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Why end-to-end automation testing is crucial for effective DevOps

April 8, 2022 by Fiona Nic Dhonnacha

Thanks to Copado for sharing their insights on automation and DevOps.

One big DevOps misconception is that it is about technology. While a key component, technology alone can’t solve all your software development lifecycle problems. DevOps also requires your business to embrace a new culture. Implementation strategies will differ based on an organization’s size and systems, but most philosophies have a common thread. Almost every expert will agree that end-to-end automation is vital for DevOps. Not only does it let you make the most of DevOps technology, it helps you build a more proactive, transparent DevOps culture.

Automation enhances all components of effective DevOps

If you want to break down the components of effective DevOps, you’ll have to consider both culture and technology. Part of implementing end-to-end automation is looking for how it can add value to each component, supplementing other technologies and helping you build a culture of DevOps.

Culture

Proactivity: DevOps is a proactive strategy as it seeks to reduce problems before they happen. Stakeholders are empowered to come up with resolutions without having to clear them with everyone. Automated testing lets you keep pace with development so you have time to analyze results and fix potential defects early on.

Goal-oriented: DevOps practices aren’t an end unto themselves. They center on an end goal, whether that is improving productivity, reducing bugs, or supporting staff. The developers select the goal and then work backward from it to come up with better strategies, including leveraging automation to eliminate bottlenecks.

Accountability: A culture of accountability should not be mistaken for a culture of blame. With a strong culture, employees will readily communicate problems rather than cover them. Automating tests and validation gives employees more room to explore and innovate, free from the fear one small mistake will bring the whole project crashing down.

Communication: Stakeholder alignment is critical in DevOps approaches. Everyone involved needs to understand the goals of the project, what is required of them, and how they can further the mission of the company. With automation comes reporting, which can improve transparency and facilitate communication between teams.

Technology

CI/CD: Continuous integration and continuous delivery pipelines are crucial for DevOps as they ensure the timely delivery of updates and improvements. It also allows for easier detection of errors due to how often code repositories are checked and tested.

Continuous testing: Continuous testing goes right along with CI/CD and automation. A test accompanies every line of code so you can ensure that it performs as expected. With continuous testing, you locate issues earlier and prevent widespread problems.

Version control: You must track the changes made in your code and ensure everyone follows the same standards. Version control makes these changes transparent and easier to understand. When there is a problem, you can locate and isolate it.

Automation tools: Manual steps are not scalable – and that’s vital in a DevOps environment. If a process is high-volume, repeatable, and predictable, you want to find a way to automate it so your developers can focus on higher-value tasks. You can use automation to support your CI/CD, continuous testing, and version control systems at scale

DevOps will mean different things to different organizations. However, all the above components should be included, regardless of industry type or software needs. With the above, you set the foundation for end-to-end automation and position your organization to make the most of its benefits.

Where end-to-end automation testing fits in

End-to-end automation has applications throughout the development lifecycle, but one of its key uses is to speed up testing. Testing is a necessary but time-consuming part of any DevOps cycle. The size of modern systems and software make it impossible to adequately scale up manual testing.

Robotic process automation is an ideal tool for this. RPA-based testing can be integrated into the CI/CD pipeline. As you deliver changes, you’re also providing the tests that verify their efficacy. Testing is one of the most common bottlenecks in the CI/CD pipeline, but RPA helps overcome these issues proactively. Of course, when you’re considering these tools, it’s important to choose options that are:

System agnostic: You should not have to use a different test for every platform, app, or cloud you work in. Any end-to-end automation testing tool must be system agnostic to support the diversity of your infrastructure.
Low- or no-code: Development is no longer an isolated part of an organization. Our world runs on software. The people who handle your big picture goals and business needs should create solutions within the software that works for them. However, they should also be following strong DevOps principles. A low code or no code testing solution helps them make sure that their programs run without bringing in an expert.
Self-healing: Your software will change over time. That means your tests will need to change too. A self-healing test automation tool will notice these changes and adapt your tests to ensure they continue to work through updates. This component makes these programs truly scalable to keep up with rapid system growth.
SaaS-based: A software as a service solution is best for deploying end-to-end automation. It comes with its own infrastructure, so you don’t have to worry about a long ramp-up to get your program up and running.

End-to-end automation will support your DevOps principles with continuous testing in a CI/CD pipeline and beyond. Tests are a crucial but time-consuming part of any software development initiative. By leveraging a program that runs on RPA, you can reinforce the scalability and flexibility that DevOps philosophies demand.

Copado is a Gold Sponsor at EuroSTAR 2022. It’s our first in-person event in 2 years – and it’s going to be a massive celebration of testing! Learn from 70 testing experts, and connect with your peers at Europe’s best testing event. Get your ticket now – book by April 22nd and save 10% on individual tickets; up to 35% on group bundles. See you in Copenhagen.

