Download the program (pdf) for Let’s Test South Africa 2017!

Jo Perold & Barry Tandy – Visualising your way to better problem solving

Barry has worked for the better part of his career in the banking industry with many different and diverse people and teams across various disciplines and in various roles. His passion for working with people has grown over the years and when he was given the opportunity to work with an Agile team as a Product Owner in 2013 he found a whole new world that he wished he’d discovered years earlier.
He has a worked closely with the Scrum User Group of South Africa is part of organising the local Scrum Gathering and has spoken at the gathering and local meetups and uses the learning from
workshops such as Coaching Beyond the Team with Esther Derby and Don Gray daily as an Agile coach working with various organisations on a team and organisation level.

Joanne is passionate about helping teams and people grow and improve.
She is a graduate of PSL (Problem Solving Leadership) and has worked for more than a decade in the software industry in all areas of software development. She is a Certified Scrum Trainer, and has participated in both Kanban training and coaching on Kanban initiatives. She recently attended the Cognitive Edge training from Dave Snowdon on complexity thinking and sensemaking.
Interested in both people and process improvement, she is continuously learning and finding better ways to solve problems.
Joanne has been a Scrum Master and Agile coach since 2009. She has spoken at Let’s Test Australia and Let’s test Sweden. She has given workshops at both local and international Scrum
Gatherings

Martin Hynie & Ilari Henrik Aegerter – The-Absolute-&-Final-Workshop-to-Everything-You-Will-Ever-Need-to-Know-and-Learn-About-Software-Testing-in-Under-3-hours-With-Money-Back-Guarantee-and-Life-Time-Technical-Support® (Batteries Not Included, Some Restrictions May Apply, It Is our Way to Say Thank You)

  

Ilari Henrik Aegerter’s formal studies have brought him from General Linguistics and Sociology to Software Engineering and Software Testing. He has 10’002+ years of experience in the field, coming from the medical software domain at Phonak AG and progressing to e-commerce at eBay. He is now the Managing Director of the Swiss branch of House of Test and he believes that there is still a lot of work to be done for excellent software testing. In 2013 he co-founded the International Society for Software Testing (ISST), which advocates for bringing back common sense to testing. He is currently president of the organization. In 2015 he was elected into the board of the Association for Software Testing (AST) where he acts as Executive at Large. Ilari also likes to brew beer in his leisure time.

Ever since the struggles of early renaissance philosophers, Martin has been focused on software testing and development. Centuries later, his attention has gradually focused on emphasizing value through communication, team development, organizational learning, and the significant role that testers can play to help enable these. A self-confessed conference junkie, Martin travels the world incorporating ideas introduced by various sources of inspiration (including Cynefin, context-driven testing, the Satir Model, Pragmatic Marketing, trading zones, agile principles, and progressive movement training) to help teams iteratively learn, to embrace failures as opportunities and to simply enjoy working together.
Twitter: @vds4

Mike Lyles – Visual Testing: It’s Not What You Look At, It’s What You See

Mike is a Quality Engineering Director with over 23+ years of IT experience in multiple organizations and Fortune 50 companies. He has exposure in various IT leadership roles: development, PMO, and ultimately, software testing. He has led various teams within testing organizations: functional testing, test environments, performance testing, test automation. He has been successful in career development, team building, coaching, and mentoring IT & QA professionals. He has been a keynote speaker at multiple international conferences and events. HIs first published book on leadership will be released this year.

Jan Eumann – How Developer Tools can help you test

Jan works as a Senior Software Engineer in Test at eBay in Berlin, Germany.
He has been in the software industry for more than 10 years working in different roles in the software development process.
Jan started as a developer and quickly learned to appreciate skilled testers. During the last years he worked as a test engineer looking into exploratory testing and how automation can support testing. At the moment he is working in an agile team performing testing tasks while also writing
production code and educating the team and himself about testing.
Twitter: @JanEumann

Keynote – Paul Holland – The Testing Profession: The good, the bad and the ugly An opinionated tirade of strong opinions and rants

Paul is a Senior Director of Test Engineering at Medidata Solutions, Inc. in New York City. Paul has over 20 years experience in software testing. Prior to joining Medidata in August 2016 he was Head of Testing at a small New York based consultancy for 2 years and previously he spent 2 years as the principal consultant and owner at Testing Thoughts, and 17 years at Alcatel-Lucent.
Paul specializes in adapting testing methodologies to reduce waste, and be more effective and efficient. Finding ways to document only that which needs to be documented. Modifying reporting of test activities to provide actionable information to stakeholders and reduce/eliminate potentially harmful metrics. Paul is one of four instructors of the Rapid Software Testing course, developed by James Bach and Michael Bolton.

Jan Eumann & Janco Wolmarans – Traditional Setup vs. Pairing vs. Mobbing – An Experiment for Testers and Developers

Janco has spent two decades learning how NOT to build software. He’s on a journey of understanding the fundamental nature of software and software development. You can usually find him working as part of a team, supporting and mentoring other people on their own journey of discovery.

