Keynote | Building the Quality Ecosystem for the 21st Century
Theresa Lanowitz | September 06, 2006

Software and Systems Quality Conference
Zurich, Switzerland


We have moved into the 21st century with barely a change in the way enterprise applications are created, deployed, and updated. And, while we are still toiling away in the development and quality assurance shops, the needs of the business have radically shifted and we continue to solve the same problem in different ways. Technology is firmly in control of business and business is demanding to move forward.

The quality assurance organization of the 21st century is a dynamic, intelligent, involved, and business-oriented organization capable of effective and productive communications with the line of business. Tools alone are not sufficient for this modern quality assurance organization, yet many rely solely on technology in an attempt to solve 21st century problems. Strategic quality assurance organizations will focus on building and understanding an entire ecosystem to deliver quality throughout all phases of the application life cycle with a keen focus on the customer!

Wise enterprise quality assurance organizations realize they need to partner effectively to deliver high customer satisfaction and ultimately high quality. Lessons of the past several years are valuable data points for quality assurance organizations to study and use as learning tools.
Quality assurance organizations are shifting in roles, responsibilities, and certainly the types of skills required. This presentation will examine:
  • Why is change necessary for the enterprise quality assurance organization?
  • How is the modern quality assurance organization changing and adapting to their new roles within the ecosystem?
  • What are the expectations of the modern quality assurance organizations?
  • When should a quality assurance organization begin to build a quality ecosystem?
  • Where can a quality assurance organization seek best practices and guidance?
  • Who are the partners in the quality ecosystem?