SeaStar Quality Conference 2023: Full Schedule

10:00 EDT

Certification Training: "Quality Conscious Software Delivery" - Day 1

When you think of “Software Quality Engineering” - what comes to your mind? Typically, one’s mind gets clouded with words like automation, continuous testing, automated quality gates, CI/CD, observability, SonarQube, DORA metrics, SRE, and so on.

While all these things that appear to the mind are important, is organizational investment in tooling and tech enough to deliver quality software?

Have a look at some famous quotes by Jerry Weinberg.

Quality is value to some person. And value means what they are willing to sacrifice or pay to achieve it.
No matter what they tell you at first, it is always a people problem.
No matter how chaotic it sounds, everyone is only trying to help.

Problems with the quality of the software typically mean the software is in trouble. Weinberg’s three quotes mentioned above give us some idea of why software gets in trouble. And also, a way to think about minimizing those troubles. Engineering solutions for software quality are just a tiny part of the big scheme of things when it comes to delivering quality software.
To minimize the problems around software quality, it is important to understand what quality really means in the software-building context. To build software products and deliver them on time without compromising on quality, it is important to understand the notions of quality and the relationship between them. At the same time, it is also important to understand how to bring all the decisions about quality into the consciousness of everyone involved in software building.
This hands-on practical training is designed around “Quality Conscious Software Delivery” - an award-winning framework developed by Lalit Bhamare (EuroSTAR Best Paper 2022 award) which emphasizes the importance of software testing as a cognitive and social activity.

Lalit believes that investing in testing education for the whole team, socializing testing craft in the team, and using that learning to foster the quality mindset, enabling people and processes to support quality work at every stage is the way to go forward.

In this highly interactive two-day workshop, participants will learn the four stages of the QCSD framework i.e. Enable, Engage, Execute and Evaluate for quality-conscious software delivery.

Participants will learn how to step up their game and enable the whole team testing to support whole team quality -- through the exercises, discussions, and experiments -- and succeed with it. Lalit will share his experiments around succeeding with QCSD, the challenges he faced and how did he overcome them.
Join Lalit and sail with him in what he calls an “intellectual voyage”.

Participants will learn below topics with practical hands-on in the workshop:

Understanding quality in the context of software delivery
Understanding through exercises, why problems around quality happen
Interactional expertise for effective communication and social skills as a tester
How to set up and run "QX - Quality Experience Session" by collaborating with Design/UX teams
How to set up and run "Testability Sessions" by collaborating with Programmers and Architects
How to set up and run "Product Coverage Sessions" by collaborating with POs, Programmers, and cross-functional teams
How to establish "Quality Criteria" on team/business unit/org level
How to create a context-driven automation strategy for your project
How to use exploratory testing, automated checks, and DevOps capabilities to create "continuous discovery and continuous feedback" loops

Key takeaways:
Takeaway 1
How to "Enable" - people and project for quality (mindset, skills, critical thinking, and culture)
Takeaway 2
How to "Engage" people - for quality through pairing, collaboration, risk storming, continuous testing, etc.
Takeaway 3
How to "Execute" and "Evaluate"- for quality with clean and testable code, improving testability, skilled testing with an effective strategy, automating checks, continuous discovery, and continuous feedback through monitoring and
alerts etc.

Intended audience: whole team

Speakers

Lalitkumar Bhamare

Tech Arc Manager, Accenture Song

Lalit is currently working as Technical Arch Manager with Accenture Song, in Germany. For the last 14 years, he is working as a test engineering and s/w quality leader. He has been working in various aspects of quality engineering right from the spread left to production telemetry.Lalit's... Read More →

Sunday October 15, 2023 10:00 - 13:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

CERTIFICATION TRAINING

10:00 EDT

Experiences in Exploratory Test Automation

The Problem Being Addressed

Rob Sabourin observes that, today, many software testers are challenged to quickly identify
product quality concerns amidst turbulent project contexts. Business, technology, and
organizational factors change frequently. Testers are forced to continuously adapt, to think on
their feet, and to provide stakeholders, team members and even system users, with meaningful
feedback about quality concerns, and operational readiness.

There are many different test automation technologies which can facilitate the control and
observation of software. Rob notes that, among his customers, test automation technologies
are mainly limited to implementing automated verification checks, as part of regression suites, in
continuous integration and deployment processes.

This tutorial will address the problem of how test automation tools, methods, and techniques
can be effectively used to facilitate, and improve the efficiency of, exploratory testing.

Tutorial Content

Rob will share insights about his assertion that “not all test automation is regression testing”.
Exploratory testing involves the design, and execution, of tests as the testers learns about the
system. Rob will share examples of how he has used test automation during charter driven,
session based, exploratory testing. Delegates will see how test automation tools enable control,
and improve observation, of systems.

Exploratory testing can also benefit from automation in test design. In this tutorial Rob will
share many examples how test design can be automated with various tools and scripts. Rob
will provide a couple of automated test design exercises for delegates to gain some hands-on
experience. Delegates will use tools available on the internet and also create a couple of basic
Python scripts.