15 things you’ll learn from EuroSTAR speakers

April 5, 2022 by Fiona Nic Dhonnacha

It’s our first in-person event in 2 years, and we’re so excited to bring the entire testing community together again! This year the EuroSTAR conference is bigger and better than ever before. We’ve got a programme packed with inspiring keynotes, interactive tutorials, and buzzing track talks – brought to you from 70 world class speakers.

You’ll benefit from soaking up all that incredible knowledge, and gain practical takeaways, new ideas, and fresh perspectives that you can bring home with you after the conference. We’ve put together just a small taste of what you can expect this year. Get your EuroSTAR ticket now, and start planning your conference diary.

1. Understand that testing is never finished

It is hard to understand one thing in isolation: things need to be connected to each other in order to generate a good understanding. This means your understanding of testing is never finished, as you learn more about the product and its relations – and the relations is key. Get a broader understanding and see examples of learning paths in a complex world at Rikard Edgren’s keynote. Get comfortable with the feeling that testing is difficult, and the fact that it should be. You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of your software, your situation – and all the relations.

2. Get ready to meet the needs of the next economy

Smita Mishra shares what she’s learnt about the next economy, and what technology changes we are seeing across users. How does this impact what testers do? Do we understand the users of these new technologies? Are we ready to meet the needs of our customers of the next technology? Get answers to these questions, and a whole lot more. Let’s learn what the world thinks could be technology risks, and how testers can align better to the new world view. This session will also encourage you to look at your immediate and near future testing strategy, as well as your team construct.

3. Learn how to go through a digital transformation

Every day, more and more organizations are taking on “digital transformation”, leaning on software and machinery to perform jobs, make decisions and solve problems. Machines do work that has traditionally been done by humans, or that couldn’t be done by ordinary humans unaided by machinery. Every day, the reach of what machines can do is extended by technological advancements, growing bodies of data and by human ambition. As software changes, our testing has to respond. Michael Bolton shares what you need to address when going through a digital transformation.

4. Scale your team like a pro

As your team scales, the nature of challenges will change, Just like a bonsai tree, you can’t leave a team’s growth and shape to chance without a plan. One of the major components that a bonsai represents is that of balance. How can you achieve the right balance in a remote, multicultural team, and achieve your purpose ? Seema Prabhu shares her experience with her team changing shape as they scaled, the lessons learnt, and tools she wished she had during this phase of growth.

5. Learn how to respond to external changes

The world is constantly changing, and everything is impermanent. Most especially after the last two years, we have really been forced to come to terms with how quickly and drastically things can change. How will external changes shape our teams and our work? How can we shape ourselves proactively in order to respond to changes, make changes of our own, and even thrive? Alex Schladebeck looks at what factors are at work now, and what known and unknowns we have. You’ll also learn what kinds of effects they will have on how we work, and the roles of testers and software professionals.

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6. Sell and shift your testing at work

As testers who have an exploratory approach to testing, it can be challenging to gain acceptance and buy-in from leadership. Often, people you are trying to sell to are left asking, “What the hell kind of testing is that?”… and not in a good way. Nancy shares her experience with exploratory testing, and shifting testing to new methods. This high energy session will send you back to the office with the tools you need to help sell and shift your testing at work.

7. Develop your critical thinking skills

We expend huge efforts in training people in various testing skills. Yet, we often fail to train ourselves in the most important testing skill of all – how to think critically about what we are testing. When we test, we are vulnerable to cognitive biases and thinking traps that can catch out even the most seasoned tester. In this workshop, Andrew Brown shares the training course he’s developed, to show you how to improve your testing by enhancing your critical thinking skills, and addressing biases and thinking traps.

8. Set up and write your own automatic accessibility tests

Accessibility testing tools are of great help in making an accessible website, and shaping a more inclusive web. In this workshop you’ll learn how to set up and write your own automatic accessibility tests using Axe and Cypress, and cover some of the most common accessibility errors that can be discovered automatically – and how to fix them. This workshop will be presented ensemble style – mob testing with small groups where the whole group works on the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, and at the same computer.

9. Use defects to your benefit

We already know that zero defect products don’t exist. Defects that are caught in production can be costly to fix, BUT they are the client’s most concrete feedback on quality. Murex decided to accept the challenge and benefit from this feedback to shape their testing. But how can you benefit from clients’ reported defects to strengthen your test suites? Find out how Murex created a new process to get to the root cause, and take actions on the identified gaps. Plus, the ups and downs of the journey, and how they managed to transform a small team initiative into a global objective.

10. Navigate the new normal

Learnings from the past 1.5 years requires us to answer a fundamental question: how do we shape a post pandemic testing career? After all, there have been seismic shifts in customer behavior, technology solutions, business models and ways of working. It’s changed everything, especially testing. Ryan Volker will help you navigate the new normal, and get you better equipped to design your post pandemic career. Learn what changes will stick around – and how you can profit from it, plus how new work and old work will shape your future testing.

