Secret number one: this keynote is less about testing as you would expect...

Software Development is a complex thing. We are dealing with customers who do not exactly know what they want. We also have to deal with complexity, confusion, changes, new insights and half answers. This requires research and experiments to create valuable software. Since my first days in IT, over 20 years ago, I have heard discussions about whether or not we need testers. Testing is boring! It is not creative and it doesn't add real value. Testing is always slow and expensive; testers are cynical people who deliver bad news and most of all they do their utmost to slow delivery. Also, there are stories on how test automation can replace the expensive testers in our projects. To CTO’s it sounds comforting that all these expensive resources can be replaced by automation, doesn’t it?

In agile and especially DevOps approaches the motto is: automated everything! Companies like Facebook claim they do not have testers at all. Microsoft only has SDET (software development engineers in Test), other companies are T-shaping developers to do the testing. New kid on the block is AI and machine learning, that will definitely replace testing I hear people claim. What is really happening globally? Do we no longer need testers? Can we actually automate everything? How can we make valuable software for our clients?

In this interactive keynote we will look at quality software, risks and value. We'll dive into biases and misunderstanding surrounding testing. Testing makes developers look good! And developers make testing easier. And that is why developers (read: everybody in IT) should understand what modern testing can look like and how it can be very valuable, fast and fun. Our clients expect us to speed up and go faster. So how can we fine tune our work to make this expectation real? How can we deliver quality software fast? As a team we can do this, but only if we collaborate...

In this keynote I will share my experience in collaborating with developers as a tester and working with development teams as an agile and quality coach. We'll explore and discuss testing. In my stories I will give examples of great collaboration in teams. I will explain the difference in mind sets and shine a light on topics such as: quality culture, unit testing, pairing, automation, test strategy and testability. Stories that inspired others to up their game and experiment with new ways of working. Working together to create valuable software for our clients!

In this presentation I will address questions like:

• How can we create quality software fast?
• Do we need testing? And if so: why is testing important?
• What is the business case of testing?
• Can developers also test? And if so: do we still need testers?

Key takeways:

1. How can we create quality software fast?
2. How can your team manage risks and value?
3. Learn if we need testing? And if so: why is testing important?
4. Learn about great collaboration in teams, new ways of working to create valuable software for our clients!