Examples shared will include exploratory testing of:
 Reconnaissance charter of a Microservice Architecture using a Rest API
 Claims testing charter of an Internet Search Engine – SevaSearch vs Google
 Dynamic analysis charter of network traffic actual versus billed via a major American
internet service provider.

Rob will share test charters, findings, scripts, and deliverables as well as comment on the
effectiveness of automation to support the exploration.

Speakers

Robert Sabourin

Principal Consultant, AmiBug.com

Robert Sabourin has more than forty years of management experience,leading teams of software development professionals. A well-respectedmember of the software engineering community, Robert has managed,trained, mentored, and coached thousands of top professionals in thefield. He frequently... Read More →

Sunday October 15, 2023 10:00 - 13:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

TUTORIAL

10:00 EDT

TUTORIAL TO BE ANNOUNCED

The half-day hands-on tutorial with the industry expert will be published upon speaker and topic confirmation.

Sunday October 15, 2023 10:00 - 13:00 EDT
La Romana Room

TUTORIAL

15:00 EDT

Certification Training: "Quality Conscious Software Delivery" - Day 1 (cont.)

Quality is value to some person. And value means what they are willing to sacrifice or pay to achieve it.
No matter what they tell you at first, it is always a people problem.
No matter how chaotic it sounds, everyone is only trying to help.

Understanding quality in the context of software delivery
Understanding through exercises, why problems around quality happen
Interactional expertise for effective communication and social skills as a tester
How to set up and run "QX - Quality Experience Session" by collaborating with Design/UX teams
How to set up and run "Testability Sessions" by collaborating with Programmers and Architects
How to set up and run "Product Coverage Sessions" by collaborating with POs, Programmers, and cross-functional teams
How to establish "Quality Criteria" on team/business unit/org level
How to create a context-driven automation strategy for your project
How to use exploratory testing, automated checks, and DevOps capabilities to create "continuous discovery and continuous feedback" loops

Speakers

Lalitkumar Bhamare

Tech Arc Manager, Accenture Song

Sunday October 15, 2023 15:00 - 18:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

CERTIFICATION TRAINING

15:00 EDT

CI/CD Integrated Solution: JASECU - Java Selenium Cucumber automation testing framework

JASECU - Java Selenium Cucumber automation testing framework, integrates functional UI testing (Selenium), Visual UI testing (Percy, Applitools Eyes), API testing (karate framework), Layout testing (Galen framework) and sending results into ReportPortal.io

Participants of the tutorial will learn how to benefit from using JASECU framework and how to create automation tests for functional UI testing using Selenium, Visual UI testing using Percy, Applitools, API testing using karate framework, Layout testing using Galen framework, how to create Jenkins job for running the tests and how to do analysis of results in ReportPortal.io

Tools used:
• Java https://www.java.com/en/
• Selenium https://www.selenium.dev/
• Cucumber https://cucumber.io/
• Maven https://maven.apache.org/
• Git https://git-scm.com/
• IDEA IntelliJ https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/
• JUnit https://junit.org/junit4/
• Jenkins https://www.jenkins.io/
• Percy https://percy.io/
• Applitools Eyes https://applitools.com/
• Galen http://galenframework.com/
• Karate https://github.com/intuit/karate
• ReportPortal.io: https://reportportal.io/

Prerequisites:
• Install and setup JDK java 8,
• Install and setup Apache Maven
• Install Git
• Install IDEA IntelliJ
• In IDEA IntelliJ 'install Cucumber for java' plugin
• Install Google Chrome
• Jenkins ready for use running on your computer
• ReportPortal.io ready for use running on your computer
• Your own Github repository with the copied content from Jasecu repository
• Existing free account in Percy
• Existing free account in Applitools Eyes

Speakers

Maroš Kutschy

Technical Lead - QA, Ness Košice

Maroš Kutschy is Technical Lead - QA at Ness, Košice, Slovakia. His hobby is automation testing, he is specialized in Java Selenium Cucumber framework. He is the creator of Jasecu Automation Framework: https://github.com/maroskutschy/Jasecu . He likes coaching and helping people to enter the world of testing, this year he was speaking at 'Testing United' conference in Prague, 'Nordic Testing Days' conference in Tallinn and TACON Conference in Leipzig. He likes self-improvement books and exercising in the gym... Read More →

Sunday October 15, 2023 15:00 - 18:00 EDT
La Romana Room

TUTORIAL

15:00 EDT

How to Build High-Performing Teams

“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”
― Alexander Den Heijer

The success of an organization is highly dependent on the teams and driven by managers at different levels. The role of a manager in the development of teams is underrated. A bad manager can destroy a good team and a great manager can lift any mediocre team to greater heights. With so much focus on technical skills, the managers hardly receive any training or coaching to hone their managerial skills. Instead of learning through a systematic process, the managers are left in the wild to discover the ways to handle teams.

This workshop helps the managers – both new and experienced to understand the fundamentals, participate in exercises to discover insights and plan the journey to become a great manager. If you have a hard time managing the team, recently handed the ‘manager’ designation or want to learn the secrets to great management, this workshop is for you.