11. See why failure is a good thing

Fail. Red Build. Outage. Regression… if you’ve ever worked in DevOps, these phrases probably fill you with dread… but they shouldn’t! Failure is vilified, it’s judged, sometimes it’s punished… And it’s the default. Success is the exception. Dylan Lacey is here to show you that failure is a good thing, and how confidence without failure is false confidence. He’ll present concrete examples of how failure helps organisations be more confident. Learn how to have more failures, failure anti-patterns, and pernicious failure psychology.

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12. Go from survive to thrive

A new job, in a new industry, a new city, a new tech stack, and no PC… sound overwhelming? Chris Armstrong started a new job just like this – and with no PC he had no email or access to training/onboarding/tests/codebase. He wasn’t even introduced to the team. He had a copy of industry-standard documentation, and his boss went on leave. What would you do? Chris shares how he turned this situation around, and how he now ensures that new starters he works with don’t ever have to go through what he did. This is how you go from surviving to thriving.

13. Learn about the 8 testing senses

Tools become extensions of our perceptions, our cognition, and our physical movements. Good tools enhance our flow as we work. Poor tools impede our flow, and even become blockers. In understanding interactions between people, their tools, and their real and virtual worlds, Isabel Evans asks: what if we engage with not just five but all our eight senses? Learn how tools tell us what to do, how tools become an extension of our bodies, and how tools use or ignore our senses. This affects what we think about when testing products, and when choosing our own tools for supporting testing.

14. Automate BDD scenarios with SpecFlow

This workshop helps you to speed up with automating BDD scenarios with SpecFlow, the official Cucumber implementation for .NET. Gáspár Nagy will start with a very brief introduction to BDD/ATDD, and what are the most important characteristics of good BDD scenarios, before jumping into coding in order to learn about the most important features of SpecFlow. You’ll get plenty of hands-on exercises where you can practice how to automate and execute BDD scenarios with SpecFlow, and see how the test-first approach can help you to get quick feedback about the quality.

15. Get into a T-shape

Software development is in continuous change, and so is testing. As a tester our role has evolved into multiple forms, mostly focusing on being more T-shaped. But how do you become more T-shaped, and what is T-shaping? Gerard talks through the various forms of T-shaping within DevOps engineering, like CI/CD enabling, software development, and operations, and show you how you can become more T-shaped – by learning that achieving knowledge is about setting goals

Whew. That’s just a tiny taster of what’s on offer at EuroSTAR this year. This is a space where you can ask questions, share your ideas, and get help from the testing community to solve your problems. You’ll walk away with the knowledge you need to take your testing to the next level.

Book your ticket now and get 10% off with our Early Bird offer – this ends April 22nd, so book now.

How to network at a virtual conference

November 10, 2020 by Fiona Nic Dhonnacha

How to network at a virtual conference

One of the best things about a conference is those impromptu meetings and introductions with new people – standing in a coffee line, an evening event, hangout sessions, or just wandering around the expo.

Think virtual events lack this spontaneity? Think again. Virtual first bumps are the new handshake, and we’ll have lots of them at EuroSTAR Online! Here’s how to make the most of networking opportunities at EuroSTAR.

Let people know you’re attending

First thing’s first: get the news out there that you’re attending Europe’s #1 test event! This is a great way to attract your peers who are also attending. Share it on your blog, attend our event on LinkedIn, and share across your social media channels. Want to win a prize? Download & share this graphic with the hashtag #EuroSTARConf on LinkedIn or Twitter and the 2 people with the most likes or comments will win €50 Amazon vouchers each.

Establish your goals

You need to be more intentional about networking in a virtual environment – but it’s well worth a little extra effort. A lot of the stress of a live event is gone, such as traveling and rushing to sessions, so it leaves more time for meaningful conversations. Make a list of your networking goals to help you focus your efforts and figure out where and how to invest your time,.

Here’s a couple to start you off:

I will introduce myself to at least five new people
I will swap my contact details with ten attendees

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Get busy on social media

During the conference, use the hashtag #EuroSTARConf on Twitter and Facebook, and post your thoughts on sessions, share screengrabs of your favourite talks or events, and chat with other attendees.

Share your insights in Q&A sessions

Our keynotes and talks are a perfect opportunity for you to get involved in discussions with other attendees. Showcase your expertise by actively engaging with attendees and presenters during our live Q&A sessions. Share your thoughts, ask questions, and get involved.

Try speed meeting

Our speed meet event lets you meet people for a 3 minute chat. Simply enter the speed meeting room and click to start chatting. Exchange details so that you can continue talking in 1:1 video chats on the platform if you run out of time and want to keep chatting – something that happens regularly to our attendees!

Join AMAs with speakers

We have exciting Ask Me Anything sessions with some of the best minds in testing. This is your chance to chat to keynotes Michael Bolton, Abby Bangser, Ronald Cummings-John, and ask them your burning questions!

