World’s First Tech Conference Musical, Exclusively at Agile Testing Days

Every year, the Agile Testing Days team looks for special sessions for the program.

Whether you are already part of the community or not, you need to know that AgileTD is open to new ideas, that we break convention and normality to set the trend, and that we are fearless in giving our community something new and unique. This is why, after the success of last year’s keynote by Samuel Nitsche and Lena Nyström, we will be hosting the first tech musical at a conference exclusively designed for the Agile Testing Days community:

The Agile Testing Days Musical - “The Owl Problem”

This is the first blog post dedicated to this unique session, which will take place at Agile Testing Days from November 19 - 22, 2024. In this first post, we interviewed the team leads behind the musical to learn more about their ideas, processes, and preparation. In the second part, we will introduce the team, their backgrounds, and their connection to music. 

The singers:

• Samuel Nitsche - Senior Software Developer
• Lena Nyström - Engineering Manager, author and creator
• Rachel Kibler - Software Tester
• Tamara Josten - Junior Test Automation Engineer
• Veerle Verhagen - Tester
• Bastian Knerr - Teamlead
• Callum Akehurst-Ryan - Principal Engineer (Quality & Test)

It all started with an idea!

Incredibly, many of the ideas for special sessions start in connection with Agile Testing Days, either during the conference or during the call for papers. Throughout our Call for Papers process, we receive many innovative ideas and are open to crazy ideas. If we see the potential, we will provide the stage to present them. But this idea is different. This idea started at AgileTD 2023 when Sam and Lena approached Pepe and Uwe to ask for space and support for a full blown musical…

What inspired the idea behind creating a musical centered around software testing?

Sam: It has been a teenage dream of mine. I always wanted to participate in a musical. I love creating things, especially stories with drama and emotions.

What would be better than a musical to transport this? Well, this was one part of the inspiration. The other was the keynote at AgileTD 2023 with Lena, which already contained musical elements.

So one could say we tried it out on a "smaller scale" first to go all in then. 

Lena: I mean, it’s a musical. I love singing—way more than how good I am at it—and I love being on stage. Looking back to the singing keynote in 2023, I was pretty darn amazed at how good it ended up being, so why not go BIGGER?

How did you go from the idea to the plan?

Sam: After last year’s AgileTD, there was creative chaos and many emotions. The idea of doing a musical was born at AgileTD 2023 the morning after my keynote with Lena when I entered the “low” - that phase when adrenaline wears off. I even considered to make a pause with visiting ATD. But then, seeing the people, feeling the atmosphere, ideas started to float around in my head.

The cast, main plot, and half of the songs were conceived in the next three or so days, most of it during my 8-hour trip back home.

The rest has been the usual Sam-and-Lena-ping-pong-workflow where both of us build upon the work of the other.

Lena: Sam has been the driving force here, with me cheering on, giving input, and adding on to the already awesome ideas. I was actually in a much bigger low than Sam this time. I pushed myself too hard last year, did ”just one more thing” one time too many and December was a bit of a blur. But I trust my partnership with Samuel 100% so I knew once it passed, he would be there to fill me in and keep me in the loop. And of course tell me if he really needed my help with something urgently.

The Preparation Phase

With the AgileTD team's approval, the speakers—more accurately, the singers—have just 12 months to prepare a one-hour musical aimed at software testers and QA engineers. After a full day of conference sessions, these attendees, filled with new knowledge yet potentially tired, will be treated to an entertaining and refreshing performance.

What criteria were used for team selection?

Sam: My main question was: Who are the people I would want to work with very closely for a year on an entirely new project? And then I started asking people. For some, I knew they could sing. Some, I needed to ask. I remember that I approached Rachel and asked her right away:

"Can you sing this song?" (I won't give away which one right now ;))

But those were secondary thoughts. First of all, I wanted to work with people I like and trust.

How did you go about writing the lyrics?

Lena: I think this is where I shine. :-D I love writing and rhyming. I write Christmas gift rhymes, create new lyrics to songs to fit a particular scenario and made a book and a software Testing card deck with rhymes. 

This, just as last year’s keynote, were all about finding the general theme and then changing the lyrics just enough so you could still recognize the original but tell a new story.