Intended Audience
- First time managers worried about the right way to manage teams
- Experienced managers interested in systematic learning about management
- Anyone interested in building high performing teams

Workshop Outline

1. Welcome to the Managerial Battleground
Becoming a manager has its own set of challenges for both the manager and the teams.
Let us understand the problems before we start thinking about solving them:

- What problems do you face as a manager?
- What problems do you face with your manager?

2. The Great Manager Expectations
All of us have worked with excellent managers and bad managers as well.
Let us understand what makes them good/bad and how we can meet the expectations from great managers:

- Types of Managers
- Attributes of Successful Managers

3. Managerial Skills Development
Once we are aware of what makes a great manager, it is time to work on the skills.
We will focus on the:

- Five rituals of leadership
- Development of high-performance teams
- Different roles of a manager

4. Resources
Learning is a continuous activity, and we will discuss multiple resources to continue our managerial journey even after the workshop:

- The rules of management
- Eight rituals of leadership
- Competency framework

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Know the problems for today’s managers
Understand the skills of great managers
Beware of the traps in management
Build high performing teams

Speakers

Ajay Balamurugadas

Senior Director - QE, GSPANN Technologies, Inc.

Ajay Balamurugadas, goes by the handle ‘ajay184f’ in the testing community and is continuously re-inventing his testing methodology. He co-founded Weekend Testing – a worldwide movement for skilled testing authored six small books under the theme “What If” downloadable at... Read More →

Mili Saxena

Engineering Manager, IBM

Sunday October 15, 2023 15:00 - 18:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

TUTORIAL

10:00 EDT

Certification Training: "Quality Conscious Software Delivery" - Day 2

Quality is value to some person. And value means what they are willing to sacrifice or pay to achieve it.
No matter what they tell you at first, it is always a people problem.
No matter how chaotic it sounds, everyone is only trying to help.

Understanding quality in the context of software delivery
Understanding through exercises, why problems around quality happen
Interactional expertise for effective communication and social skills as a tester
How to set up and run "QX - Quality Experience Session" by collaborating with Design/UX teams
How to set up and run "Testability Sessions" by collaborating with Programmers and Architects
How to set up and run "Product Coverage Sessions" by collaborating with POs, Programmers, and cross-functional teams
How to establish "Quality Criteria" on team/business unit/org level
How to create a context-driven automation strategy for your project
How to use exploratory testing, automated checks, and DevOps capabilities to create "continuous discovery and continuous feedback" loops

Speakers

Lalitkumar Bhamare

Tech Arc Manager, Accenture Song

Monday October 16, 2023 10:00 - 13:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

CERTIFICATION TRAINING

10:00 EDT

Prof. Rob Sabourin teaching software engineering and test design concepts to McGill University students (open lectures, free entrance))

You have a unique opportunity to attend a highly acclaimed university level course lectures, given by Prof. Robert Sabourin to McGill University students.

The lectures will be aired to the students online in real time; conference attendees can join physically and have a follow up Q&A with Prof. Sabourin at the conference.

Exact times with be clarified in September.
The lectures are open to all conference attendees.

(1) Topic

Software Engineering in Practice

A lecture from the course ECSE 428 Software Engineering in Practice

Software engineering practice in industry, related to the design and commissioning of large software systems. Ethical, social, economic, safety and legal issues. Metrics, project management, costing, marketing, control, standards, CASE tools and bugs. The course involves a large team project.

Rob will deliver a 45 minute lecture on a topic in software engineering followed by an interview with a software development professional about their development process.

This is a live lecture from a university level course in Software Engineering.

(2) Topic

Software Validation

A lecture from the course ECSE 429 Software Validation

Correct and complete implementation of software requirements. Verification and validation lifecycle. Requirements analysis, model based analysis, and design analysis. Unit and system testing, performance, risk management, software reuse.

Rob will deliver a 90 minute lecture on a topic in software testing focused on a specific test design technique.

This is a live lecture from a university level course in Software Validation.

Monday October 16, 2023 10:00 - 13:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

SESSION

10:00 EDT

TUTORIAL TO BE ANNOUNCED

The half-day hands-on tutorial with the industry expert will be published upon speaker and topic confirmation.

Monday October 16, 2023 10:00 - 13:00 EDT
La Romana Room

TUTORIAL

15:00 EDT

Certification Training: "Quality Conscious Software Delivery" - Day 2 (Cont.)

Quality is value to some person. And value means what they are willing to sacrifice or pay to achieve it.
No matter what they tell you at first, it is always a people problem.
No matter how chaotic it sounds, everyone is only trying to help.

