Three Test and Data Services employees (Rob, Ina and Alida) joined Wayne Mallinson (Test and Data Services' board chairman) in Cologne to make a South African presence felt at the EuroSTAR 2004 conference. This article diarises their experiences: both travel and conference-related.
The week had just run away with me! Preparation for the trip was quite hectic towards the end - what with getting everything to keep warm: jacket, shoes, jeans, etc.
I arrived at Johannesburg International airport at about 9:15 p.m. and headed straight for the food court/restaurants - 'coz where else will I find Alida. I was unable to get the luggage trolley up there - there is a pole in the way on the escalator and the lift doesn't go there. We finally met in the long book-in queue. Ina had already been there, and would meet us inside.
Alida looked like she was going to be labelled a terrorist when she went through the scanners; as the alarm bell rang, and they proceeded to search her. Fortunately, she survived the experience!
My travel experience up until now has been pretty good, but this time around I encountered an official who was very short on people skills. This official informed me, in no uncertain terms, that I had to forfeit my British passport for a South African one! What a cheek! I managed to get through, but was left with a cloud of uncertainty over what I might face on my return.
We wandered around the duty free shops - Alida was especially interested in the perfume prices! Little did I know that this would be to my advantage later in the trip, when I would receive and unexpected SMS (text message) from my daughter to buy her some perfume!
We met Ina (with her big smile) in the boarding queue prior to boarding the flight. Luckily we made sure that we had seats together on the plane. We (most of us) were not seasoned long-distance fliers, and had to get used to the restrictions and the limited space. The airline provided us with a light blanket, a pillow, and a set of earphones. The latter was used for watching movies or listening to music. I have always heard that sleeping on a long flight becomes such an issue, and at this point I was wondering what the big deal was! I had learnt a few lessons ten hours later, what with swollen feet amongst other aches and pains! We chatted excitedly about our expectations of Amsterdam, Cologne, and the conference. We worked out that if we moved it up, we would be able to have a quick tour around Amsterdam. We were all very curious about the "red light district" and the "coffee" shops.
On landing in Amsterdam (and realising that we had left the 32ºC weather behind in South Africa) we shuttled through arrivals and onto the train bound for central Amsterdam. This sounds easy, but interpreting the "auto-ticket" dispenser proved to be a mission!
Whilst on the train the conductor came around to check the tickets, and guess what, we bought the wrong tickets - the ticket machine asked if we wanted "korting" (discount tickets) and of course we took the "korting". Anyway, the conductor told us that he would have to fine us 16 per person. I thought, "there goes 16 down the drain - less spending money!!" Luckily for us, the guy tore the tickets and told us to buy new ones when we return to the airport.
We arrived at the central station in Amsterdam relying on the navigation skills of my team-mates, skills I would come to rely on a lot in our future travels. We decided to walk up the main street in Amsterdam and found shops that were quite "out of the ordinary" only 300m up the road. My first purchase was a "beanie" with Amsterdam on the front, which proved to be invaluable in our ongoing travels. We noticed a reliance on public transport: trains, trams, and bicycles (we nearly were run over a couple of times). There is nothing like looking the wrong way, and hearing the relentless ring of a bicycle bell from the other direction. There was a large square with frozen model figures, horses, and carriages, bordered by famous buildings like "Madam Tusseau's Wax Museum" and the like. We then headed on back to Schipol airport [Ina: almost taking the wrong train back], luckily in good time to board our next flight. We managed to have a stroll around the duty free shops, and stop for a cup of cappuccino [Ina: and chilli bytes (from SA of course)], prior to boarding a "city hopper" to Cologne.
On landing in Cologne it was a relief to see our baggage come down the travelator. I have heard some scary stories from people who have been on international flights!
Having flagged down a taxi and loaded our luggage, I tried getting into the front of the car and was confronted by a steering wheel - I knew that was not going to work! On changing seats I asked the driver if he was comfortable driving on the left side, I don't think that he understood my sense of humour - luckily! We arrived at the hotel around six p.m. in total darkness. Wayne was there to greet us, after which we shot up to our rooms to unpack and clean up. These would be our homes for the week of our stay.
We met Wayne and his daughter (Sandi) downstairs in Reception at seven p.m. We proceeded to the train station to gain our first of many experiences of Cologne's efficient public transport. Our first port of call was the Koelnmesse conference centre, where EuroSTAR 2004 was going to be held. We walked around the large structure, which in itself was quite impressive, and then on down to the Rhine, where we took a few breathtaking pictures - with the famous Cologne Cathedral (Köln Dom) in the background. We found the route to the bridge that would take us over the Rhine, which had facilities for cars, trains, and pedestrians, oh, and of course, bicycles. Wayne happily clicked away at the monuments as we went past.
