramanian Sankaranarayanan (Bala), is currently Life Sciences Project Manager in
CTS. He has over 12 years of experience in the software industry. He has specialized in
the regulatory compliance requirements in the Life Sciences industry and the
Pharmaceutical business processes and practices. Bala is also a Qualified Internal Quality
Auditor. Bala is a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Chemistry) and holds International
Diplomas in Software Engineering from various leading institutions.
Karthik Josium has a Masters degree in Computer Science from Texas A & M University,
USA. He also has a Bachelors degree in engineering from University of Madras, India. He
has specialized in user interfaces and has specialized in Human-Computer Interaction
covering areas like Zero-Text Interface, Usability Engineering, Interface Agents, and
Educational Multimedia. Karthik has published a paper "Incorporating Concept Maps in a
Slide Presentation Tool for the Classroom Environment" for International Educational
Multimedia Conference (Colorado, USA).
Anand, a graduate from Mysore University, has been with Cognizant’s Security Practice
since August 2002. Previously, at MIEL e-Security, Mumbai, he specialised in the area of
Public Key Infrastructure, Network Security and Information Security Audit services. At
CTS, he has been instrumental in pioneering the Application Security Assessment
Services and currently leads projects in the area of Security Assessment for Network and
Applications. Anand is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from
the International Information Systems Security Consortium. (ISC2)
14:45 –
15:00
BREAK
15:00 –
16:30
Metrics in Testing, Prakash Muthalik, CEO, RelQ
As is the case with any process, Metrics are very important for the Testing Process
as well. This presentation discusses the appropriate metrics for the different phases
and types of testing and discusses the relevance of these metrics in the overall
business context of software development
Dr Prakash Muthalik is the CEO of RelQ.Dr. Mutalik is a co-founder and President of RelQ
Software, a global company specialized in Independent Validation & Verification. RelQ is
a Bangalore based software services company with operations in USA, Europe and Asia
Pacific. RelQ has been successful in this niche and has a reputed set of clients world
over.He has over 26 years of experience in the software industry in India and USA and has
served corporations such as Hewlett Packard and Wipro. Dr. Mutalik has been a Quality
consultant since 1992 for several reputed software companies such as Verifone, Through
successful assignments and experience, he has developed specific technologies in the
Quality Assurance area to help his clients develop better Quality software.
16:30 –
17:30
Vendor Presentations
17:30 –
17:45
Valedictory Function

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