Join the Huddle networking lounge for games and chats

The Huddle area is the beating heart of EuroSTAR: an all-inclusive community space to work together, share knowledge and fulfill your potential. Chat to some of the best testing minds, solve problems, test your security testing skills at our Shadow Bank challenge, play games, or just hang out.

Attend the Test Lab and Test Clinic

Our test doctors Russell and Dorota will be on hand for 1:1 sessions and open clinics to solve all your testing problems. Make an appointment at the test clinic here! Chat with like-minded people who might have the same problem as you – and are just as excited to have a solution. The Test Lab is back with some challenging games – get your thinking caps on! Join us for Dice game, Black stories and lots more.

Set aside the time

This is your time to invest in yourself, and your career. Make sure you’ve blocked off time in your calendar for the whole 3 days, including time after sessions to chat with new connections. Get comfortable and have lots of water, coffee, and snacks on hand, with as little distraction as possible.

Haven’t got your ticket yet? It all kicks off in less than a week! Book your ticket now.

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Pair programming at Codacy and why we do it

October 30, 2020 by Fiona Nic Dhonnacha

Pair programming, also known as pairing or “dynamic duo” model is not a new concept, and it was pioneered by C/C++ guru P.J. Plauger (Scott W. Ambler, Larry Constantine, 2001). This practice consists of two developers working together off of a single screen: one is the driver, who actively codes, whereas the other, the navigator, provides instant feedback.
Once teams focus on making pair programming work and get the dynamics right, they can reap multiple benefits from it.

In this post, we will uncover how all of our Product teams gathered to brainstorm about this technique and the advantages we came up with. It is important to address here, that pairing isn’t necessarily a concept exclusive to developers; anyone can pair, whether you’re in HR, Finance or Marketing, and right now, as remote work is more embedded than ever in our society, this is probably the best time to try it out.

We already had some development teams experimenting with pairing in the past and, as we went fully remote over two months ago, we thought that this concept made even more sense for others to try it out. Acknowledging its strong reputation, we wanted to encourage all the teams in Engineering to also experiment and adopt pairing, and eventually scale it to other departments. At the end of the day, this could be an opportunity for people to keep a connection with each other while working away from the office.

Facing the current “work from home” scenario, we decided then to join teams virtually, starting with the different development teams. Through a workshop format and breakout rooms with random groups of four or five people, we had everyone collaborating, sharing experiences and knowledge around Pairing.

As an outcome, we uncovered some of the benefits of this technique, why we should adopt it, and what makes it work. This was turned into a chapter in our handbook for everyone to refer to when pairing and to serve as a basis for every pairing experience at Codacy, whether in person or remotely.

The positives of pair programming

We improve knowledge sharing, effectively helping each other grow
We are able to shorten the learning period of our codebase and therefore improve the onboarding.
We decrease the bus factor
By constantly working side by side, and being able to proceed with work if one person is unable to work on a given day, this makes us much more resilient as squads and as a company; over time it will be easier to have each other’s backs whenever needed.
We make our reviews easier and simpler
When we pair, we’re discussing and getting real-time feedback on the work that we’re doing. This helps to improve the quality and speed of delivery because we find issues sooner rather than when we request a review.
We work in a more focused way
We already knew reducing the amount of Work in Process (WIP) makes us go faster and be more efficient. When we pair, there are fewer streams of work open in parallel. That means we’re more focused on delivering the most prioritized features and can maintain the workflow.
We deliver better work when we do it together
We’re excited about having cross-functional teams that can deliver a feature from start to finish. Pairing allows us to not just learn from each other, but also to increase the discipline of our practice, and do the right thing together.
We get much faster feedback
With pairing, we’re able to shift left and bring quality sooner rather than later. This brings much higher quality upfront, avoids making mistakes and later fixes, therefore also improving our speed.
We increase out teamwork levels
We go back and forth trying to solve a problem together, which increases empathy levels and improves relationships. This leads to a better understanding of each other, creating cool and fun dynamics between people in the squad.
Especially when pairing remotely, there’s a higher sense of productivity since we’re helping each other move forward with the challenge at hand.
We become better synched
Since we’re rotating pairs and we’re tackling things together, we inherently become more in sync with each other. Chances of being blocked are reduced and the overall alignment is better.

With the benefits listed, the next step was to understand how we would make it work and get the most out of it, considering the challenges that may arise.

There are a lot of behaviors and practices that contribute to a great pairing experience and that boost the quality and resilience of our squads.

