Rodger D. Drabick See below for our authors' tributes to Rodger.

Rodger D. Drabick was a nationally recognized quality engineering and systems testing expert with extensive experience in the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model for software and process improvement. For nearly three decades in software quality assurance and testing, he was responsible for SQA initiatives and developing process improvement action plans at companies such as Amtrak, Bell-Atlantic, the Federal Aviation Authority, Kodak, and Lockheed Martin. He passed away in December 2007.

See below for our authors' tributes to Rodger.

 

Bibliography: Rodger D. Drabick

Best Practices for the Formal Software Testing Process: A Menu of Testing Tasks ISBN: 978-0-932633-58-3 ©2004   312 pages    softcover  $35.95 (plus shipping)

Remembering Rodger D. Drabick

"Rodger was a long-time friend dating back to when we both worked for the Eastman Kodak Company. He was a giant in the field of software testing, starting from the days when we tested without a plan, and from those early days, he helped develop software testing into a respected career. We will miss you, Rodger."

—Bill Perry, coauthor of Surviving the Top Ten
Challenges of Software Testing

"I was a colleague of Rodger's when we were both at Kodak. I always had great respect for Rodger's dedication to software quality and testing, and for his professionalism. Plus, he was just a super nice guy. We stayed in touch after we both left Kodak, and he was a very helpful reviewer for one of my books, on software peer reviews. I enjoyed exchanging periodic updates by e-mail with Rodger, and I will miss his good humor and great attitude. My thoughts are with his family."

—Karl Wiegers, author of Creating a Software
Engineering Culture

"I have had the pleasure of working with Rodger and learning from his vast knowledge in software quality. When I went to my first QAI software testing conference in 1989, Rodger had been speaking about software testing and QA for many years. After hearing Rodger speak, I truly realized how much I didn't know about software quality! I have always looked up to him, counting him among the few pioneers upon whose shoulders we stand in the practice of software testing and QA today. I will remember him as one of the foundational people in my career. I will miss him!"

—Randy Rice, coauthor of Surviving the Top Ten
Challenges of Software Testing

"I did not know Rodger, but I admired his work and put it to good practice. Here is how:
      "A few years ago, my brother Bradley accepted a position at Microsoft as a testing manager. Bradley had been in test for years, but Microsoft was a different place. He did not understand what they were doing! Microsoft's practices made no sense to him. He thought he had made a mistake, and was ready to call it quits.
      "Bradley and I started to talk on Saturdays. We explored what had happened during the previous week and discussed actions to take for the coming week and beyond. The real issue was that Bradley knew a great deal about test and Microsoft didn't. We used Rodger's book to validate Bradley's experiences and to build a strategy to change Microsoft.
      "Rodger's book was our template, our guide, and our reference source. In three years, Bradley went from a baffled leader of a small team of five testers to a visionary test manager leading more than 150 testers assigned to a major product. During this time, Bradley became well-loved for bringing sanity and order to both the testing and development processes.
      "Rodger was unaware of how his work contributed to the betterment of the lives of many people living in the Seattle region. How were these lives better? Here is one example:
      "In Bradley's division, the regular product release cycle aimed at the end of the year. Before Bradley started at Microsoft, most of the 150 testers could not be with their families and their children during the year-end holidays. It was sad. This caused all sorts of conflict and disappointment. However, after embracing Rodger's best practices, development and test were so well controlled that every member of Bradley's organization was able to take all the time he or she needed to be with family during the holidays.
      "What a fine legacy to leave: Rodger will be missed even by people who never knew him."

—Norm Kerth, author of Project Retrospectives