In the dynamic realm of software development, staying at the forefront of innovation is crucial for professionals aiming to thrive in an ever-evolving industry. One prime opportunity to engage with cutting-edge trends, network with industry leaders, and enhance your skills is the Pacific Northwest Software Conference (PNSQC). As an annual gathering of some of the brightest minds in software development, PNSQC offers a unique platform for professionals to learn, connect, and drive innovation. In this blog post, we explore the compelling reasons why participating in the Pacific Northwest Software Conference is a must for software enthusiasts.
At the heart of PNSQC lies a treasure trove of knowledge waiting to be unlocked. The conference boasts a diverse lineup of industry experts, thought leaders, and practitioners who share their insights, experiences, and the latest trends in software development. The knowledge gained at PNSQC catalyzes professional growth, empowering participants to tackle complex issues and drive innovation within their organizations.
Networking is key to staying connected with industry trends, potential collaborators, and job opportunities. PNSQC provides a unique environment for attendees to connect with like-minded professionals, engage in meaningful conversations, and establish valuable contacts.
Staying ahead in the software industry requires a keen awareness of emerging technologies. PNSQC is a hub for the latest advancements in software development, providing a glimpse into the future of the industry. From artificial intelligence and machine learning to blockchain and cloud computing, the conference showcases how these technologies are reshaping the software landscape.
Beyond the exchange of knowledge and skills, PNSQC fosters a sense of community among software professionals. The conference creates a space where individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences come together to share their passion for software development.
“The sizzling US labor market is good news for American workers and President Joe Biden, whose message on the nation’s booming economy may be starting to get through. It’s a bittersweet state of affairs though for those on Wall Street hoping for the Federal Reserve to start dropping interest rates soon. The January jobs report blew estimates out of the water and appears to affirm (yet again) the wrongheadedness of almost two years of recession predictions. The Fed is still pursuing its soft landing in the fight against inflation while the US has added thousands of jobs and broken with the pre-pandemic trend of weak wage growth. In the US version of post-Covid recovery, employers have been able to hire at a steady clip, allowing for business growth, while wages continue to outpace inflation, boosting workers’ spending power even in the face of rising prices.”
Based on this article alone, you’d think that we’d all have 2 to 3 job offers trying to lure us away from our current employer. However, during our Quality Jam event in January, two themes dominated the discussion. One was an amazing desire to learn that we saw in many of our participants. The other, more unsettling discovery was that several folks were looking for new opportunities, and had been doing so for a longer time than they wanted to. Additionally, we found that some of our younger participants who had majored in computer science - usually a fast track to a great job - were having trouble finding suitable employment. The tech sector labor market is not as “sizzling” as Bloomberg would have us believe.
Since jobs, and the lack thereof, seem to be a hot topic in 2024, PNSQC is stepping up to help our members and friends with the daunting task of finding that next great gig or, if you’re new to the tech industry, your first great gig!
To help our community get on the right track to new employment, our next two normal meetup events have been tailored to assist job seekers on the hunt. Additionally, we are planning to add a special track to the conference this Fall. Since our virtual track is only one day, we are going to use that time on the second day to offer a series of talks aimed at “Newbies”. Folks of all ages who are looking to leap into the tech industry will find sessions on polishing your resume, interviewing skills, and even basic QA tips and tricks. Information that will improve your Quality chops and hopefully help you take that next step into technology. Register for our February and March events to get a jump start on 2024 whether you're looking for a new gig or just want to learn more about the latest in software quality tools, technologies, and methods.
Thanks to all for attending today and joining our community. In line with our meeting title, we used Claude to write up this summary.
This summary structures the various discussion points and insights shared during the meeting under useful headers highlighting key areas like current applications in testing, differentiating AI capacities from search engines, critical considerations for responsible usage, and concluding takeaways. Below are more detailed notes from our discussion. Read more to get detailed notes from the meeting.
Benefits of Being a Presenter at PNSQC
Give and You Shall Receive
As mentioned in a complementary blog (It's Not As Hard As You Think), one of the key things that has differentiated PNSQC from the ‘other’ conferences is our pursuit of deep knowledge fostered by asking for technical papers as a key part of the process of being a presenter. Anyone who submits an abstract, gets accepted to the conference, and comes to present is required to complement their presentation with a peer-reviewed paper. You may think that this is a lot to ask, but it's not as hard as you think, and the benefits you get will surpass your expectations. Listen to some of our past authors on their paper writing and presenting experience at PNSQC and read on!