What contributes to a great experience

It’s important to define the roles
It’s useful to have a pre-agreed set of guidelines on the pairing roles: Driver & Navigator. This helps in having a better understanding of the duties of each member, reducing friction and discussions whilst helping to focus on the challenge to be solved.
Communicate constantly and use clear, visual language
Thinking out loud, constantly speaking your thoughts, whether you’re the driver or the navigator, creates a guiding line for the reasoning of the pair and the work being done. It also helps you catch loopholes on your internal reasoning.
Remote preparations
It’s important that you’ve got silent conditions and a good microphone (make sure you test it). Remember that someone else is going to be looking at your screen, so adjust the resolution or font size in order for the other person to see well.
Visual cues are incredibly important, so make sure cameras are on and you can see each other while screen sharing. Try to keep the distractions for both people at a minimum.
Pairing dynamics
Before starting the pairing session make sure you’re both aware of each other’s schedules. Agree on a time for breaks, and respect those agreements.
To avoid getting distracted or creating an uneven dynamic, rotate frequently between the driver and the navigator. Set a timer to trigger a rotation at least every 30 minutes. Base your rotation on time, not completion of a task (to prevent never rotating).
Be collaborative
It’s really important to be open for some collaboration, accepting that there are going to be fewer parallel streams of work and a sense of speed decrease. The benefits outweigh these, so keep them in mind because you’ll be triggering feedback earlier and avoid possible rewrites of code.
Boost knowledge sharing
Pairing is an opportunity to help someone become a better professional and also to grow by learning from someone else. This openness to learn and teach is crucial for the pairing dynamic to work.
It’s also important to note that, in case someone knows way more than its pair, the person with the least knowledge should be encouraged to assume the driver role for longer.
Keep your mind open for all ideas
We all have different opinions. If we feel they are listened to and taken into account, we’ll be more willing to reach a compromise.
Rotate pairs frequently (e.g. twice a week)
Schedule the rotation of the elements of each pair. Make it dependent on time, not on task. If you’re halfway through a task when you’re supposed to rotate, simply choose which member of the pair continues working on it with their new pair colleague. This will also help to boost knowledge sharing and resilience in your squad.
Constantly improve, and share key learnings with the team
Focus on improving pairing over time. Have debrief moments after each pairing session, understanding what can happen to make it a better experience next time. Sharing this helps to build trust in each other and to create better dynamics.
Align work with your squad
It’s relevant to communicate beforehand which tasks will benefit most from pairing and when each person is available for pairing. Use refinements to signal which tasks must be tackled in a pair.
If things go wrong
Ask someone else’s help to ease any conflict that might have occurred. Remember that each person has different needs, personality and working styles, so it’s normal that you need some time, practice, trust and love in order to make the pairing work.

In this session, we fostered a moment where our squads shared their experience and lessons learned with each other, giving us the ability to understand more notably the advantages of pairing. This allowed everyone to increase their ability to pair, or at least encourage them to do it more regularly, knowing they have these guidelines as help, and more importantly, the rest of the organization supporting them.

At the end of the day, by engaging with this technique, development teams can avoid later fixes, reduce bugs, consequently improve speed, and cut the overall cost of programming. We’re already seeing some of these, and as an example, in the last few weeks, we reduced massively the number of new bugs, seeing up to a 75% reduction. Of course, this can be attributed to other factors as well, still, some of the results obtained after we started pairing have been remarkable.

In addition, pairing empowers our team members to grow in a shorter time span while contributing to social interactions. This also contributes to increasing the resiliency and knowledge of our teams and organization: when you pair, you are learning from, discovering with, or teaching someone else.

Having all of our different engineering teams embracing this technique was an achievement and the feedback is very positive. It also impacted our company culture, so much so that our next goal is having all of the other departments in the organization also trying it out, by following these insights we just shared. As we touched upon in the beginning, the truth is, anyone can pair and see benefits from doing it, regardless of the department one is in.

Enjoyed this article? There are tons of learning opportunities at EuroSTAR Online, taking place this month, Nov 17-19. Check out our programme of incredible speakers and book your ticket now!

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Author: Jaime Jorge

I’m CEO and Co-founder of Codacy, an automated code review service that lets developers, teams and companies be more efficient and less frustrated. My background is in software engineering, where I hold a MSc in Software Engineering from Instituto Superior Tecnico. My company has allowed me to have experience in: fundraising, hiring, growth hacking, software engineering, PR, product development, customer development, sales. If you love your craft, contact me. Passionate people always make my day.

Introducing our Community Sketchnote Reporter

September 10, 2019 by Suzanne Meade

Each year at the EuroSTAR Conference, we welcome members of the community as ‘reporters’ who share their experience with the community on EuroSTAR Huddle and our social channels.

This year we are delighted to welcome Katja Budnikov as one of our Community Reporters. Katja is a sketchnoter from Northern Germany known for her website Katjasays.com where she presents her sketchnotes of conference talks, webinars and articles. She loves attending testing and developer events like EuroSTAR and sharing her experience and learnings with others. That’s why she started with sketchnoting in 2016. First analog with pen and paper, now digitally with an iPad and Apple Pencil.

In her work life she started out in online marketing, then specialised in search engine optimisation and now is a quality assurance specialist who both does manual and automated software testing. Katja is a fan of websites with great quality.

