[All Things Quality] Perhaps They Should Have Tested More - Knight Capital

Perhaps Knight Capital Should Have Tested More

Last Wednesday, Knight Capital rolled out a change to its trading software. It contained bugs that caused unauthorized offers to buy and sell shares. Knight had to sell stocks that it accidentally bought - causing a $440 million loss. They considered filing for bankruptcy, but eventually settled on a painful rescue plan. copyrightjoestrazzere
  • A technology error that occurred when the firm unveiled new trading software
  • Chaos ensued
  • Unauthorized trades were made
  • Knight was left holding at least $4.5 billion worth of securities it hadn't planned to buy
  • Loss of $440 Million when they were sold
  • Considered filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy
  • Agreed to allow investors to purchase $400 Million of its stock at about $1.50 a piece, after trading over $10 the prior week
  • Rescue deal will hugely dilute existing shareholders
  • Firm's market-making responsibilities have been temporarily reassigned
  • SEC is examining the company for potential legal violations

Perhaps Knight Capital should have tested more.

According to Reuters, "Wall Street banks and brokers are poring over their trading systems and rethinking the way they test software to make sure they don't become the next Knight Capital Group". That sounds good.

And yet, as written in Smart Money, "These kinds of mistakes can happen to anyone," said James Angel, associate professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.
http://www.highfrequencytraders.com/article/1330/knight-capital-group-software-glitch-raises-questions-over-technology-markets
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-08-02/markets/32990523_1_knight-capital-shares-capital-base-financial-sector
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/glitch-at-knight-capital-mars-trading-in-dozens-of-stocks-the-latest-technical-snafu/2012/08/01/gJQATjs6PX_story.html

This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] Now We Are Nana And Papa!

Nana, Papa, and Kate

I haven't been blogging much lately. Work, and our vacation home in Maine, have taken up much of my free time.

Oh, and one other small thing has taken up some time - the birth of our first grandchild Katherine Rose! Our oldest son Matt, and his lovely wife Kim are now parents. And that means my wife and I are now Nana and Papa!

It's an emotional feeling to watch your first-born son hold, feed, burp, and change diapers for his first-born daughter. And it's a wonderful feeling to hold, feed, burp, and change diapers for your first grandchild.


Katherine Rose Strazzere


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] Six Years!


not actually my hand



Today marks my six-year anniversary at my current company.

It's hard for me to believe that I've been here six years already. Yet when I look back at all we've accomplished, it sometimes seems like far more:
  • When I started, there was no real Quality Assurance Team.  Whatever small bit of testing occurred was being performed by Product Management folks in their spare time.  Since then, we've created a terrific team in the US, augmented by some good contractors, and a small team in India as well.
  • Bugs were not being tracked in any central system.  There were a few emails floating around, and an occasional spreadsheet, but no place where people could go to find the status of bugs.  Now, we use Bugzilla, and people have grown tired of me asking "Do we have a bug report for that?"
  • Lots of people have come and gone over the past six years.  Initially, the biggest change was the prior CTO being replaced by my boss.  Since then, many other folks have left. copyrightjoestrazzere
  • We've changed a significant portion of the infrastructure behind most of our applications.  It's far more scalable and sustainable now, although we continue to make changes
  • We've formalized many of our development and testing processes, and created the necessary processes where none existed before.
  • We've gone from fighting fires every day, to a much more stable, dependable set of systems.  Where before many of our systems needed manual, hands-on attention every day, they now run in a much more automated fashion.
  • Our product lines have changed over time.  We have weeded out some products that were single-customer, poorly funded products.  We've created some new products, and retired others.
  • A few years ago, we were purchased by a much larger corporation. It hasn't been all bad, and it hasn't been all good.  The volume of big-company administrivia has increased, but not as much as I had feared. We recently completed a large project in coordination with another division - that was rather interesting! I'm sure we'll be doing more of the same.
  • This past year was devoted almost exclusively to enhancing one product line. It involved individual changes for almost all of our customers using these products - each customer having their own set of enhancement projects. Lots of staffing, scheduling, and coordination issues involving both "Associates" and "Contingent Workers" (big-company talk for "permanent employees" and "contractors" respectively). Lots of less-than-clear requirements, and constant juggling of delivery dates made for a fair bit of stress. We had some key players leave in the middle of projects - that always makes for a fun time. Mostly done now, and that's a relief.
  • We are now embarking on a massive project to move our production infrastructure into the corporate facility. We need to purchase new hardware, new software, database upgrades, etc, etc. We need to understand and embrace new processes for security, administration, installation, and support. And of course we are "improving the applications" as we migrate them. With almost all the variables being changed at the same time, this will be a big task for everyone involved, and a very big testing task. It should be "interesting".