Do you have something to share with our community? Perhaps some big Problem you solved or a new tool you implemented at work? It’s not as hard as you think! Submit today and let others learn from your experience! You won’t regret presenting and, when it’s all done, you’ll find that you’re happy you did it!
Authors and their dedicated efforts to producing high-quality papers and presentations are the keys to ensuring a high-quality conference. PNSQC would like to take this opportunity to thank all authors for their participation. We hope you find this PNSQC Author Guidance document useful during your paper preparation. Writing a PNSQC conference paper, presentation, poster, tutorial, or workshop is not trivial. PNSQC deeply appreciates your efforts. With this said, we believe that while Generative AI can aid you in writing your paper, we don't expect it to write your paper for you. Our GenAI policy outlines our position and this is especially critical since your paper will be published in our annual proceedings and we must comply with Amazon's publishing rules. Notwithstanding, the guidelines below may be viewed as having subjective aspects, and you may have a different opinion on specifics. You and your Reviewers would ultimately need to apply judgment in producing a high-quality paper accepted for publication in the PNSQC proceedings.
Title. The title should be short, memorable, and to the point. PNSQC recommends titles that are fewer than 10 words, with a subtitle explanation if necessary.
Overall Coherence. Your paper should flow from one section to the next so the reader can understand from beginning to end. Make sure your paper follows a logical ordering such as; cause and effect, time sequence, or other logical order. Tell the reader what your ordering is upfront so they know what to expect as they read.
Use of Examples. Authors should give examples of concepts that they introduce to maximize the benefit of knowledge transferred. Use examples to make concrete the point you are trying to make.
Use of Data. Real data should be provided on experiments you have done to support your proposition or assertions made based on observations – whether the observations come from the author or a third party. Make sure you use data or references to relevant data to support your argument based on a trend or related evidence.
Use of Graphs or Graphics. Graphs and drawings can be recommended where appropriate to make the paper more clear and more understandable to the reader. As an author, ensure that it is easy to visualize the trend or pattern that you are describing; please consider using a graph or appropriate graphics to make it easy for the reader to grasp your ideas.
Clear Introduction and Conclusion. Papers should have a clear introduction and conclusion that ties to the introduction and abstract while stating clearly what the reader should remember the most about the paper, and where they can apply it in their professional work.
Use of References. Papers should reference other similar works, tools, or authors that have discussed or worked on things that are similar but different. Also, relative to references cited, an author should say where the item under review is different, better, or for a different application of a similar theory or concept.
Use of Previous Work. As an author, you are allowed to cite your own work, and use your own work for the current effort, however, there should be substantial differences between your past works, and the current work for PNSQC. A general guideline is that the current work should have at least ⅓ of new content from any previous work.
Grammar and Spelling. Sentences should be grammatically correct, poor spelling, run-on sentences, and other writing defects should be corrected by you, the author, and not need to be pointed out or corrected by the reviewer. Use a third-party tool to make corrections and support you.
Writing and Presenting a Paper for PNSQC: It’s not as hard as you think!Summary: Writing and presenting a practical experience-focused paper for the PNSQC conference is a great way to share your insights with the community.
Since PNSQC began in 1982, one of the key things that has differentiated us from the ‘other’ conferences is our pursuit of deep knowledge. We implement this idea by asking for technical papers as a key part of the process of being a presenter. Anyone who submits an abstract, gets accepted to the conference, and comes to present is required to complement their presentation slideshow with a peer-reviewed paper.
Talking with PNSQC Keynote speaker Andrea Goulet about empathy, technical skills, communication and collaborationAndrea Goulet: The folks that I love talking to are people who are actively coding as the majority of their role. I have a unique perspective where I spent the first part of my career really understanding empathy on a technical level. I was focused on strategic communications, and then in 2009, I met up with a friend from high school. He was really into working on legacy systems and modernizing them using agile practices. [He] invited me to be the CEO of his startup, so I learned [a lot] about software and all of these things too. And what I observed in learning about software, was that really code is communication. And if we want to write quality code, then we need to be able to communicate effectively and collaborate effectively. And functionally, the mechanism that we have evolved as humans to do that is empathy. And to me, empathy is the thing that is the foundation of all the practices like Agile or even Test Driven Development, or why a compiler was created [by] Grace Hopper. The intention was to make something better for people [and] to understand and make things easier.