Understanding quality in the context of software delivery
Understanding through exercises, why problems around quality happen
Interactional expertise for effective communication and social skills as a tester
How to set up and run "QX - Quality Experience Session" by collaborating with Design/UX teams
How to set up and run "Testability Sessions" by collaborating with Programmers and Architects
How to set up and run "Product Coverage Sessions" by collaborating with POs, Programmers, and cross-functional teams
How to establish "Quality Criteria" on team/business unit/org level
How to create a context-driven automation strategy for your project
How to use exploratory testing, automated checks, and DevOps capabilities to create "continuous discovery and continuous feedback" loops

Speakers

Lalitkumar Bhamare

Tech Arc Manager, Accenture Song

Monday October 16, 2023 15:00 - 18:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

CERTIFICATION TRAINING

15:00 EDT

AI and Machine Learning Skills for the Testing World

Software continues to revolutionize the world, impacting nearly every aspect of our work, family, and personal life. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are playing key roles in this revolution through improvements in search results, recommendations, forecasts, and other predictions.

AI and ML technologies are being used in platforms for digital assistants, home entertainment, medical diagnosis, customer support, and autonomous vehicles. Testing practitioners are recognizing the potential for advances in AI and ML to be leveraged for automated testing—an area that still requires significant manual effort. Tariq King will introduce you to the world of AI for software testing.

Learn the fundamentals behind autonomous and intelligent agents, ML approaches including Bayesian networks, decision tree learning, neural networks, and reinforcement learning. You’ll discover how to apply these techniques to common testing tasks such as identifying testable features, generating test flows, and detecting erroneous states.

Come and train your first artificial brain on how to test software!

Key takeaways from Tariq's tutorial:
- Foundations of AI and Machine Learning (ML)
- Applications of AI/ML to Software Testing
- Practical Approaches, Tools, and Techniques for AI-Driven Testing

Speakers

Tariq King

Chief Scientist, test.ai

Tariq King is a recognized thought-leader in software testing and quality engineering. He is currently the Chief Scientist at test.ai, where he leads research and development of their core platform for AI-driven test automation. Tariq has over fifteen years' professional experience in the software industry, and has formerly held positions including Head of Quality, Director of Quality Engineering, Manager of Sof... Read More →

Monday October 16, 2023 15:00 - 18:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

TUTORIAL

15:00 EDT

Exploring Context Driven Testing & Exploratory Testing with Robots!

More testers are gravitating towards using exploratory testing and context driven testing techniques in their organizations. However, as testers start to embrace these testing methodologies, they are uncovering questions in their implementation.
With the help of some cool robots, we will explore the various aspects of testing including test planning, test design, test execution, and test reporting from the exploratory testing mindset. Testers who attend this session will leave understanding how to implement exploratory testing concepts through all the phases of test planning, design, execution, and reporting and feel confident returning to their organizations to implement their changes.

Learning Objectives:
• How the various aspects of the testing cycle (Test Planning, Design, Execution and Reporting) are different in Exploratory Testing than they are in traditional testing.
• How to implement Exploratory Testing concepts through the various aspects of the testing cycle.
• How to prepare their organizations for the shift from more traditional testing to Exploratory Testing.
• How to deal with resistance to Exploratory Testing techniques.

Tutorial Outline:
• Defining Context Driven and Exploratory Testing
• The Exploratory Testing Approach
o Test Strategies
o Test Plans
o Test Execution
o Reporting & Metrics

Speakers

Nancy Kelln

A passionate Exploratory Test Manager with over 20 years of diverse IT experience, Nancy enjoys working with teams that are implementing or enhancing their testing practices and provides adaptive testing approaches to exploratory, context driven, and traditional testing teams. She... Read More →

Monday October 16, 2023 15:00 - 18:00 EDT
La Romana Room

TUTORIAL

10:00 EDT

Best Collaboration in Delivering Quality - Award winner Experience report

Welcome to the conference session on the best collaboration in delivering quality!

As you take your seat, you can feel the excitement in the air. This is the session everyone has been waiting for - the chance to learn from the best in the business about what it takes to deliver high-quality software through effective collaboration.

The presenter takes the stage, and you can immediately tell that they are a seasoned professional. They share the story of a project that was riddled with problems: missed deadlines, miscommunications, and quality issues that threatened to derail the entire effort.

But then, something changed. The team came together, rallied around a common goal, and started working together in a way that transformed the project. The presenter takes you on a journey through the project, showing you how the team overcame each challenge and achieved success through a culture of collaboration and teamwork.

You're amazed by the level of collaboration the presenter describes - from cross-functional teams to agile methodologies to open communication channels. The presenter shares their insights into what worked, what didn't, and what they learned along the way.

But what really sets this session apart is the passion and enthusiasm of the presenter. They radiate energy and excitement, infecting everyone in the room with their enthusiasm for collaboration. You can feel yourself getting inspired by their words and the sheer audacity of their project.

By the end of the session, you feel invigorated and ready to take on the world. You've gained new insights and ideas for how to approach collaboration in your own projects, and you're excited to apply what you've learned. But most importantly, you've been reminded of the power of collaboration, teamwork, and a shared vision. You leave the session feeling inspired and ready to tackle any challenge that comes your way.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 10:00 - 11:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

EXPERIENCE REPORT

10:00 EDT

The Future of QA is Risk, Not Coverage

People want to know about coverage--code coverage, feature coverage, coverage percentages, coverage gaps--but coverage simply isn't good enough. Coverage can't tell you anything about the user experience, or the most important pieces to test. In fact, a 100% coverage score can't tell you anything qualitative about the quality of your product.