We eventually arrived at the shopping centre on the other side of the bridge, adjacent to the Cathedral and the Entertainment centre. The latter is a different version of the Dome, (now renamed Coca Cola Dome) in North Riding, Johannesburg. After buying weekly train tickets, we all went in search of 'gluhwein' at the Christmas market next to the Cathedral. We learnt that there is nothing like gluhwein to warm one up on a cold winter's evening in Germany. We then bought some German 'wors' rolls, which were great. The salesman did not look all that impressed with me when I asked for a 'boerewors roll'.
The Christmas market produced some incredible experiences, as the Germans really get into the spirit of the season. One of the stalls had every conceivable prop for a Christmas nativity setting. There were also stalls with trinkets, candles, and other artefacts. There was also a stage where local musical heroes were performing the hits of artists such as Robbie Williams, with young and old supporting them with singing and dancing! We took our weary bodies off back to the hotel, hoping to rejuvenate ourselves in preparation of the first day of EuroSTAR 2004.
We met at 07: 00 a.m. and headed out into the cold to catch the train to the conference centre. In enthusiastic South African/Test and Data Services style, we were some of the first to register and get our files, rucksack, and T-shirt (you get the T-shirt before the conference in Europe). We planned our first day of tutorials over croissants and coffee. We found the food to be exceptionally good throughout the conference.
I enthusiastically headed off to the session on "Non-functional testing as a full lifecycle activity" presented by Julian Harty and Stuart Reid, which proved to be of great interest. It introduced some of the practical issues, and advantages, of non-functional attributes, which should be considered early in the project life-cycle.
My first session was "How to break software" by James Whittaker. What an experience it was!! This guy was born to test. He gave us "17 Attacks" to test a system.
I went to a session called "Getting a grip on exploratory testing" by James Lyndsay. This was a great session, and a reminder to never stop thinking "outside the box"! It was an interactive session with lots of fun activities. This type of testing really needs a place in each testing project! We need to explore more!
We headed back to the hotel around 6 p.m. for a quick change. Wayne suggested we find a steak house to eat out at. We found a place near the market that we had been at the night before, "The Chicago Steakhouse". I was very apprehensive as to the Europeans ability to make a decent steak! I had to eat my words (or my steak actually), as the meal I had was delicious. This was complemented by a sample of some good German beer! Prost! See the pictures for proof.
After some more exploration of the main streets of Cologne, and a little window-shopping we headed on back to the hotel.
We met once more at about 07:00 a.m. - we seemed to take it in turns to be a little late! I made the mistake of not setting my time back one hour to coincide with European daylight saving. We headed off to the conference centre once more, where we sat and planned our tutorial sessions for the day.
I attended the session by Bill Curtis on "Best Practices for conducting CMM®/CMMI®-based process improvement" in the morning, followed by "Test Maturity Model" presented by Erik van Veenendaal in the afternoon. It was good to compare the merits of both approaches.
I attended the session by Jens Coldewey on "Crash ten projects a day - Project Dynamics". My second session by Dr. Bill Curtis was on "Best Practices in developing workforce capability". It gave us a good overview of good practices for people management from a mature enterprise.
I attended a session called "A power to be reckoned with" by Patricia Ensworth. Not a bad session, but more aimed at people new in the test management role.
My second session was by Lloyd Roden from Grove consultants, called "How to build and lead effective Test teams". I really enjoyed this session, and found this presenter's style and energy truly motivating. Grove consultants (only 4 in the team) really know their strengths, and how to use them! This was the great lesson learnt from this tutorial - know your team's personality and strengths, and let them work for the projects benefit.
We went back to the hotel to freshen up, that evening we went out to look for the Chocolate museum. We met a fellow delegate (Wouter Smith from the Netherlands), who came with us. After taking a number of trains to get there we discovered to our dismay that the venue was closed! Nevertheless we made the best of it and went to a Christmas market next-door; there were stalls with folks presenting medieval humour and tricks with fire, which were quite entertaining. We found some more gluhwein there, which warmed us up, and some delicious "braaied" pork on a skewer. Incidentally, there was a deposit on the skewer, which we had to return.
The conference starts in earnest! We met at eight and caught the train to the venue. We reviewed which sessions we would attend, and went to get seats for the welcome session and the morning keynote address: "The role of testing in Extreme Programming". The speaker, Kent Beck, covered his topic with a one page Mind Map!
The first session I attended was "Testing real time properties in large architectures" by Mats Larson.
The most practical session I attended during the conference was "Alternative Test Tools in Action", by Alan Richardson - watch this space for his name in the future.
The lunchtime keynote speaker was James Whittaker, delivering a dynamic presentation on "Breaking software security", giving some practical demonstrations of how to break software and some of the scary possibilities with website access.