Sam: Lena and I split the creation of lyrics. Both of us have songs we care a lot about, so each of us took them first.

As usual, we shared the results, commented on each other’s ideas, and collaborated. I also specifically reached out for feedback from Tobias Geyer (someone I deeply trust) —I always appreciate his input so much.

Some lyrics were straightforward to write, but with some, I experienced severe writer's block.

What helped to overcome that for at least two of the lyrics was swimming. I go swimming regularly, and on the way to my swimming session I listened to the original song while driving in my car. With that in my head and mind I did my swim exercises. The nice thing about swimming is that you can't distract yourself with other things: No phone, no MP3 player, just me and my thoughts.

After about an hour of swimming and thinking I had 80% of the new song lyrics in my head. Then I drove home, wrote them down, and worked on the remaining 20%.

How have you been practicing virtually?

Sam: So far, we haven’t. We have many harmonies, and the difficulty of getting from microphone to PC alone can be too much, not to mention the delay of a video call.

We have been practicing with recorded files.

What have you learned during the preparation?

Veerle: You can do anything with the right group of people, the right amount of encouragement and training, and the right mindset. I 100% had never thought I would want to be in a musical or be any good at it. And yet here we are. It’s not going too badly. I’m having a ton of fun and wondering: What else have I always written off as 'not for me' that might be worth trying?

Lena: The first thing is that even though we hear the same song, we don’t sing exactly the same way. We ”hear” (or maybe feel?) the rhyme slightly differently. A line that I can sing perfectly sounds off to someone else and vice versa. Also, it’s okay to say, “I can’t do this.” 

Some deadlines of the musical have clashed with me being in a very bad spot emotionally. I couldn’t do it. And that’s okay.

Sam: Oh my, so many things. For example, Explaining things I have in my mind in a way that creates a similar picture in other people's minds is incredibly difficult.

What challenges did you experience in combining technical ideas with musical theater, and how did you tackle them?

Sam: To be honest, none. We are creating a musical, so the goal is clearly to transport emotion and tell a story. Including technical concepts is not a priority—we're not creating a keynote.

There might be lessons, but the main goal is to touch the audience and maybe make them think.

Lena: Omg, absolutely none. I mean, the story is a classic in itself; we are just adding to it.

Expectations for the audience

Last year, Sam and Lena gave a keynote speech with some musical elements, and it went phenomenally. We, the AgileTD team, knew that it would have a good resonance, and the audience’s response was incredible. The session was in second place among the top sessions of that year. But how will it be now that it is a one-hour musical and that people have an expectation? …There is only one way to find out.

What impact do you hope the musical will have on the audience's view of software testing and its community?

Sam: I hope there will be a "wow" effect. But the musical, of course, has a message.

One is relatively apparent when you watch it, but there's another, more personal one:

You can reach your dreams.

Lena: I don’t think anyone will leave the room thinking differently about software testing - but hopefully, someone will realize that the limit to what's possible is way higher than they thought.

Why should I still consider seeing the session if musicals aren’t my preference?

Veerle: You know what? I always thought I didn't like musicals, and so far, they’re still not my favorite medium. But I'm learning that even within the realm of musicals, there's a ton of variation. I got into The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is a musical. I loved Hamilton, another musical. The medium is not essential; it's finding that niche you love within the broader category. And who at AgileTD doesn't love testing and fighting an evil AI?

Sam: There will be lots of fun, drama, and lightsaber duels. You can't ask for more.

What kind of music genres can the audience expect?

Sam: We will have a wild and broad mix. We believe in the beauty of difference, and that also affects our song choice. We have pieces from musicals, we have pop and rock songs, we have Disney pieces, movie soundtracks, and even one song that goes into metal.

If you want to have a sneak peek of this session, watch the trailers here: Trailer 1 and Trailer 2 

Book your ticket now and watch the Agile Testing Days Musical - The Owl Problem.

starring: Samuel Nitsche, Lena Nyström, Rachel Kibler, Tamara Josten, Veerle Verhagen, Bastian Knerr, and Callum Akehurst-Ryan this November 19 - 22, 2024 in Potsdam or Online.