We have 5 different tools for testing web browsers, but the average QA team still can’t tell management precisely how their tests help to manage risk! Low-code test solutions exist by the dozen, but have failed to make a dent in the fundamental problems of test creation!

This talk is about the Great Unsolved Problems of test, and how we’ve long been chasing the wrong goals with the wrong tools. There's a vast ocean of insights sitting there waiting to tell us their stories and make our lives better. How can we continue to ignore it?

Speakers

Marcus Merrell

Senior Director of Technology Strategy, Sause Labs

Marcus Merrell is Senior Director of Technology Strategy at Sauce Labs, where he uses experience from 20+ years in test to manage strategic technical alliances. Within the CTO Office, Marcus works with partners to build robust, customer-centric solutions around test automation, release management, and the entire SDLC. He started using Selenium/WebDriver... Read More →

Tuesday October 17, 2023 10:00 - 11:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

SESSION

11:00 EDT

Startup Quality - Award Winner Experience Report

Welcome to the conference session on the Startup Quality of the Year Award winner! The room is buzzing with excitement as attendees eagerly await the opportunity to hear about the award-winning startup and learn from their success.

As the presenter takes the stage, the room falls silent in anticipation. They begin by sharing the story of the startup, describing the challenges they faced as they worked to build a high-quality product from scratch. The presenter highlights the innovative strategies the startup used to ensure quality at every stage of the product development process.

As they continue, the presenter dives deeper into the specific tools, techniques, and processes that the startup used to achieve their quality goals. They describe the importance of automated testing, continuous integration, and user feedback in delivering a product that meets the needs of its users.

What's truly inspiring about this session is the passion and dedication of the presenter. They speak from experience, having played a key role in the startup's success. They share not only the what, but also the how and the why, giving attendees a complete picture of the startup's journey and the lessons, they learned along the way.

Attendees leave the session feeling energized and inspired, armed with new insights and ideas for how to apply the startup's quality strategies to their own projects. They're excited to put their newfound knowledge into action and see the positive impact it can have on their own work.

Overall, the session on the Startup Quality of the Year Award winner is a must-attend for anyone looking to build a successful startup or deliver high-quality products in a fast-paced, ever-changing market.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

EXPERIENCE REPORT

11:00 EDT

TO BE ANNOUNCED

As we add more speakers to our amazing program, we announce this impactful session.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

SESSION

11:00 EDT

To Measure or not to Measure. Pragmatic POV on testing metrics

There is a saying “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. Hence the software engineers, quality assurance, managers and everyone else passionate about quality want to measure as many things as possible. We measure code coverage, number of tests, number of bugs, number of tests passed and failed, blocked tests, test execution, MTTR, MTBF and many other things. We investing so much time in measuring that we forget about improving. We measure for measuring, not noticing that our metrics are not actionable, and not investigable. They are vanity metric, they make us feel good, but do not mean anything. How to stop this vicious circle and measure what matter? Put the numbers into context and select metrics that not only indicating a problem but also lead to their solution. In this talk, we discuss specific problems and what can be measured to help to solve them. We will look at the useless numbers and learn how to turn them to the priceless pieces of information. This talk will be useful for the beginners and seasoned professionals as well as for their managers.

Speakers

Iryna Suprun

Director, Engineering Quality, Xandr

Iryna has 18 years of overall experience in the software industry, 16 of them in testing, developing, and implementing quality assurance processes, testing strategies, and building automation frameworks. She spent most of her career working with various real-time processing systems... Read More →

Tuesday October 17, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
La Romana Room

SESSION

12:00 EDT

Testing/QA Project of the Year - Award winner Experience report

Picture this: you're sitting in a conference room, surrounded by fellow software testing professionals from around the world. The anticipation in the room is palpable as everyone waits for the session on the best QA project of the year to begin.

As the presenter takes the stage, you can feel the excitement in the air. They start by sharing the story of how the project came to be, from the initial idea to the final product. The presenter takes you on a journey through the project, showing you how they tackled each challenge and overcame each obstacle with skill and finesse.

As you listen, you can't help but be impressed by the scope of the project and the level of detail that went into it. The presenter shares their insights into the latest testing techniques and tools they used, as well as the creative approaches they took to solve some of the project's most complex problems.

But what really sets this session apart is the passion and enthusiasm of the presenter. They radiate energy and excitement, infecting everyone in the room with their enthusiasm for software testing. You can feel yourself getting inspired by their words and the sheer audacity of their project.

By the end of the session, you feel invigorated and ready to take on the world. You've gained new insights and ideas for how to approach your own testing projects, and you're excited to apply what you've learned. But most importantly, you've been reminded of the power of creativity, passion, and hard work. You leave the session feeling inspired and ready to tackle any challenge that comes your way.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 12:00 - 13:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

EXPERIENCE REPORT

12:00 EDT

Managing the Test Data Nightmare

Good data for testing can be a nightmare to manage. Sometimes, teams don’t have much control over the data in their systems under test—it’s just dropped in, and it can change arbitrarily. Other times, teams need to build their own data sets, either before testing or during testing. Inaccurate data can leave test gaps. Incorrect or stale data can break tests. Large data can consume too much time. Ugh!