In her day to day life Katja loves photography, especially taking photos of nature, though at the moment most of her pictures taken are from her dog Auri, a young Australian Shepherd, who is super cute and fun to take photos of. Katja loves to spend time with her dog and her partner, going out for walks, traveling and eating cake at a nearby coffee shop with a beautiful garden. Sometimes she is hacking on some projects of her own like a webcam to be able to watch her dog when she is out or automating her home. She recently had a lot of fun furnishing and decorating an apartment that she is renting out to guests, including refurbishing some of the furniture herself.

To begin her sketchnoting, Katja is shares how attendees can travel to the EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference in Prague, 11-14 Nov. If you are planning on flying, you will be well served by flight options. Fifty two airlines fly into Václav Havel Airport Prague from 110 destinations in 42 countries. There are lots of rail options too and if you are in central Prague, you can join us at the Prague Congress Centre by hopping on the metro line C (red line) to station “Vyšehrad”, which is right in front of the congress centre.

For Prague accommodation options at delegate rates see the EuroSTAR Hotel Page.

We look forward to welcoming you to the 27th EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference.

See more of Katja’s sketchnotes on her website Katjasays and you can follow her on twitter for updates.

14 Hidden Gems in Prague

August 26, 2019 by Fiona Nic Dhonnacha

Join us for this year’s EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference, 11-14 Nov in the Czech Republic. While you’re here, dive into Prague’s treasure chest of culture and history – you’ll be surprised at where you surface…

1. Sip coffee at a height

Prague is known for its impressive cafés – once the headquarters of cultural societies, poets and writers, it’s where history was shaped over a Viennese melange, or a Czech beer! You’ll have to look up to see our hidden gems – the Café Orient is sitting pretty above the Cubist Museum; while the Café Louvre on the second floor of the Louvre museum was a favourite haunt of both Frank Kafka and Einstein. Soak up literati vibes while you’re sipping your coffee.

2. See a square from a different angle

Jiřího z Poděbrad Square (or Jirak to locals) isn’t far from Old Town, but you’re strolling into an entirely different setting. The square is comprised of a city park, constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries with a beautiful church in the centre, the work of architect Joze Plecnik. There’s a tramstop and a metro station close by, so it’s a breeze to get to. The square is lined with cafes and shops, and hosts a semi-weekly farmers’ market and open-air festivals.

3. Get inspired by industrial history

Founded in 1908, The National Technical Museum is a dazzling demonstration of the country’s industrial heritage. It holds more than 58,000 objects and a library stacked with over 250,000 books and reading material. Start off in the main hall, which is packed to the rafters – literally – with historical planes, trains and automobiles. There are separate halls with 14 permanent exhibitions devoted to exhibits on astronomy, photography, printing architecture, electric engineering, mining, industrial design and so much more.

4. Celebrate art – in all forms

The streets of Prague are a celebration of contemporary art, such as the dozen gigantic babies crawling along the Zizkov TV Tower and the 34 bright yellow penguins located outside Museum Kampa. If you dream of leaving your mark on Prague, get creative at one of the few legal graffiti walls in the city: Tesnov is open to anyone looking to show off their skills, and a 15 minute walk from the city centre (aim for early in the morning).

5. Go underground for a liquid legacy

Hidden away in the basement of the Hotel U Prince in Old Town Square, the Black Angel’s Bar is a must visit. Despite the fact that it’s located directly across from the famous Astronomical Clock, it gives off the illusion of a secret hideaway. Designed like a prohibition-era speakeasy, the gothic and Romanesque masonry creates a cosy atmosphere. The cocktail recipes were discovered by the original owners hidden in a chest, untouched since the beginning of the century!

6. Explore a fortress

It’s not far from the metro line, but few tourists make it to the towering fort of Vyšehrad: a blissfully leafy oasis with stunning views over the city. Meaning “upper castle” in Czech, this fortress is on the right bank of the gorgeous Vltava River, offering epic views of Prague’s bridges and the famous Prague Castle. Bonus: you can see this fort from the Vltava river onboard the Grand Bohemia during the EuroSTAR Community Dinner!

Check out our current EuroSTAR Conference ticket offers for both individuals and teams.

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7. Read on a zeppelin

Once a sprawling 1920s metal factory, the DOX Centre has been open since 2008. The exhibitions highlight video, sculpture, photography and painting. The piece de resistance is ‘Gulliver’. Inspired by early 20th century airships, this 42-metre long 10-meter-wide zeppelin is made of steel and wood, and suspended between two buildings. Stairs lead up to a massive reading room inside, where you can marvel at the stunning workmanship of the sculpture and appreciate literature in what is probably the most unique library in the world.

8. Forget what you know about ceramics

The oldest Czech ceramics date back to 25,000BC. The most popular modern style, blue onion porcelain, has been manufactured in the Czech lands since 1885 and is exported worldwide. If you want a souvenir that combines tradition with a quirky contemporary twist, head to Qubus: a whimsical ceramics gallery at the back of the Old Town square with cool and curious gifts. You may pick up a quirky souvenir from Prague!

