Year End Offer: Save 30% + Teams Save Up to an Extra 25%!

EuroSTAR Conference

Europe's Largest Quality Engineering Conference

Track Talk, Th4

Shadow Work

Tara Walton

09:00 - 09:45 CEST, Thursday 18th June

In psychology, your shadow-self is the repressed and rejected parts that we like to keep hidden despite it being a big part of who we are.

In the realm of software testing, achieving quality and reliability often hinges on uncovering the underlying factors that can derail us from those goals. It’s not about the tests, but understanding the requirements, business, and users.

This presentation explores the concept of shadow work—those unseen efforts and mental processes that shape our development practices. By examining the interplay between shadow work and root cause analysis, we can uncover hidden obstacles and biases that impede our quality objectives.

Attendees will learn practical strategies to identify and address shadow work, ultimately enhancing their testing processes and outcomes. This session aims to equip software testers with insights that not only improve their immediate work but also foster a deeper understanding of the systemic issues that impact software quality.

What you will learn

  1. Learn to identify patterns and bias in your testing practices
  2. Address systemic issues in analyzing requirements for testing
  3. Look at ways to help mitigate the repressed and hidden practices that are undermining your team's quality journey

Session Details

  • Introductory
  • 45 Minutes
  • Includes 15mins Q&A
  • Analytical thinking to dissect complex systems
Buy Conference Ticket

Check out this video from Tara Walton to hear more about her talk on Shadow Work.

We look forward to welcoming you to EuroSTAR 2026

Session Speakers

Tara-Walton

Tara Walton

Springfield-Branson, U.S.A.

Tara has been an automation developer for over a decade. After years of writing test cases and delivering automated results for clients, she moved into the developer relations space and worked in the Salesforce community. She spent most of her years as an SDET writing API test automation and knows just enough javascript to be dangerous.  

When Tara isn’t achievement-hunting or playing Dungeons and Dragons, she likes to explore new tech and sing karaoke. She has dual degrees in Math and Computer Science and enjoys sharing her knowledge at global conferences.

Ticket Offer

Book a group and save up to 30% on tickets!

The more you bring, the more you save.

Individual

From €1,610

3 Day Ticket*

BOOK TICKET

Groups

From €1,208

Based on 10 Tickets

Book Group

Stay in The Loop

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss important announcements, updates and special offers from EuroSTAR.