In this talk, we’ll cover strategies for defeating many types of test data nightmares:

* recognizing the difference between product data and test case data

* deciding when to prepare data

* statically beforehand or dynamically during testing

* using data to control how tests run or reflect product state

* hard-coding values versus discovering data in the system

* avoiding collisions on shared data

The strategies we cover can be applied to any project in any language. After this talk, you will wake up from the nightmare and handle test data cleanly and efficiently like a pro!

Speakers

Andrew Knight

Director at Test Automation University, Applitools

Tuesday October 17, 2023 12:00 - 13:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

SESSION

12:00 EDT

Testing Treasure Maps: The Art of Crafting Charters

At the heart of exploratory testing is the charter. Charters should guide our testing and help us focus our exploration on what's most important and impactful. Unlike scripts generated for test cases, there's an art to crafting charters. Charters help us avoid the dragon of wasteful testing or getting lost in the labyrinth of distraction to help us reach the treasure chest of good enough quality. We'll discuss adventuring our way through heuristics, assembling our party (personas), side quests to encourage exploration, navigating your way through a test session, and using your compass to help you get back on track.

Speakers

Jenna Charlton

Product Manager, Functionize

Jenna is a software tester and product owner with over a decade of experience. They've spoken at a number of dev and test conferences and is passionate about risk-based testing, building community within agile teams, developing the next generation of testers, and A11y. When not testing... Read More →

Tuesday October 17, 2023 12:00 - 13:00 EDT
La Romana Room

SESSION

15:00 EDT

DevOps Project of the Year - Award winner Experience report

Welcome to the conference session on the DevOps Project of the Year award winner's experience report! The atmosphere is electric as attendees settle into their seats, eagerly anticipating the insights and lessons they'll glean from the award-winning team.

The presenter takes the stage, radiating excitement and enthusiasm as they share their journey to becoming a DevOps powerhouse. They describe the challenges they faced, the roadblocks they overcame, and the strategies they used to build a world-class DevOps pipeline.

As they dive into the specifics of their experience, the presenter shares real-world examples of how their DevOps practices transformed their organization's ability to deliver value to their customers. They discuss the benefits of continuous integration and deployment, automated testing, and collaboration between development and operations teams.

What's truly inspiring about this session is the passion and authenticity of the presenter. They speak from experience, having been instrumental in the award-winning DevOps project. They share the successes and the failures, giving attendees an honest and transparent view into their journey.

Attendees leave the session feeling energized and inspired, armed with practical insights and ideas for how to improve their own DevOps practices. They're excited to apply the lessons they've learned and see the impact on their own organizations.

Overall, the session on the DevOps Project of the Year award winner's experience report is a must-attend for anyone looking to build a world-class DevOps pipeline and transform their organization's ability to deliver value to their customers.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

EXPERIENCE REPORT

15:00 EDT

Tips and Techniques to deliver high value projects with ease

With great power comes great responsibility. As we progressed up the career ladder and started managing bigger projects, we realized that it was a whole new ballgame. All aspects of the project were of great value - the budget, the resources, the gains, the losses, the risks, the constraints, and so on. Our experience handling multiple smaller projects helped to a large extent, but we felt lost when taking on complex projects. The definition of high value projects is contextual and differs from organization to organization. This talk will begin with Mili and Ajay sharing examples of high-value projects, highlight the intricacies of projects across systems, teams, departments, budgets, and time constraints, and conclude with tips and tricks to overcome known and unknown challenges.

Speakers

Ajay Balamurugadas

Senior Director - QE, GSPANN Technologies, Inc.

Mili Saxena

Engineering Manager, IBM

Tuesday October 17, 2023 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

SESSION

15:00 EDT

TO BE ANNOUNCED

As we add more speakers to our amazing program, we announce this impactful session.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
La Romana Room

SESSION

16:00 EDT

Test Automation Project of the Year - Award winner Experience report

Welcome to the conference session on the Test Automation Project of the Year award winner's experience report! The room is buzzing with excitement as attendees eagerly anticipate the insights and knowledge they will gain from the award-winning team.

The presenter takes the stage, exuding confidence and enthusiasm as they share their journey to achieving this prestigious award. They dive into the specifics of their project, discussing the challenges they faced, the tools and techniques they used, and the benefits they achieved through their test automation efforts.

Attendees are engaged and inspired as the presenter shares real-world examples of how their test automation efforts have transformed their organization's testing processes. They discuss the importance of continuous testing, the benefits of automating both functional and non-functional testing, and the critical role of collaboration between testers, developers, and stakeholders.

What sets this session apart is the authenticity of the presenter, who speaks from firsthand experience. They share the successes and the failures, offering attendees an honest and transparent view into their journey. They also provide practical insights into how to build a successful test automation project, including tips on tool selection, team structure, and test case design.