Find Jan‘s biography above.

Smita Mishra – Test what sells more

Smita is the CEO and Chief Test Consultant at QAzone Infosystems, which is a software testing organization. She has been a professional tester for over 16 years. She enjoys problem solving and loves to find new solutions to support her customers better.
She is also the founder of the social gifting platform Fandoro, which has a unique machine learning gift recommendation algorithm and gift checkout process.
She regularly engages with different forums to assist growth for women in her field and otherwise too.
She can be found on Twitter at @smitapmishra. She writes blogs http://wordpress.smitamishrablog.com.

Leo Hepis & Danie Roux – How to use Frames to get better results at work

Leonidas has been testing software and managing software test teams since 1994. He helps organizations understand what can be known and what cannot be known through product testing. Better informed about the capabilities of testing, organizations can improve their processes and products, to produce higher value for their paying customers. Hepis speaks about personality type at the workplace, human interaction models, and team dynamics at conferences in the U.S., Europe, and Africa. He is a co-editor of The Book on Software Testing Volume 1, a book about the software testing experience crowdsourced at Let’s Test South Africa 2016.

Danie is a people person, and change agent. He is a journeyer through problem and solution space. He is interested in being interested. Find him on his website: http://www.danieroux.com/

Martin Hynie & Vernon Richards – An Introduction to Complexity and Cynefin for Software Testers

Vernon has been testing software for 15 years starting with video games on PS2, Xbox & PC. In that time, many changes have occurred in the software development world but testers often still use the trusty old vocabulary of “tests cases”, “pass/fail” & “giving confidence”. Taking advantage of a diverse range of experiences gained on projects such as F1 racing teams, networked gambling machines and others, Vernon helps teams speak in a language the business can understand – no translation necessary!

Twitter: @TesterFromLeic

Carsten Feilberg & Cindy Carless – Test techniques lab

 

Carsten is an international speaker at testing conferences, a trained and certified scrum master, strongly advocating common-sense in programming and testing and applying the context-driven principles. He lives and works in Denmark as CEO and consultant at House of Test.

Cindy is devoted to coaching and uses her NLP learning and coaching skills vibrantly and successfully in software testing. She enjoys opportunities to apply her coaching skills to add value to other testers and project team members. She draws on her diverse career over 30 years. Starting out in accounting and financial management she has enjoyed several roles in IT, such as implementation consultant, business analyst and project manager. She is currently living in Denmark, working for House of Test practicing the craft of testing.

Dan Billing – Web Application Security – A hands on testing challenge

Daniel has been a tester for 16 years, working within a diverse range of development organisations, mostly in the south-west of England. He currently works as a Test Jumper at Medidata in London, where his role is developing test strategy, mentoring, training and the supporting the test engineering practice in the business.

Dan’s love of testing and supporting others drives him to become an active member of the testing community. He is a co facilitator with Weekend Testing Europe, co organises the South West Exploratory Workshop in Testing (SWEWT), and the South West Test meetup. He has spoken and led workshops at a number of conferences, including TestBash Brighton, Nordic Testing Days, Let’s Test and Romania Testing Conference. He also produces content for the Ministry of Testing Dojo and is also co-host with Neil Studd on the new Screen Testing podcast.

Alison Gitelson – Getting my message across bravely and effectively & Reflection & Integration workshop

Alison of CanBeeDone is a maximizer, facilitator and speaker. With past careers in Optometry, ICT and Transformation her varied experience enables her to help people find their best way of working so they, the business and our economy can thrive.

 

 

Scott Barber – Adding value as a whole not a role

Scott Barber, Chief Technologist of PerfTestPlus and former Product Owner for SmartBear load testing tools, is widely regarded as a thought-leader in the delivery of performant systems using modern Agile & DevOps principles, but is probably best known as an “energetic and entertaining” speaker and author of articles and books; Performance Testing Guidance for Web Applications, Beautiful Testing, How to Reduce the Cost of Testing & Web Load Testing for Dummies). His 20+ years of experience filling a wide range of technical, managerial, and executive IT related positions have culminated in a passion for writing, speaking, coaching and activism focused on improving the alignment of development practices with executive business goals. Scott Co-Founded WOPR, served as a Director of AST and CMG, is a member of PMI, ACM, IEEE, American MENSA, ISST, the Context-Driven School of Software Testing, and is a signatory to the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.

Josh Lewis – States, interactions, outcomes model

Joshua is an Agile and Developer Coach who loves supporting individuals, teams and organisations in leveling up. He is currently an Agile Coach at Kaizania and an Associate at nReality. He also lectures at a post-grad level part-time at Wits.