After lunch I attended the "Becoming a trusted advisor - how to present the testing message effectively", by Lloyd Roden, and then "Total organisational test policy", by Brian Wells and Andrew Goslin.
The first session on my agenda was "The developers and I", by Quan Young from Nokia (Finland). Next I went to the "Human boundary conditions" session, by Patricia Ensworth from Harborlight Management Services (USA). After the lunch Keynote session I attended the "Career and Competence development of test personnel", by Tuula Jokiharju from Nokia in Finland. She gave us some really good insight about how to develop testers. After the afternoon break I went to the "Communication and Assertiveness" session, presented by Paul Lister from the UK.
My first session was with Mats Grindal from Enea Systems, called "What testers can learn from scientific methods". This presenter looked and sounded like one of those genius engineers, and what he said made me realise even more - that testers are the true scientists out there in the software world! It was really a session that triggered some creative thoughts! It ended up on unpredictability and the molecules that affect our environment! Hhmmm. ok.?
Another interesting session of the day was "Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge", presented by an Indian lady Rajesh Sivaraman, who was born in India, had resided in Canada, but is currently living in Switzerland! She can truly relate to cross-continental projects, and the practical problems that arise from these. A very valuable session for travellers!
The first afternoon session I attended was, "The testing maturity model in the real world", presented by Brian Wells and Andrew Goslin from Marks and Spencer. The second session for the afternoon was "Effective feedback from Quality tools during development", presented by Daniel Grenner from Enea Systems.
At the end of the day we joined all the delegates for a cocktail party, where we met some well-known names: Mark Fewster, Neil Thompson, Carsten Niels Jorgensen, to name but a few! We sampled the great spread of eats, and German beer, and decided to see what the nightlife of Cologne had for us.
We had much fun, and Wouter was treated to some "South African entertainment". We became quite creative, and even taught Wouter a few sayings! We also missed our stop on the way home and had to catch a taxi! Nevertheless, good fun was had by all!
We gathered shortly after 8 a.m., sporting a few tired faces and wondering how we were going to survive the day! We checked our timetables for which presentations to attend.
In his keynote, "Effective Software Lifecycle practices at Microsoft", Sam Guckenheimer shared thirteen key concepts. I also attended "Experience with a risk based approach to CMMI® implementation", by Fran O Hara.
Lectures attended:
"Planning for plan driven vs. agile testing", by Maaret Pyhajarvi, and "The essence of requirements specifications", by Carsten Niels Jorgensen.
We spent tea breaks and lunchtimes getting around the expo stands. This gave us an idea of what was out there, and our position in terms of size and exposure as a South African company.
Networking was our main aim, and of course, collecting as many freebees as we could!
Dr Stephan Ferber delivered a further keynote speech from "Bosch on Systems driven by Bosch". The afternoon lecture I attended was: "Managing projects with intelligence", by Paul Gerrard.
Keynote: "Technical Testing bridging the gap between testers and developers", by Julian Harty, and then a fun session in the form of a play titled "Developers are from Neptune, Testers are from Pluto", delivered by Grove Consultants.
My first session was on "The Relative Attributes of Test Techniques", by Christopher Corney from the UK. Dr Rix Groenboom talked about what can be done about Software Reliability. After yet another great session with James Whittaker, I attended my second last session about "Effective testing with Limited Resources", by Ken Brennock, and the last session by Julie Gardiner about "Breaking down the barriers between Testers and Developers".
My first session for the day was "How to define effective test goals and strategies", presented by Anders Claasens from Enea Systems. Good presenter, good content! The second morning session was presented by Stuart Reid, of Cranfield University, and Geoff Thompson, of Legal ∓ General Assurance. Their session was called "Failure Analysis: Preventing and Detecting Imminent Software Disasters". An interesting session with some examples of major software failures, but unfortunately not enough on the techniques on how to find these hairy, dangerous, and potentially 'deadly' BUGS!
In the afternoon, I attended a session by David Petrella, called "Integrated development/Test project teams". He gave feedback on a project he participated in as a manager in the development area; how the development team and the test team worked together to deliver the project, and break the barriers between them. The next afternoon session, by Malte Foegen, was called "What process improvement experts can learn from engineers". What a great session! A very valuable session for any person involved with process improvement. This guy is a genius, and reminded me a bit of the 'nutty professor'! He was not afraid to overstep the boundaries with his unconventional way of thinking!
We shot back to the hotel to freshen up before we headed back to Gurzenich in central Cologne to attend the Gala evening, where awards were presented for testing excellence, best tutorial, and best paper. Piano and saxophone music, snacks and drinks complemented the occasion. The venue's history was very interesting, as it was originally built as a venue for special occasions, but at some point was used as a warehouse, and then restored to its original function.
Alida was chatted up by one of the European delegates, whom we affectionately named "Rambo".