9. Don your steampunk goggles

To really experience Prague at night, head for Cross Club: a thumping, thrilling steampunk style industrial factory with three floors of music, art, and hardware. It’s unabashedly industrial – everything is metal, and it’s usually moving. Think twisting shafts, cranks and pipes pulsating with psychedelic lights.

10. Hunt statues around the City

Step outside your door in Prague and it’s not long before you come across a statue – or three. Like a surrealistic sculpture in the Jewish Quarter depicting a mini Frank Kafka riding on the shoulders of a giant, empty suit (inspired by his short story ‘Description of a Struggle’). Or the life-sized ‘Man Hanging Out’, which depicts Sigmund Freud hanging one-handed from a pole, sticking out from a roof high above the Old Town. Don’t miss The Statue of St John of Nepomuk, one of the 30 sculptures mounted to the balustrade on the famed Charles Bridge. Touching the statue supposedly brings good luck and ensures your return to Prague!

12. Explore the dark arts.

Did you know that Prague was once the unofficial capital of the dark arts? Rudolf II (Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria) was fascinated in the occult arts, and during his reign became a patron for magicians, alchemists and sorcerers in Prague. The Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague bring this era of occult science to life with evocative, fantastical displays. Tucked away off Old Town Square, it’s well worth a visit.

13. Get to grips with a grisly relic…

The Church of St James was founded in 1232, and given a baroque facelift in the 18th century. This massive three-aisled Gothic basilica is the third longest church in Prague. Look up to the right as you enter and you will see a severed human arm (yes, you read that correctly!) on the inside of the western wall. This shrivelled memento among the gilt and lustre is reputed to be the arm of a thief, caught trying to steal the jewels from the statue of the Virgin Mary. She gripped his arm in a such a vice that it had to be chopped off.

14. Spiral in a book tower

‘Idiom’ by Mateg Kren at The Prague Municipal Library is a must-see for bibliophiles. Both a dream and a nightmare for book lovers, it’s an infinite cylindrical Jenga tower of books that cannot be dismantled, (even with the most concentrated extraction techniques!) But it does make for a wonderful sight. Hundreds of books are carefully stacked in this staggering installation reaching to the ceiling, and the mirrors placed at the bottom and the top of the funnel give the exhibit the illusion of being infinite.

When planning your software testing training, we hope you will include the EuroSTAR Conference in your calendar this November and join us at Europe’s best software testing event! Book before 27th September and avail of 10% savings with our Early Bird Offer.

8 Things You Need To Know About EuroSTAR Testing Conference Sessions

August 19, 2019 by Fiona Nic Dhonnacha

Keynotes? Track Talks? Lightning Strikes? Get to Know All the Different Conference Sessions!

Every year the EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference invites thought leaders, industry innovators and global trailblazers to share their knowledge, showcase their expertise and spark new ideas. What does this mean for you? 4 days of invaluable learning, new connections and fresh inspiration – all in one place.

We’ve got incredible keynote speakers, and many of the world’s leading experts presenting tutorials, track talks and so much more. But what’s involved in these sessions? Here’s your chance to find out, and make sure you know your Track Talks from your Lightning Strikes. Read on and get ready to accelerate your career!

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Keynotes

Our keynote speakers this year give their expertise and insights on hot testing topics: Chris McKillop looks at popular myths about what AI is, and what the future of AI means for a wider society. Fiona Charles tackles difficult questions on the ethics of technology, and unveils the truth behind the cost to our privacy. Dona Sarkar explains how to run your own insider program within your organisation; and Alexandre Bauduin shares his experience leading the complex testing challenges of a real-time Boeing 777 Flight Simulator!

Tutorials

Every year we carefully select the EuroSTAR Conference Tutorials for our delegates. They are designed to allow you to choose an area you want to explore in greater detail, or just dive into. There are 12 amazing tutorials to choose from and they are divided between Monday (6 tutorials) and Tuesday (6 tutorials). Topics include Python, Risk in Testing, Games & Testing, Performance Testing, Test Designs and much more. Tutorials are in-depth training sessions with expert speakers. This is where you learn practical new skills that you can apply to your job right away!

Track Talks

Track talks are 45 minutes long, and feature a range of themes and topics such as tools and automation, techniques, engineering and more. This year we’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure that there’s something to suit every tester – we want you to leave enlightened and inspired! Over 30 new & expert speakers will give a track talk on UI, agile, DevOps and lots more. We have invited many great speakers, including Jaroslaw Hryszko, Marina Bechaalani, and Martin Boesgaard, to name a few.

Lightning Strikes

The concept of Lightning Strikes is to challenge speakers to give an engaging talk in just 4 minutes! Five speakers each have 4 minutes and just two slides to give a complete presentation on their chosen topic. If they don’t finish on time, lightning will strike and they have to leave the stage immediately! Who will convey their points clearly and quickly? Who will be unceremoniously struck down? This year, we have added a second Lightening Strikes session on diversity (Thursday), where 5 speakers briefly share their thoughts on inclusion and diversity in testing.