Attendees leave the session feeling motivated and empowered, armed with new ideas and strategies to improve their own test automation efforts. They are eager to apply the lessons learned from the award-winning team and drive real results in their own organizations.

In conclusion, the Test Automation Project of the Year award winner's experience report is a must-attend session for anyone looking to transform their testing processes and achieve success through test automation. The presenter's passion and authenticity, combined with their practical insights and examples, make this session one of the highlights of the conference.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 16:00 - 17:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

EXPERIENCE REPORT

16:00 EDT

TO BE ANNOUNCED

As we add more speakers to our amazing program, we announce this impactful session.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 16:00 - 17:00 EDT
La Romana Room

SESSION

17:00 EDT

Lightning talks

Format:
5 min talks!
Followed by 5 min Q&A

The goal of lightning talks is to articulate a topic in a quick, insightful, and clear manner. These concise and efficient talks are intended to grab the attention of the audience, convey key information, and allow for several presenters to share their ideas in a brief period of time.

The lightning talks are open for all conference attendees, here is your chance to speak and make history.

Put your name and topic on the list, and present during the session.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 17:00 - 18:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

LIGHTNING TALKS

17:00 EDT

TO BE ANNOUNCED

As we add more speakers to our amazing program, we announce this impactful session.

Tuesday October 17, 2023 17:00 - 18:00 EDT
La Romana Room

SESSION

10:00 EDT

OPENING KEYNOTE - TO BE ANNOUNCED

The topic will be announced once we confirm the Technology thought leader industry speaker for the very impactful opening keynote.

Wednesday October 18, 2023 10:00 - 11:00 EDT
Large Auditorium

KEYNOTE

11:00 EDT

Awards ceremony

Teams achivements across the world are celebrated and Award winners are honored

Wednesday October 18, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Large Auditorium

AWARDS

12:00 EDT

Experts Panel Discussion

Welcome to the panel of experts' conference session!

The stage is set with a group of esteemed professionals in the field of software development, each ready to share their unique perspectives and insights on the topic at hand.

Experts will be discussing the state of the industry, technology innovations, biggest challenges and opportunities, and answer the questions from the audience. Each expert brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table, with diverse backgrounds and perspectives that enrich the discussion.

What sets this panel session apart is the depth and breadth of expertise represented by the panelists. Attendees are treated to a wealth of knowledge, with each expert offering unique insights based on their experience and expertise.

The panelists will share valuable insights and spark new ideas, leaving attendees inspired to continue learning and growing in their own professional journeys.

The panel of experts' conference session is a must-attend event for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of a topic from a diverse range of perspectives. The expertise and insights of the panelists, combined with the expert moderation, make this session an engaging and informative experience for all attendees.

Wednesday October 18, 2023 12:00 - 13:00 EDT
Large Auditorium

EXPERTS PANEL

15:00 EDT

KEYNOTE - TO BE ANNOUNCED

The topic will be announced once we confirm the Technology thought leader industry speaker for the very impactful keynote.

Wednesday October 18, 2023 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
Large Auditorium

KEYNOTE

16:00 EDT

The Ultimate Breakthrough - workshop

Get ready to join a collaborative workshop that will change the way you view work forever.
Explore the latest technologies that are revolutionizing the way we work and collaborate with experts from various industries to understand how to implement them in your own workplace.

Spend time brainstorming and collaborating with some of the brightest minds in your industry, and you've come up with ideas that could truly change the way we work forever. The possibilities are endless, and you can't wait to see where these new technologies will take us next.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to shape the future of work!

Speakers

Anna Royzman

Test Masters Academy Founder

Anna is a renowned international speaker and recognized expert in Software Test Leadership. In 2015, she founded Test Masters Academy which runs major international events: Test Leadership Congress, Test Masters Online, and ConTEST NYC, which made the list of the best global Software... Read More →

Wednesday October 18, 2023 16:00 - 17:00 EDT
Large Auditorium

WORKSHOP

17:00 EDT

CLOSING KEYNOTE: Where are we heading? It’s not looking very good right now...but there is hope

The testing profession, and software development in general, appear to be moving away from good testing. Replacing critical-thinking, creativity, reasoning, and customer representation with fairly simplistic automated checks. This will likely lead to some pretty major disasters. It is not too late to change the direction we are heading, but it will likely only happen after some catastrophic failures.

In this talk, Paul will talk about some of the directions and trends he has seen in his 27 year career; where the industry is now and where it appears to be heading.The good news is that there appears to be a multi-year cycle of good testing being demanded by companies. The bad news is that we appear to be approaching the farthest distance he has seen from good testing.

There have been many trends in the past, some good, most bad. The bad ones appear to have been primarily caused by companies selling testing tools and services. The good ones typically by companies that are looking to make positive changes. Paul will cover some of the historical trends that he has been involved with and how the current trends compare to old trends.

Automation is good and can be great. It is needed for CI/CD and the ability to move quickly with software releases but it can go too far. Deceitful marketing from testing industry vendors have been fooling naive decision makers for decades. It’s time that we had more voices standing up for better testing.

