Short Story - we had a great time and learned a lot. It probably didn’t suit us as well as it could have (since we’re not currently QC customers–just QTP), but a few of the track sessions were excellent. There was one I would even call “validating” to both our approach to Mercury’s products, and to the direction we’re headed in as a QA organization.

Will and I gave a presentation on the All-Pairs technique, something we haven’t really talked about here but which we’re both big fans of. The slides are up now that the conference is over, and I put a lot of notes in there to fill in the blanks for those who missed the talk.

Long Story

There wasn’t much going on with the conference Saturday or Sunday (registration and some 1-on-1 time with Mercury people), so I sat in the sports book at Bellagio and made modest wagers on various sports teams, enjoying the accoutrements supplied by the generous waitstaff. That is to say, if you’ve got a couple days to kill, go get blitzed at the Bellagio. The drinks are free as long as you’re gambling!

Monday morning was mostly about the big-time speakers, the Mercury CEO, Jared Diamond, and a couple others. At the first track session (I won’t mention which, because there’s no need to call anyone out after the fact), I walked out during the Q&A, wondering whether the presenter(s) was/were idiots or I had just misunderstood. After I got out, the VP of IT for Citigroup was nearby, commenting on how that session was a bunch of BS, and how did it ever make it into the program… So, at least I can say I reached the same conclusion as a Citigroup VP…

The next session was purportedly an examination of Agile methods in conjunction with Quality Center and Business Process Testing. I didn’t see anything in there that told me the presenter had ever really been a part of or studied Agile methodology. He kept referring to “ways to keep your agility in testing”, and “how to stay flexible in light of constant change”, and that’s good stuff, but it’s a far cry from talking about SCRUMs, iterative development, feature-complete delivery at milestones, story cards, etc. It ended up just being the third time we got a demo of Quality Center. I left during the Q&A there too… very disappointing first set of track sessions.

The next morning started great–”Functional Testing of Web Services” by a guy from Mercury. Fantastic session. He covered just about every question I had had about the QTP Web Services plug-in, and got me excited about using it. We have a home-grown tool we use to test web services, and it’s good (I wrote it ;) ), but it’s not as polished as this one. This would also give us the ability to unify the web services test results with the web app test results.

We skipped around the next session (figuring that nearly every one listed would just be product demos we’d seen before–and we were right), but at 2 there was an excellent talk by Ryan English from SPI Dynamics. He covered ~8 different types of security defects common in web applications, along with both automated and manual suggestions for how to test for them. I’m disappointed that the slides aren’t online, because it was a crash course on everything that’s wrong with web software (from a security standpoint).

Wednesday morning we rehearsed our own presentation and watched as Marika Lazi, VP of IT for Bear Stearns, rehearsed hers. It was called “Automation of Edge-to-Edge Testing”, and covered many of the kinds of problems Will and I have when trying to automate our own testing without the suite of QC products. She was sharp as a tack and very realistic in her approach to automated testing. I was glad to see that it wasn’t just a sales pitch by a sales person, but a real stand-and-deliver from someone who sees the trenches every day even if she doesn’t live in them.

After lunch, Will and I gave our presentation. I have to say that the A/V equipment and management at the Bellagio is probably about the best it could possibly be. World class, really.

I think our talk went pretty well overall, though I was disappointed that nobody in the audience had ever heard of the Inquisition! We met a bunch of people afterwards who had some great comments and interesting insights, and my hope is that we hear from one Martin O’Brien again, who showed us an amazing Neural-Network-based test case processor-generator that could execute billions of test cases in short amounts of time. He left us with a million questions, but no contact info.

Did I mention the amazing food? At lunch every day and at dinner Monday and Wednesday, I enjoyed some of the finest dining I’ve ever been around… and not just because it was free. It was great all the way around. Mercury sure knows how to throw a party.

I could talk about the gambling, the drinking, the fact that I’ve officially been to both a Vegas nightclub and a Vegas ultra-lounge (and my company didn’t pay for a dime of it!), the ~20 hours of football I watched, only sleeping about 12 hours from Sunday to Thursday, actually winning money at poker, and all sorts of other stuff, but I’ll just leave it in Vegas. I had a great time, didn’t spend nearly as much of my company’s money as I could have, and didn’t even put an ounce stress on any marriage vows. All in all, if you have to spend a week attending 20 presentations on a fairly dry topic like automated testing, I can think of worse ways to spend said weeks.

Hope everyone got as much as I did out of it, and I hope to see you all at the Venetian next June!!

If anyone else is going, I’ll see you at Mercury World.

I think we should have an Inquisition party at the Ghostbar at the Palms.

What’ch’all think? Can I get a show of hands? What night should it be?

So, with this merger comes some questions, particularly about the future of Quality Center/WinRunner/QuickTest Pro, etc.