For PNSQC 2023, we have chosen the theme "Amp it up! Transforming Quality." There are many ways to amplify your voice and your influence on quality in your organization, and Selena Delesie has a depth of experience in implementing them throughout her career. Selena will present the keynote Amplifying Agile Quality Practices at PNSQC 2023 in October.
You may recognize Karl's name as the co-author of the book "Software Requirements." In addition to being a software engineer, consultant and trainer, focusing on process improvement, Karl enjoys playing music. PNSQC has asked him to be a keynote speaker and workshop presenter at the 41st PNSQC this October. PNSQC volunteer Sam Simataa recently interviewed him to catch up on what Karl has been thinking about lately.I received this letter the other day from a teacher with the local high school’s robotics team in Portland, Oregon. It was rewarding to receive these kind words knowing that PNSQC is making an impact in the local community above and beyond our conference and extending into the future.
“I would like to thank you and PNSQC committee for accepting Portland high school robotics team paper submissions in the past. It gave students a great opportunity to showcase their accomplishments in software quality excellence. In addition, students were also able to connect with professionals at the conference and learn from everyone in this area.
Every paper presented at the Pacific NW Software Quality Conference over the years has started with an abstract. You might be wondering “What is an abstract and how do I get an idea for one?” PNSQC President Philip Lew takes you through the process in this blog post.
At the PNSQC 2023 March Meetup, Bhushan Gupta provided an orientation on attack surfaces, vectors, and methods of penetration for web applications. Then, he looked further into a method for quantifying the risks and assigning security priorities before the code is written. 
We are actively looking for people willing and able to help us over the coming months to help us make 2023 our best year yet.
As part of our tradition for the last few years to kick off the conference year, we'll be holding our annual Quality Jam on Feb 8, 2023. The Quality Jam features a half-dozen lightning talks of 10-12 minutes as a warm-up to the October conference where we also kick off the Call for Papers. The event, to be held live at the Golden Valley Brewery in Beaverton, Oregon will also be hybrid-virtual.
PNSQC 2022 Invited speaker and seasoned Quality Assurance Engineer Michael Larsen sat down to answer some questions to share with the PNSQC community. You're not going to want to miss his talk in October! If you don't have your conference tickets yet, there's still plenty of time to sign up here.
Interviewer: How do Accessibility and Inclusive Design relate to Quality?
Michael Larsen: If a product is difficult or impossible to use, we can't rightly call it a quality product. When we ignore users with disabilities or put them on the back burner, so to speak, we are telling a population of users that they will be receiving a sub-par service or product, one in which they will not be able to use effectively. To me, that goes against Quality in any meaningful sense that I am aware of.
Invited speaker and Security expert Yesenia Yser recently took time out of her busy day to interview with PNSQC, and we know you'll enjoy all she shared! Remember that you can still sign up for October's conference and hear her talk entitled "Supply Chain Security: Threats, Defenses and How We Can Help."Interviewer: You have a master's degree in digital forensics. Can you describe the field in a nutshell, and what drew you to pursuing this degree?
Yesenia Yser: Digital forensics is the digital practice of forensics, instead of a physical body or biometric, it is focused on digital data such as network, mobile devices. According to NIST, “Digital forensics is the field of forensic science that is concerned with retrieving, storing and analyzing electronic data that can be useful in criminal investigations.”
In high school, I was obsessed with the TV show, NCIS and their gothic forensics scientist, Abbey. She did a mixture of digital and criminal forensics. I was also so fascinated with this area of security work. When I was looking into my degree, I wanted to focus on cyber security, but there was no degree path with this focus outside of the Master’s degree at UCF. I focused my education on accomplishing this degree.
PNSQC 2022 Keynote speaker, Performance Engineering enthusiast, developer and computer games enthusiast Kaushal Dalvi took the time to answer some questions to share with the PNSQC community. If you hadn't already made a note to attend his talk in October, you will after reading the following interview! If you don't have your conference tickets yet, there's still plenty of time to sign up here.
Kaushal Dalvi: The simplest definition of quality that I have found myself using more and more is Josephs Juran's "fitness for use" definition. In that view, quality is an all-encompassing umbrella term that covers all of the '-ilities'. However, in most day to day conversations when one speaks of quality, the intention is to speak of functional correctness, as opposed to conformance to non-functional requirements.