Chris Linnell & Smita Mishra – Schools of Testing

Christopher, QA Manager at Healthbridge, has been testing software for 13 years and is passionate about the craft. He’s lead teams for 9 years and helped a number of young testers develop their skills. Quality is something he feels very strongly about. He hopes to influence the quality of any software he has the pleasure of testing while inspiring testers around him.
Twitter: @ChrisJLinnell

Paul Lloyd – Testing: The Time Machine

Paul Lloyd is a tester, trainer, speaker, avid reader and cyclist. He has a context drivenbackground and over ten years’ experience. His testing experience has been on all types of hardware and software, in many environments which include Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sale/Service devices, high-speed document Scanners, Mobile devices, Server, Web and Desktop applications. As a Certified Technical Trainer, Paul has also given training on software products in diverse fields such as, the Swedish and South African Air forces, Petroleum Plants, Training institutions and Qualifications boards. He is continuallyreading and trying to find new ways to test and manage software teams effectively. His passion lies in implementing and managing automated test processes in a timely manner.

Richard Phillips – Testing the Boundaries – How being a parent makes me a better tester

I am a South African born husband, parent, tester and ultra-trail runner.
I have a passion for adventure which took me to Scotland in 2004. It was here, working at some of the world’s biggest banks, that I found and built my love for software and my career in testing. Ironically, I also found another love in Scotland… my wife.
Driving back to South Africa in 2009 in my Land Rover cemented my affinity with the outdoors and I took up trail running, which has since become ultra-trail running.
Since moving back, I have become a father of two kids who have taught me more about life, career, love and values in 5 years than I have learned in the rest of my short existence.
I love testing. I love the opportunities it affords to integrate with real life and with the way we interact with the digital world around us. Testing isn’t just a career for me… it is a way of life.

Welcome to the registration page for Let's Test South Africa 2017!

Let’s Test South Africa will take place at the beautiful Valley Lodge & Spa in Magaliesburg, South Africa. Close to major attractions in the historic region of the magical and mystical Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site just outside Johannesburg and Pretoria.

The conference runs for 2.5 days between 26 - 28 November 2017 and will have an intentional focus on the craft and community of Context Driven Testing. We will showcase not only South African talent, but also host new and familiar faces and minds from the global community. Included in your conference fee is luxurious accommodation and all meals including tea and coffee and break snacks. Sharing accommodation can be Twin or King bed arrangements. If you would like to share and don't have someone to share with, please indicate this and we will be in touch to assist further.

Early bird prices (if booked and paid by 31 May 2017) –

Early bird sharing – R5 000
Early bird single - R7 000

From 1 June 2017, prices will be as follows -

Sharing – R8 000
Single – R10 000

Registrations are binding and subject to our cancellation policy. Please note that space is limited so don't delay your registration!

For groups of 5 or more, please email us at louise.perold@lets-test.com to arrange a further discount.

We're looking forward to sharing the Let's Test Magic and Mystery with you at Valley Lodge in Magaliesburg 26 - 28 November 2017!

We sometimes hear from people that they would like nothing more than to attend Let’s Test, but for some reason or another, they are having a hard time convincing their boss to open their wallet. Here are some things we suggest you try telling them to justify the “expense” (investment!).

Justification E-Mail: Attending LetsTest SA (tailor to fit your situation)

To: <Insert Manager or Supervisor Name>

Subject: Attending LetsTest SA

I’d like to get your approval to attend LetsTest SA, 26-28 November 2017 at the Valley Lodge & Spa in Magaliesburg, South Africa, just outside Johannesburg and Pretoria.

There’s no other conference in South Africa arranged by testers for testers where I’ll have the opportunity to learn about context driven testing from local and international members of the community. I’ll have access to practitioners of the software testing craft from around the world—this is an ideal opportunity to develop a network of like-minded testers in the software industry.

These testers are committed to enhancing the value of testing in challenging project environments focused on enhancing technology deliveries to business.

I’ll be able to choose from a large number of sessions mostly aimed at testing, but including some practical workshops on writing maintainable, reusable automated tests, understanding values and norms and the impact they can have on the team, and how gaming can be used to gain valuable skills relevant to software testing! And many more. All sessions are facilitated allowing great interaction and ensuring threads of topics are not lost and questions flow adding meaning to the word confer. There will be a TestLab where I can collaborate and try out my learnings from the day. For example, I plan to focus on:

● <<Session names and how they apply to current Projects>>

Here’s what past attendees said about their experience:

• “I had a wonderful time, met loads of great people and learned a lot. So I think I can truly say : it was an awesome Conference”
• “LetsTest raises the bar for conferences”
• “LetsTest is rocking!! Literally”
• “Good collaborative experiments at the LetsTest TestLab last night”
• “LetsTest is one of those places where suddenly someone points out an obvious solution which has evaded you until now”
• “A big thank you to all at LetsTest for making it an extremely rich experience and to all the people taking the time to share and discuss ideas”

This is the approximate cost of my attending LetsTest:
Airfare or transport applicable: R
Hotel, meals and registration all included for : R
Other expenses: R
Total cost: R

Attending LetsTest SA will have huge value for me and <company, department, or organization name>. Please let me know if you have any questions, and thanks in advance for your support.

<name>