My reading of both the press release and articles like this tells me that the acquisition was much more about SOA than about testing. So where does that leave us grunts? Here is a list of questions I have about this. Note just how much this makes me look like a guy who sticks to functional test automation, and not a guy who speaks in acronyms and sees everything “from 40,000 feet”.

Since it doesn’t exactly fit within the ITG category, will it be spun off into another company or something?

I want better APIs and more web services. The APIs available now are decent, but they’re very 1990s, very COM, very Web 1.0. I understand the industry is in a bit of a transition right now, but is there going to be more or less of an effort in this direction as a result of the merger?

My understanding of the Mercury policy on this kind of information is roughly, “take the $2500 training course if you have high-fallutin’ questions.” They don’t write books, they don’t offer (good) Best Practice advice for free, and they aren’t extremely good at helping advanced users (at least with QuickTest Pro–there isn’t even a QTP 9 Expert course out there yet).

I want to write a book about QTP–”The stuff they don’t tell you” or something like that–but I don’t know if any publisher would be allowed to release it at the moment (O’Reilly already passed on the idea, both because it’s Mercury and because of the “small size of the testing market”–the latter of which I believe will change as more companies move to automation/outsourcing).

I want to know whether or not they will let up on the whole “fair use” thing and allow publishers to release some better information about how to use their products. People seem to be screaming for this kind of information, based if nothing else on the number of hits we get from specific, targeted Google searching.

That’s all I have for now. Anyone else want to weigh in? Maybe I’ll be able to get some of these questions answered at Mercury World.

HP to Acquire Mercury Interactive Corp

Acquisition positions company as a market leader in IT management software
PALO ALTO, Calif. – July 25, 2006 – HP today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Mercury Interactive Corp., a leading IT management software and services company, through a cash tender offer for $52.00 per share, or an enterprise value of approximately $4.5 billion, which is net of existing cash and debt.

Upon closing, the acquisition will establish HP’s portfolio of IT management software and services as the clear choice for companies seeking to optimize the value that IT brings to business.

“Today, we are combining two market-leading businesses to create the most powerful management software portfolio in the industry,” said Mark Hurd, HP chief executive officer and president. ”Together, they will help customers cut their IT costs, speed the delivery of new services and drive profitable growth at HP. We expect this important acquisition to deliver significant value for our shareholders.”

Mercury Chief Executive Officer and President Tony Zingale said, “Together, HP and Mercury instantly become the industry’s premier provider of business technology optimization (BTO) software. A deal of this magnitude creates significant opportunities for our customers, our shareholders, our people and our partners.”

The transaction brings together the strength of HP OpenView systems, network and IT service management software with Mercury’s strength in application management, application delivery, IT governance and service-oriented architecture governance. This combination provides customers with the industry’s most robust suite for optimizing, automating and aligning IT services with business needs.

“HP’s software strategy is to be the clear leader in end-to-end enterprise IT management and help our customers tightly align IT priorities with changing business requirements,” said Thomas E. Hogan, senior vice president, Software, HP. “Combining our HP OpenView offerings with Mercury’s BTO Enterprise offerings will integrate the many building blocks of enterprise IT management into one complete solution for the entire IT lifecycle, from planning through to deployment and operations. Mercury is a results-driven, high-performing company with outstanding people that will be a strong addition to HP.”

The Mercury acquisition is expected to increase the size of the HP Software business to more than $2 billion in annual revenue. Immediately following the close of the transaction, Mercury will become part of the HP Software business and both companies’ sales forces will begin reference-selling each others’ products.

HP forecasts that on a non-GAAP basis, the combined HP Software business will deliver revenue growth of approximately 10 percent to 15 percent and operating margin of approximately 20 percent in fiscal year 2008. On a pro forma basis, the transaction is expected to be approximately $0.04 dilutive to non-GAAP per share earnings in fiscal year 2007 and approximately $0.02 accretive to non-GAAP per share earnings in fiscal 2008. This includes purchase accounting adjustments related to deferred revenue write downs and deferred compensation expense of approximately $141 million, or $0.05 per share, in fiscal 2007 and approximately $43 million, or $0.01 per share, in fiscal 2008, as well as expected synergies.

The acquisition will be conducted by means of a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Mercury, followed by merger of Mercury with an HP subsidiary. The tender offer is subject to a number of conditions, including that Mercury has filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2005. HP expects to commence the tender offer promptly and the merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2006.

Webcasts and conference calls
This afternoon, HP will conduct one webcast and two live audio calls to discuss its intent to acquire Mercury. Mercury will conduct a separate webcast for financial analysts.

HP media call: 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT, hosted by Mark Hurd. U.S. dial-in: +1 866 356 3377; International dial-in: +1 617 597 5392, passcode: 36175291. Replay information, available until Aug. 1, 2006: U.S. dial-in: +1 888 286 8010, International dial-in: +1 617 801 6888, passcode: 16464601.