We went for coffee at the Hard Rock Café: an experience made memorable by Alida ordering the biggest "Chocolate Nut Sundae" ever! We all had to help her out to finish it before heading on back to the hotel.
The final day of the conference! Wayne was keenly anticipating the arrival of the rest of his family. We once more reviewed our final day's plan, and took the train trip to the conference centre. Travelling by train was, by now, old news. It had also become noticeably colder this morning, a sign of things to come.
After coffee we headed off to the first session by James Bach, "Becoming a Test Expert", which was most enlightening - covering the attributes of those who are perceived to fulfil that role. The second session I attended was "Secrets of Test Driven Development", by Peter Zimmerer.
After tea an outstanding session titled "Document-Driven Disciplined Development of Software", was delivered by David Parnas. "The journey to test automation maturity", by Dorothy Graham rounded off the presentations for the conference. The programme chairs delivered the final speeches.
After the first session with James Bach (Test Focus has published one of his articles) I went to my last session that was about "Increasing Responsibilities and Economy of Software Inspection" by Marko Kornssi. There we learnt that software inspections are very important in the development life cycle.
I had a slow, quiet morning, attending a session called "Driving Wheel-Model: A new development process model", by Seretta Gamba ∓ Dirk Andrew Heil, from Mummert ISS GmbH. These guys were responsible for the full testing effort of the 2004 Olympic Games! Impressive, but this methodology was a bit too much for this blonde so early on a Friday morning.
The last session was on "Agile Management", presented by Olaf Lewitz. This was very informative. The presenter is not blinded by traditional methods, and his approach is really the movement of the future! What can I say, other than - watch this space!!
I could see the glint in Alida and Ina's eyes, as the promise of an undisturbed shopping frenzy was imminent. Luckily I had the support of Wouter who joined us for the afternoon, before his return to the Netherlands. We travelled into central Cologne with his car, which proved to be a unique experience, closely related to travelling in Johannesburg for the first time.
We hit the Christmas market, and lost "Dolla" (Ina) for about an hour. We made a pact that if we lost one another we would call "Vrystaat" This tactic proved to be invaluable, and saved us a number of times!
We took a shopping break, and decided to do the tourist thing and climb the Dom (cathedral) tower, which was approximately five hundred stairs. The view from the top is breathtaking, and even then the Cathedral's spires tower above one! We, incidentally, met some South Africans at the top. We bade farewell to Wouter, as he would have to travel in the dark for a couple of hours.
We went and bought cuckoo clocks, memorabilia, and jewellery in the main shopping area.
We went to one of the main shopping malls, which was about five stories high! The Christmas displays in the shop windows were stunning. We bought chocolates, perfume, DVDs, and jewellery. Would you expect any less from my shopping partners? We lost "Dolla" again, but are pleased to say we found her at the entrance sitting cross-legged on the floor waiting patiently for us!
We ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken - basically the same but with a different menu. We returned to the Christmas market where we bumped into Wayne's family. They had now been greeted with chilly weather. They recommended that we see the ice-skating, so off we trekked to find that spectacle! From there, our final return trip to the hotel. We packed up, then to lay our heads to rest at about 00: 30.a.m.
Up at 03:00 (alarm was meant to go off at 03: 30). Knock on the gang's doors - with exception of Wayne's of course, as he and his family would be spending the rest of the month in Europe and the UK.
We compressed our luggage into the taxi when it came - now I know where the concept of the zip file came from! We arrived at the airport at about half past four. The souls were few and far between. We eventually booked in at about five o'clock, and we were booked through to Johannesburg, but were told that we could not reserve the escape door seats (for extra room).
On walking through the scanning section, both Alida and I were given the full frisk routine. We went through, had coffee and moved into the exit lounge. An announcement was made for "somebody Etsebeth" That was coincidental we chuckled, but the call came again. Off Alida went to find out what was on the go! She came back sometime later, telling us that they suspected a bomb in her baggage - detected when it went through the scanning machine. It turned out to be something of similar form in her personal things! False alarm! I thought it might have been her way to extend her stay!
We flew out at 07:00, arriving at Schipol airport in Amsterdam at about 8:15 a.m. We had time to do our last minute browsing in the duty free shops to pick up a few odds and ends. The flight to Johannesburg was delayed due to some "technical" problems. We eventually boarded the aircraft about an hour late.
We made ourselves comfortable and the good news is that the flight was not full so we were able to spread out a little! Do you think I could get much sleep in the ten plus hours on the way home? I may have managed to get an hour and a bit. The plus was that we managed to get a breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps, and later on of the Sahara desert. We were all tired, but we had fun chatting about testing and other topics.
We arrived late at Johannesburg International, about 22h40, and were greeted with the slow arrival queues. What a mess! However, eventually we were home with family and friends.
What a great adventure!