I left testing once, for product management. There I learned what the business actually asks from testing: the confidence to ship, not our tests or a shiny green pipeline. That confidence is ours to give.

Every time a new tool shows up, we in testing ask what will happen to us. The short answer is: nothing, we turn out fine! The long one is: only if we stop delegating what is ours. Let’s take the DeLorean and look through the times I’ve tested in, from SaaS products to robots, and find out which parts of the test automation craft survived every bump on the road, and what is ours to keep.

You will see that this craft isn’t something anyone takes from us. It’s something we choose to hand over, or hold on to. And wherever the road ends, you will know how to keep going.

Keynote Irja Straus leads testing teams for embedded software and electronic components at Jungheinrich Croatia, where the code she cares about ends up inside yellow trucks. She started out as a software tester and business analyst, spent several years on the product side, and came back to quality with a different view of it: quality is decided long before testing starts.

Today she works on exploratory testing, automation, and quality engineering strategy, and on getting teams to talk to each other early enough for it to matter. She also founded a consulting company focused on quality engineering.

Meet world’s leading Test Automation experts! Register now and ensure your place at this unique conference. Get a combi ticket for a fee of € 990,- or register for Day 1 for € 545,- or for Day 2 for € 495,-.