HP conference call and webcast for financial analysts and shareholders: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT, hosted by Mark Hurd. Listen only dial-in: U.S. +1 800 299 0148, International dial-in: +1 617 801 9711, passcode: 82591745. Live audio webcast: www.hp.com/hpinfo/investor. Replay information, available until Aug. 1, 2006: U.S.: +1 888 286 8010, International dial-in: +1 617 801 6888, passcode: 55367340.

HP industry analyst call: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT, hosted by Thomas Hogan. U.S. dial-in: +1 800 299 8538; International dial-in: +1 617 786 2902, passcode: 83000965. Replay information, available until July 25, 2007: U.S. dial-in: +1 888 286 8010; International dial-in: +1 617 801 6888, passcode: 57320057

Mercury financial analyst webcast for analysts and shareholders: 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT, hosted by Tony Zingale; David Murphy, chief financial officer; and, Shelly Schaffer, vice president, Corporate Finance.

U.S. dial-in: +1 800 289 0533; International dial-in: +1 913 981 5525, passcode: 4078554. The webcast link will be available on Mercury’s website: www.mercury.com/ir. The replay will be available via the same link.

Questions about the Mercury call should be directed to Shelly Shaffer at +1 650 603 4592 or Michelle Ahlmann at +1 650 603 5464.

A replay of the Mercury call will be available at +1 719 457 0820 or +1 888 203 1112, passcode: 4078554. Replay will be available shortly following the conclusion of the live call for one year and the dial-in replay will be available until July 31, 2006.

THIS PRESS RELEASE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT AN OFFER TO BUY OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL ANY SECURITIES. THE SOLICITATION AND THE OFFER TO BUY SHARES OF MERCURY COMMON STOCK WILL BE MADE ONLY PURSUANT TO AN OFFER TO PURCHASE AND RELATED MATERIALS THAT HP INTENDS TO FILE WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. MERCURY STOCKHOLDERS AND OTHER INVESTORS SHOULD READ THESE MATERIALS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE OFFER. ONCE FILED, MERCURY STOCKHOLDERS AND OTHER INVESTORS WILL BE ABLE TO OBTAIN COPIES OF THE TENDER OFFER STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE ‘TO,’ THE OFFER TO PURCHASE AND RELATED DOCUMENTS WITHOUT CHARGE FROM THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION THROUGH THE COMMISSION’S WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV. MERCURY STOCKHOLDERS AND OTHER INVESTORS ALSO WILL BE ABLE TO OBTAIN COPIES OF THESE DOCUMENTS, WITHOUT CHARGE, FROM INNISFREE M&A INCORPORATED, THE INFORMATION AGENT FOR THE OFFER, AT +1 877 750 5838 OR BY EMAIL AT INFO@INNISFREEMA.COM, FROM MERRILL LYNCH & CO., THE DEALER MANAGER FOR THE OFFER, AT +1 877 653 2948, OR FROM HP. STOCKHOLDERS AND OTHER INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY THOSE MATERIALS PRIOR TO MAKING ANY DECISIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFER.

About Mercury
Mercury, the global leader in business technology optimization (BTO), is committed to helping customers optimize the business value of information technology. Founded in 1989, Mercury conducts business worldwide and is one of the fastest growing enterprise software companies today. It provides software and services to govern the priorities, people, and processes of IT; deliver and manage applications; and integrate IT strategy and execution. Customers worldwide rely on Mercury offerings to improve quality and performance of applications and manage IT costs, risks and compliance. Mercury BTO offerings are complemented by technologies and services from global business partners. For more information, please visit www.mercury.com.

About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2006, HP revenue totaled $88.9 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.

Note to editors: HP news releases are available via RSS feed at www.hp.com/hpinfo/rss.html.

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Forward-looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including the expected benefits and costs of the transaction; management plans relating to the transaction; the anticipated timing of filings and approvals relating to the acquisition; the expected timing of the completion of the transaction; the ability to complete the transaction considering the various closing conditions, including those conditions related to antitrust regulations; any projections of earnings, revenues, synergies, accretion, margins or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, including the execution of integration plans; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that expected benefits may not materialize as expected; risks related to the timing or ultimate completion of the transaction; that, prior to the completion of the transaction, Mercury’s business may not perform as expected due to uncertainty; that the parties are unable to successfully implement integration strategies; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s and Mercury’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the risks described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2006 and other reports filed after HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005 and Mercury’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

© 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

7/2006

Editorial Contacts
Robert Sherbin
HP
+1 650 857 2381
robert.sherbin@hp.com

Ryan J. Donovan
HP
+1 650 857 8410
ryan.j.donovan@hp.com

Mike Moeller
HP
+1 650 236 3028
michael.moeller@hp.com

HP Media Hotline
www.hp.com/go/newsroom
+1 866 266 7272
pr@hp.com