Coming up with a statement of difference
All the best software testing conferences bring to their role something more, something different. At first sight, the Agile Testing Days seem to blend in with the majority, but there is something that makes us stand out from the crowd. What makes us special is our own kind of style: the Agile Testing Days challenge how one thinks and encourages others to learn, share and connect in a way that is uncommon but effective.
This may sound very cliché, and yet, sitting down and contemplating why the Agile Testing Days is THE place to go, it really boils down to its core: what makes us different makes us special. Being different doesn’t necessarily mean having to invent something entirely new. In fact, what makes us different might have evolved over time, but we have our very own way that sets us apart and that makes us a go-to conference. We are definitely making a clear and deliberate choice about who we are – starting from calling the Agile Testing Days an “agile testing festival” rather a conference and calling our community family to do what no else is doing.
Taking it one step further
In the past, we’ve heard speakers talk about self-care and mental health, i.e. Gitte Klitgaard, Kevin Harris, Stephan Kämper or Fin Kingsma. Why? Because we listen to the agile testing community – to their feelings, concerns and what’s on their minds. We care about and support each other – whether it is by creating a safe environment for everyone with our Trusted Friends campaign against any form of harassment or by treating our speakers fair. We go the extra mile.
Embracing new voices and experiences
In recent years, we had many amazing presenters we’ve had the good fortune to see speaking – people who started their speaking career at the Agile Testing Days and have become well-established public speakers who have earned a reputation in the agile testing community, like Elisabeth Hocke who has not only become a keynote speaker but also has been awarded by the agile testing community as being one of the ‘Most Influential Agile Testing Professional Persons in 2019'.
We welcome and support first-time speakers as we think it can help increase the diversity of ideas and bring in fresh perspectives to the community. As we are aware of the situation that more men than women speak at conferences, we especially encourage and invite more women to submit and start sharing their ideas with a wider audience. Many of our professional speakers offer to mentor and coach new speakers who need help and doubt their abilities.
Insights and inspiration beyond testing
As a software testing professional or engineer, you need to know what’s happening in the agile world of testing, programming, and quality assurance. The Agile Testing Days have dedicated various tracks to all things software testers, QA agents, developers and managers with an agile mindset might want to explore starting from the latest testing developments to ethics and responsibilities.
The Agile Testing Days is a place where people come to meet, talk over situations or special subjects, and seek professional or expert advice, information or the solution to a specific problem. We are also dedicated to providing more technical sessions of some interest focused on AI, Robotics and related fields. There are also numerous in-depth workshops and a lot of opportunities where you can speak one-on-one with people to get ideas and find the spark you might be looking for.
If you are not yet convinced, then have a look at a rundown of tweets by various agile software professionals – that speak for themselves – why the Agile Testing Days are the place to go for all agile software professionals:
