Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Candidate Statement for CMG Director

I've been nominated as a director candidate for the CMG. My candidate statement is posted below because my views related to CMG mirror my views for application performance in organizations and the industry as a whole and I believe that is (or, at least, I hope it is) interesting to anyone involved or concerned with challenges related to application performance now and in the future.

If you are a CMG member, I encourage you to review all of the candidate statements and to vote your conscience here.
Remember, if you don't vote, you have no right to complain. ;)

Statement of Willingness to Serve:
I am willing and would consider it an honor to serve as a director for CMG if elected.

Professional Work Experience:
In my nearly 20 years of experience working in software and technology, I have performed the duties associated with virtually all of the commonly thought of roles; from analyst to project management, configuration management to IT support, and developer to CIO. These many experiences coalesced shortly after Y2K into a career focused on helping organizations improve software system performance to enhance user experience and enable smooth growth while avoiding speed, stability, and scalability catastrophes in a fiscally responsible manner.


Today, I am the President and Chief Technologist of PerfTestPlus, Inc. PerfTestPlus is a small company that I founded in 2005 focused on assisting organizations to implement or enhance an entire life-cycle approach to managing the performance of their systems cost efficiently through training, mentoring, and consulting at the project, management, and executive levels.

Prior to founding PerfTestPlus, I was employed in a variety IT specialist roles by several custom software development companies, a government contracting agency, and a hardware start-up, all after serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army. I hold a M.S. in Information Technology and a B.S. in Civil Engineering.

Other Professional Experience:
Over the past 10 years, I have become recognized among the world's most prominent thought-leaders in the area of software system performance testing and increasingly in how businesses can bring high quality technology products to market while maximizing the overall business value of those products. Put simply, since starting my career in technology, I've been focused on figuring out how businesses can deliver user-satisfying technology solutions in a manner that is maintainable, low risk, and profitable.

One of the ways I've tried to accomplish this is by sharing what I've learned with others through writing and speaking. I have composed over 100 publications including 4 books; Web Load Testing for Dummies, Compuware 2011 (Author), Performance Testing Guidance for Web Applications, Microsoft Press, 2007 (Co-Author), Beautiful Testing, O'Reilly, 2010 (Contributing Author) and How to Reduce the Cost of Testing, Auerbach Publications, 2011 (Contributing Author). I've also delivered seemingly countless talks to groups and corporations, small and large, in person and via web, including keynote addresses for major conferences on 4 continents.

Another way I've worked toward this goal is by building and supporting communities that focus on collaborative learning and ultimately consolidation and promotion of good ideas and practices across the industry. Aside from participating in online and local communities, I co-founded the Workshop on Performance and Reliability and served for 4 years as Vice President and Executive Director for the Association for Software Testing, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the understanding and practice of software testing.

Candidate statement:
My major contributions to the computer measurement and management field all center around improving communication and collaboration across teams and specializations throughout the technology lifecycle, particularly as it relates to the performance, scalability, and reliability of technology solutions. It is through the extension and enhancement of this idea, combined with my experience as a business owner, non-profit executive director, conference coordinator, and community builder/manager that I seek to serve the CMG membership.

Historically speaking, computer measurement and management has been primarily the responsibility of IT and Support Operations groups. In today's world of Agile, the Cloud and virtualized environments, having IT and Support Operations start measurement and management activities as products enter final preparations for production release is too late. To increase the likelihood of success, businesses need be doing appropriate measurement and management activities, unbroken, throughout the lifecycle. Taking the lead in helping businesses make this organizational shift is where I see CMG's largest opportunity to add value to the industry over the next several years. I believe CMG can accomplish this by providing thought leadership and expanding its influence to new audiences.

CMG has a history of supporting and promoting leading thoughts and thinkers, and this should certainly continue. I believe CMG would benefit from becoming recognized as a thought leading organization in its own right. Making this transition need not be difficult. All it takes is for CMG, as an organization, to identify current challenges, provide education about the value of resolving those challenges, and share some principles and practices that can be employed to help resolve them. Helping organizations to become thought leaders in their own right is something I have successfully accomplished before, and I would be proud to bring those lessons and experiences to help CMG do the same.

In terms of expand its influence to new audiences, I believe I am uniquely suited to help CMG do exactly that. With me comes virtually unrestricted access to the most natural expansion point for CMG, architects, developers, testers, vendors, and communities focused on the delivery of highly performant, scalable and reliable technology solutions. Today these individuals and groups cluster in underutilized online communities, small corners of larger conferences, and unconnected local groups. In other words, CMG has the opportunity to merge these groups with its already strong and active membership base, creating a well respected and organized home for mutual growth and collaboration. I believe that CMG has all of the tools it needs to make this happen, and in just a few short years, return to enjoying the benefits that come with serving a larger membership, without sacrificing any of the personality and services that have kept CMG strong for all of these years.

A vote for me is, in effect, a vote to leverage the existing strengths, collective knowledge, and brand recognition of CMG to expand CMG's reach to all of the groups and individuals that participate, or should be participating in, computer measurement and management activities throughout the technology lifecycle while enhancing it's reputation of identifying and supporting thought leaders to additionally become a thought leader in it's own right.
 
--
Scott Barber
Chief Technologist, PerfTestPlus, Inc.
About.me

Co-Author, Performance Testing Guidance for Web Applications
Author, Web Load Testing for Dummies
Contributing Author, Beautiful Testing, and How To Reduce the Cost of Testing

"If you can see it in your mind...
     you will find it in your life."

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