From that perspective, I would still point back to Juran's definition of 'fitness for use'. If an application does not function correctly, it is not fit for use even if it is extremely performant. And an application that functions correctly but takes too long to return the response in a usable time-frame is again, not fit for use. So, long story short, there are thresholds of functional correctness and performance and the other '-ilities'. If a system, app or functionality falls outside this fitness for use threshold, then the other '-ilities' may not matter in that case.
Keynote speaker and seasoned Quality expert Julia Pottinger graciously took some time to interview with PNSQC, and we are thrilled to share her words with the community. The following Q&A make us all the more excited to hear her talk in October, and believe it will do the same for you. Enjoy, and see you at the conference! There's still plenty of time to sign up here.Interviewer: You talk about balancing learning on the job with learning on our own time. Is it expected that you should learn during company time?
Julia Pottinger: Companies should invest in the upskilling of their employees. There is a balance between how much you invest into your own learning and growth outside of work hours, while still having dedicated time from your job to learn. Learning on company time takes different forms, attending conferences, paying for courses/training budget, certifications, brown-bag sessions, workshops, peer coaching/programming etc. I expect guided learning by a company where employees learn during company time.
Panel on the Trends and Future of QA
Does this sound familiar? You’ve spent the last few years building up your company, learning new ways to work remotely, restructuring your department, strengthening your team, and moving ahead of the competition.
But, now, pundits are saying a downturn is coming. Will all that you’ve gained in recent years be lost?
Three Steps … How To Attend the PNSQC Conference
You’ve heard the buzz about PNSQC 2022: Top-flight speakers, powerful technical program, and three days (Oct. 10-12). You want to attend! But will your boss give you the green light? More importantly, will the boss let you put the bill on the company tab?
We are here to help you get to Yes! Here are tried and true steps for convincing your boss to cover your attendance.
If you’re here reading PNSQC blog content, and have not yet submitted a proposal for a conference paper, there’s an excellent chance that our poster option may be a great fit for you!
The recording for PNSQC's April 2022 meetup, “The Evolution of Enterprise Software System in the State Regulatory Space - From Monolith to Microservices,” is available on the PNSQC Youtube channel. Subscribe to the channel to get regular updates from all the recorded events.
Four Trends Showcase The Challenges And Opportunities.
A guest post from Bridget Hughes, of mabl software.
PNSQC and the Statewide QA Program of the State of Oregon co-hosted an Accessibility Workshop & Meetup on March 30, 2022. As a hybrid event, there were some 60 people that participated – both via Zoom and in person at our NE Portland venue.
This is the first in what we hope becomes a series of blog posts from people in the PNSQC community about how we navigate careers in Quality.
By Rachael Lovallo
My career as a tester began with quitting.
Tips on writing a successful abstract from Senior Test Engineer and PNSQC Presenter Rachael Lovallo.
Are you considering submitting a proposal to present at PNSQC’s 40th anniversary conference in 2022? The abstract is your chance to state your case and win over the review committee.
"You’re pretty smart for a girl."
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PNSQC volunteer Heather Wilcox describes the challenges and opportunities for women in technical roles. The path is not always easy, but here are some ideas for balancing the scales.[/caption]
I know now that this sentence is a micro-aggression. However, In January of 1995, when I started my first job in the software industry, it was something I heard all the time and, although I hated it, I got used to it. After deciding to abandon an advanced degree in Anthropology, I looked at my talents and decided that maybe my skills in small network administration and my lifelong love of technology might serve me well in the software industry. It took a few job interviews, but I finally snagged myself an entry-level position in technical support for a large software company.
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” -Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
This quote roughly translates into English as “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This is a common refrain among tech workers, especially software quality professionals.
PNSQC successfully started the 2022 conference year with a Quality Jam. This evening of lightning talks was designed to kick off the call for paper proposals for the 2022 conference.
2021 marked the second year of a fully-digital conference, and going digital means we recorded every talk. With more than 50 talks, panels, and discussions packed into two days, there’s so much you may have missed or want to revisit.
This year’s conference covered so much: From common testing challenges to how to implement lasting change within your team.
With more than 50 talks, panels, and discussions packed into two days, there’s so much you may have missed or want to revisit. This marked the second year of a fully-digital conference, and going digital means we recorded every talk.
It’s funny how many still think that a single best automation testing tool exists. That’s like saying mint chocolate is an all-time favorite ice-cream flavor when many may think it tastes like toothpaste.
By Adam Satterfield, Katalon Evangelist
The Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference puts quality at the forefront. The conference programming emphasizes evolving technical, management, and process practices, plus the methods needed to develop high-quality software.
