GTAC 2011: Closing Keynote - Secrets of World Class Software Organizations

6th Annual Google Test Automation Conference 2011 (GTAC 2011) "Cloudy With A Chance Of Tests" Computer History Museum Mountain View, CA USA October 26-27, 2011 Presented by Steve McConnell. ABSTRACT Construx consultants work with literally hundreds of software organizations each year. Among these organizations, a few stand out as being truly world class. They are exceptional in their ability to meet their software development goals and exceptional in the contribution they make to their companies' overall business success. Do world class software organizations operate differently than average organizations? In Construx's experience, the answer is a resounding "YES." In this talk, award-winning author Steve McConnell reveals the technical, management, business, and cultural secrets that make a software organization world class. Steve McConnell is CEO and Chief Software Engineer at Construx Software where he consults to a broad range of industries, teaches seminars, and oversees Construx's software engineering practices. Readers of Software Development magazine named him one of the three most influential people in the software industry along with Bill Gates and Linus Torvalds. Steve is the author of Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art (2006), Code Complete (1993, 2004), Rapid Development (1996), Software Project Survival Guide (1998), and Professional Software Development(2004), as well as numerous technical articles. His books have won numerous awards for "Best Book of the Year" from Software Development magazine, Game Developer magazine, Amazon.com's editors, and other sources. Steve serves as Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of IEEE Software magazine, is on the Panel of Experts of the SWEBOK project, and is past Chair of the IEEE Computer Society's Professional Practices Committee. He can be reached at [email protected].