Lots of work, lots of changes, lots more to come.  All in all, a good six years.


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] Perhaps They Should Have Tested More - Bank Of America

Perhaps Bank of America should have tested more


Due to a software bug, a 55 year old man was allowed to withdraw far more than his bank account contained while using Bank of America ATM machines. He subsequently gambled away all of the money.


  • Bug occurred while accounts were being transferred from LaSalle Bank to Bank of America after an acquisition
  • Status of account was changed to allow unlimited withdrawals (Is that actually a valid status? If so, where can I get me one of those?)
  • Able to withdraw $1,543,104 over a 15-day period
  • Lost all the money gambling
  • Prosecutors in the case place some of the blame with Bank of America for allowing him to withdraw the funds in the first place, and are recommending only 15 months in jail
  • Some think the offender should be freed, because the bank was negligent

Perhaps the man was a gambling addict with no control over his behavior. Perhaps the bank was negligent, and the man should be freed.

And perhaps Bank of America should have tested more.


See also:


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] Perhaps They Should Have Tested More - Mitt Romney Campaign

Amercia

Mitt Romney is the presumptive Republican nominee for President of The United States of America. His campaign recently released a new iPhone app, which misspelled a rather significant word.

  • One of the skins on the app says "A Better Amercia"
  • “We thought this would be a fun, easy way to showcase support,” said Romney's digital director Zac Moffatt
  • The Romney campaign has since submitted a corrected version of the app to Apple
  • Receiving lots of laughs on twitter
  • https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23amercia
  • The New York Times wrote: "The typo is unlikely to become a major issue in Mr. Romney's efforts to unseat President Obama. But it is an unfortunate reminder that even the tiniest mistakes are magnified in an era when political opposition is crowdsourced globally. It's also a reminder to double-check your work."

Perhaps someone (anyone) in the Romney campaign should have tested more? It's the Amercian way!

See also:

This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] I See A Casual Summer In My Future

That used to be me, on the bottom-left, except on Fridays, and with less hair.
Then one week on the top-middle.
Now top-middle for the whole summer!
If I pay even more can I be the top-left?

Yet another Dress Code innovation at my company was announced this week.

  • First we had Casual Fridays.
  • Then we had Dress Down for Charity Weeks.
  • Now we have "Casual Summer"

If I fork over 30 bucks for local charities, H.R. tells me that I'll be permitted to wear sneakers and jeans for the summer. (Unless someone "important" makes an appearance in the office, in which case I'll need to revert to Smart temporarily.)

Can I just give them $500 to go away and never bother me with this foolish dress code thing again?


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] If You Don't Really Want A Career In Software Testing - Stay Out!

Stay out!

Over the years, I've heard from a lot of folks that would "like to get into software testing". Usually, I encourage people, tell them what a great profession this is, and help them any way I can.

But sometimes, I sense either directly or indirectly that this is just an interim thing - that it's a stepping stone "because it's easier than being a developer" or "because there are a lot of easy-to-land jobs" or such. For some reason, I've been seeing a lot of that lately. And when it comes to my chosen profession, I'm tired of hearing that! copyrightjoestrazzere

  • If you don't want to work hard - stay out.
  • If you don't want to learn continuously for your entire career - stay out.
  • If you are looking for something simple and easy - stay out.

We don't need you!