Workshops

Workshops last 1 hour 45 minutes, and are designed to stimulate your logical and critical thinking, as well as spark creativity. It’s an energetic, hands-on way for you to learn new skills and get valuable testing practice. Workshops this year include planning and testing releases, puzzle solving and storytelling for testers.

What Else is Going On at EuroSTAR?

On top of our amazing speaker sessions, we also run interactive sessions. These help you find solutions to your testing problems, make new friends, and get hands-on testing experience!

Test Lab

First, it’s Test Lab: run by testers for testers, it’s your opportunity to gain hands-on testing experience on ideas you’ve heard about at the conference. It’s also a chance to learn something new outside of the conventional conference talks and your everyday working environment. Test Lab is for everybody, no matter your level or experience. Join fellow testers and QA professionals in completing practical challenges, exercises and games. A perfect way to improve your testing in an open, friendly atmosphere.

Test Clinic

The Test Clinic helps you solve your software testing problems, with the help of our onsite test experts. Our ‘Test Doctors’ are industry experts with years of testing experience and knowledge. They’re on hand to offer coaching and guidance on ideas and solutions. Every year the Test Doctors strive to solve 100% of problems, and won’t send you home until you have a solution to implement on your return! Is there something slowing your team down? Do you have an idea that could help others improve? Bring it to the Test Clinic!

Huddle

Everything we do at EuroSTAR is to help testers achieve their full potential and grow as a community. A huge part of this is Huddle, where experts share their knowledge with the testing community. Huddle is completely FREE to join, and you gain full access to resources across all the latest topics in software testing and quality assurance. It’s all free of charge! Huddle comes to EuroSTAR in the form of soapbox sessions, speaker couch sessions, games, giveaways and lots more. It’s also an ideal place to go if you’re a first time attendee.

Now you know everything about the different EuroSTAR Conference Sessions! There’s only one thing left to do… book your ticket!

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Enter the 2019 RisingSTAR Award

August 1, 2019 by Suzanne Meade

The RisingSTAR Award, supported by EuroSTAR Conferences, James Lyndsay and Bart Knaack, was created to stimulate innovation and encourage new ideas in the software testing industry. The RisingSTAR brings together many of the most influential testing minds as a supporting group to help develop winning ideas for the overall benefit of the industry.

We are calling for entries for the 2019 RisingSTAR Award. Perhaps you would like to enter or maybe you know someone who would be ideal for this recognition and mentoring.

How to Enter

This is how you can become the 2019 RisingSTAR Award Winner:

Go to EuroSTAR Huddle & read the guidelines
Submit your Application before 31st August 2019
The RisingSTAR Committee will be in touch regarding your idea & supporting materials
Once selected as a finalist, you will be featured on EuroSTAR Huddle
The RisingSTAR Supporters (mentors) will vote for the best testing idea that will benefit the wider community
The Winner will be flown to #EuroSTARConf in November to accept their prize

What is a RisingSTAR Idea?

A new idea or concept that you have worked to a point where it is ready to share. It may be something ground-breaking that will reverberate through the testing community OR perhaps you see a gap in the current methodologies and approaches and have an idea to help make a specific area of testing more efficient. The mentoring and global connections of the Supporters will help to develop your idea further and bring it into being.

Types of Ideas we are looking for:

Ideas that challenge existing testing practices.
A novel application or spin on existing testing techniques to improve them further.
Cutting-edge ideas from other fields that can be applied to testing.
A way to take advantage of emerging trends to impact the future of testing.
A new perspective on a long-running, perplexing problem.

For more details see the RisingSTAR Award page on EuroSTAR Huddle.

RisingSTAR Mentoring

The 2018 winner was Sanne Visser of NS Netherlands. Sanne’s idea was to develop a testing framework for dealing with Blockchain-based applications as well as forming a Blockchain testing group to share knowledge to benefit the entire testing community.

As the winner, Sanne receive access to mentorship and wider connections of an incredible array of global testers – all very high profile and influential. Sanne will use that support to help her develop a workshop with a demo-blockchain environment, allowing her to teach testers about the technology, and to let them experiment with ways it might be tested.

We believe in helping the community and each of the Supporting Group contribute their time and knowledge to helping the winner to develop their idea and share this with the testing community. Where else would you have direct connections with such a group of testing experts, all committed to helping you grow your idea?

As the current RisingSTAR winner, Sanne will be provided with an ongoing platform on the EuroSTAR Huddle online community to update on her progress as well as an opportunity to present the overall concept and updates at this years’s EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference in Prague.

Beyond recognising and rewarding great ideas, the RisingSTAR Award is about encouraging new voices and developing future leaders in testing. Great ideas can come at any time and if you have a great idea that could change the testing world, don’t wait, submit now! Entries close 312st August 2019.