Q-COE – ANOTHER BOOST FOR MALAYSIA’S REGIONAL SOFTWARE TESTING HOPES

The Malaysia Software Testing Board (MSTB) has unveiled a Quality Centre of Excellence (Q-CoE) for software quality during the opening of the recent Software Testing Industry Stakeholders Consultation (STST) 2015 held in Kuala Lumpur.

MSTB president Mastura Abu Samah said the Q-CoE will “be a manifestation of knowledge capital garnered from projects and activities carried out under the Malaysia Software Testing Hub (MSTH) initiative”, which have been augmented through collaborations with various international partners such as University of Memphis, USA, German Testing Board, Japan’s Association of Software Test Engineering, Korea Testing Laboratory and University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

Mastura said the Q-CoE was a natural progression in MSTH implementation after focusing on building up the soft structure necessary to enable growth of Malaysia’s software testing industry.

The centre will engage all stakeholders of Malaysia’s software testing ecosystem and it is expected to play a role in driving the development and growth of Malaysia’s software testing industry through knowledge-centric strategies and approaches

“Over the last five years, discussions at STST have help propelled significant movement in growing awareness and demand for Independent Verification and Validation (IVV) services in Malaysia,” Mastura  said, adding that such constructive engagement continues at this year’s forum.

STST 2015 featured keynotes from Professor Dr Jasbir Dhaliwal and Associate Professor Dr Robin Poston, both from University of Memphis, USA, as well as Dr Suhazimah Dzazali, deputy director general (ICT) of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU).

“I urge all stakeholders to leverage on the STST 2015 platform to provide input for refinements and new plans. It is prudent to highlight our needs and interests, and make recommendations that will contribute towards growth of the industry. Opportunities are there and if we play our cards right, each of us will stand to prosper in our own right,” she added.

STST is organised by the MSTB, in collaboration with the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department, Standards Malaysia and MAMPU. The STST forum was introduced in 2010 under the patronage of the MSTH and serves as platform for stakeholders’ consultation on software testing industry development programmes initiated under MSTH.