  • We need people who want to be professional testers. 
  • We need people who want to work hard at something they care about.
  • We need people who are willing (and hopefully excited) to be a learner for their entire career.
  • We need people who aren't looking for the easy way out.

There was a time back in the late 1990s and early 2000s when software testing was indeed an easy entry job. The world was in the midst of the poorly named "Year 2000 Bug crisis" and lots of software needed fixing and testing. Lots of entry-level testing jobs were available, and people with little or no experience were being hired rapidly.

Those days are over.

For the most part these days, there are fewer and fewer entry-level jobs for software testers. I know that I haven't actually hired an entry-level tester for many years. And those beginner jobs which are available are harder to get, and for the most part are being offered to people who want to be professional software testers.

Here's an excerpt of a commencement address by Dom Capers (the defensive coordinator of the NFL Green Bay Packers):

What I'd like to share with you today is ... what I think are critical to success in any profession. Number one, and maybe the most important: Find something you love. Passion creates fuel. It creates the burning desire to do what we love 'til we go to bed at night. A passionate person with a little bit of talent will almost always outperform a passive person with great talent. The second thing is the law of compensation. The more you give, the more you get in return. It's a simple principle, but it's amazing how many people never figure it out ...
If you really want to be a Software Testing Professional - welcome!  How can I help?

If you are just looking for something quick and easy - Stay Out!


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] Perhaps They Should Have Tested More - Nasdaq

How do you "Like" me now?

Perhaps you heard about the little company called Facebook that went public last week? I hear that they made a lot of money (at least for early investors and option holders) in the process.

But things didn't go smoothly at Nasdaq during the IPO: copyrightjoestrazzere
  • Nasdaq is under scrutiny after shares of Facebook Inc were plagued by delays and mishandled orders on its first day of trading
  • The CEO of NASDAQ, Robert Greifeld, said that the stock exchange is “humbly embarrassed”
  • The IPO software “didn’t work” even after thousands of hours of testing for “a hundred scenarios” aimed at anticipating problems, Greifeld said.
  • The Nasdaq computer system that delayed trade notices of the Facebook IPO on Friday was plagued by race conditions
  • A number of trading firms lost money due to mismatched Facebook share prices
  • About 30 million shares' worth of trading were affected
  • For about 20 minutes, the exchange stopped confirming trades placed by brokers
  • Nasdaq may need to pay back affected investors up to $13 million from an "accomodation pool"
  • Nasdaq’s software for IPOs allows investors to cancel or update details of orders until the auction runs. Trade requests received during the 5 milliseconds it took to operate the auction disturbed the process, leading to an imbalance of buys and sells and sending the program into a loop.

I wonder if Facebook investors "Like" Nasdaq now?

Perhaps they should have tested more.

See also:



This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] We Are Maniacs!

Our new vacation home in Cape Neddick, Maine

I haven't written much recently. Pretty much all of my free time has been taken up completing the selection and purchase of a vacation home in Cape Neddick, Maine.

My wife and I have been vacationing in York, Maine on and off for around 20 years. We had always imagined what it would be like to own a place near the beach, but with our busy lives, the time was never right. This year, it was right. We have been very busy the past few months searching, finding, funding, purchasing, and moving. copyrightjoestrazzere

We're thrilled to have found a place in the Cape Neddick section of York that has just a short stroll to the beach we love, in a wonderful neighborhood. We'll be spending most weekends there, and most of our vacation time as well. As we approach retirement, we'll decide if this is where we want to live full-time.

The process has been frustrating at times, but always interesting. Obtaining a mortgage is far more complex and involved than the previous times I had done so, with far more steps required.

The entire process felt like many software projects I've run before. I'll write more about that experience soon.

And the home inspection process felt exactly like a test project. I'll write about that too.

Meanwhile my wife and I are now Maniacs! (I know, the proper term is Mainers, but lately "Maniac" seems closer to the truth).


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

[All Things Quality] Happy Birthday Bill Belichick


Coach Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots turns 60 today.

Happy Birthday, coach! Here's hoping you'll hang around the Patriots for a few more.


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.