Paul will talk discuss some fairly simple changes to the current drive to CI/CD and the unrelenting push to “automate everything” would allow testing to become much more effective and impactful without going back to having humans do all the testing.

Speakers

Paul Holland

Sr. Test Automation Architect, Saks Off 5th

With more than twenty-five years’ experience in software testing, Paul Holland is a Sr. Test Automation Architect at New York City-based Saks Off 5th. Previously, he spent four years as a senior director at Medidata Solutions, two years as head of testing at a small consultancy... Read More →

Wednesday October 18, 2023 17:00 - 18:00 EDT
Large Auditorium

KEYNOTE

10:00 EDT

STRATEGY WORKSHOP: Career and Leadership Development

Unlock your full potential and take your career to the next level with our Leadership and Career Development workshop.

Led by experienced professionals in the industry, this workshop will provide you with the tools, strategies, and insights to become an effective leader and achieve your personal career goals.

You'll learn how to identify your strengths and weaknesses, develop a growth mindset, and navigate complex workplace dynamics with confidence. Through interactive exercises and engaging discussions, you'll discover new ways to improve your communication skills, build strong relationships, and inspire others to achieve their full potential.

Whether you're just starting out in your career or looking to advance to the next level, this workshop will help you unlock your full potential and achieve your professional aspirations. Don't miss this opportunity to invest in yourself and take your career to new heights!

Thursday October 19, 2023 10:00 - 12:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

STRATEGY WORKSHOP

10:00 EDT

Discussion Circles

Attendees are invited to share their thoughts and ideas on the most popular topics that matter to them. The themes will be voted on during conference days.

Discussion circles are a powerful way to foster open dialogue and engage attendees in meaningful conversations around topics that matter to them, giving everyone a chance to share their perspectives and learn from one another. They build a more informed, empathetic, and connected community.

The format is flexible, with attendees able to suggest topics and guide the conversation in a way that feels most relevant to them.

THE TOPICS SCHEDULE WILL BE LISTED IN THE CONFERENCE PUBLIC AREA.

Come join us, we have a lot to talk about!

Thursday October 19, 2023 10:00 - 13:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

DISCUSSION CIRCLES

12:00 EDT

STRATEGY WORKSHOP: Testing Strategies

Are you looking to develop effective testing strategies that can help you deliver high-quality software? The Testing Strategies workshop is here to help!

In this workshop, you'll learn about different testing approaches and techniques, and how to apply them to your software development process. You'll gain a deep understanding of the testing life cycle and explore the different types of testing, tailored to your mission, needs and resources. You'll also learn how to develop a comprehensive testing coverage and how to measure and report on the effectiveness of your testing efforts.

Our experienced instructors will guide you through real-world scenarios, giving you hands-on experience with different testing tools and techniques. You'll also have the opportunity to collaborate with other attendees, sharing insights and best practices.

This workshop will guide you to develop the testing strategies, applicable within your own context and take home an action plan on how to implement the strategies in your work.

Whether you're new to testing or an experienced tester, this workshop will help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to create effective testing strategies. Don't miss this opportunity to improve the quality of your software and enhance your testing skills. Join us at the Testing Strategies workshop and take your testing to the next level!

Thursday October 19, 2023 12:00 - 14:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

STRATEGY WORKSHOP

15:00 EDT

STRATEGY WORKSHOP: Test Automation Clinic

Are you facing challenges in implementing test automation in your software development process? Are you struggling to design effective test cases and maintain a reliable test suite?

The Test Automation Clinic workshop is here to help! Our workshop is designed to provide you with personalized advice and guidance on your specific test automation challenges. Led by experienced industry professionals, you'll have the opportunity to discuss your unique testing problems and receive practical solutions tailored to your needs.

You'll learn about the latest trends and practices in test automation and get some hands-on experience with the latest tools and techniques. You'll walk away from the workshop with a clear plan of action for implementing or improving your test automation strategy.

Don't miss this opportunity to get expert guidance on your test automation challenges. Join us at the Test Automation Clinic and take the first step towards more efficient and effective testing!

Speakers

Andrew Knight

Director at Test Automation University, Applitools

Thursday October 19, 2023 15:00 - 17:00 EDT
Puerto Plata Room

STRATEGY WORKSHOP

15:00 EDT

GAME TIMES

Dear Conference Participant,

Are you ready to let your hair down and have some fun? Then join us for our Game Times extravaganza!

We're excited to offer you the chance to unwind, relax and socialize with your fellow conference-goers in a fun and casual setting. Our Game Times will be packed with exciting games and activities that are sure to bring out your competitive spirit and make you laugh till you cry!

From classic board games to party favorites, we've got something for everyone. And if you're feeling daring, we even have some wild card games that will put your skills to the test!

So come on down and enjoy good company and lots of laughter. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to have some fun and make some new friends. Join us for our Game Times and let the good times roll!

See you there!

Thursday October 19, 2023 15:00 - 18:00 EDT
Bavaro Room

GAMES