Evolution of vodQA - The Software Tester's Conference

Evolution of vodQA - The Software Tester's Conference!

Anand Bagmar

The birth of vodQA

Back in 2009 / 2010, I was looking to attend and speak in Testing Conferences, especially near, or close to my hometown, Pune.

My search results were very disappointing for the following reasons:

• I found that the conferences were not catered towards hands-on Testers.
• The conferences were catered for Leads / Managers/ Directors.
• The speakers spoke mostly about process, very high-level “things” related to Software Testing.
• There was a significant “cost” to attend the conferences – which meant that if one is really interested in attending to learn more, they had to think multiple times before doing so.

This was clearly not working for me, as well as other like-minded people I was interacting with.

Thanks to my colleagues in ThoughtWorks, we decided to do something about this.

In June 2010, we decided to start our own conference, hosted by ThoughtWorks, with the objective of “purely sharing our learning with the community, and also learn from the community”. This was the birth of “vodQA – value oriented discussion about Quality Analysis”.

To start anything, especially external / public facing, we needed to plan it well, and the first part of the planning is – what are we trying to achieve?

vodQA – Mission Statement

To make vodQA valuable to us, and other attendees, we came up with some guiding principles. These principles have kept on evolving over time like a natural process.

• vodQA is a practioners / hands-on conference.
• Anyone interested in the aspect and practice of Software Testing, regardless of role or organization, should be able to attend vodQA.
• Any topic related to Software Testing (manual / exploratory / techniques / tools / technologies / process).
• At ThoughtWorks, the Quality of the Software we build is of prime importance. To cater to that, we have a very strong Testing capability, skills and practices within the organization. Using vodQA as a platform, we want to share our learning with the Testing Community, so they can learn from what has worked well, or not so well, based on real experiences.
• Though at ThoughtWorks, we have “good” Testing practices, there are many more practices and experiences we can learn from the experiences of other organizations and individuals. The vodQA platform should able to provide new learning from the industry for ThoughtWorkers, and others who attend.
• In order to keep learning from what we do, and keep doing better in the future, we take feedback from attendees and speakers. Also, with an immediate after-the-event retrospective, we attempt to do the best for all participating in next vodQA.
• vodQA is a community event. Each community hosting vodQA should have the flexibility to structure the event in the way they see best suited for the attendees.
• Each vodQA should have a specific theme. This allows proper expectation setting from attendees, and also invites specific themed-topics from internal (ThoughtWorkers) and external speakers.

How we connect with like-minded people?

We started by using the database of people who had expressed interest in working with / being associated with ThoughtWorks, and spreading the event by word-of-mouth.

Then we started using the power of facebook (vodQA group), LinkedIn (vodQA group) and Twitter (#vodqa) to also spread the word, and bring the community together during non-event times, to share and collaborate with each other.

The journey so far

The first vodQA event in June 2010 at ThoughtWorks, Pune was a huge success. As a result, we immediately planned and hosted another vodQA in Oct 2010, again at ThoughtWorks, Pune.

The feedback and retrospectives provided us great motivation and inputs. As a result, we decided to make vodQA an India level conference.

As we took vodQA to other ThoughtWorks India offices out of Pune, (Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon), the respective community planned and executed this event, the way they felt best.

Till date, we have hosted the following vodQA events:

Theme	ThoughtWorks Location	Date
vodQA – The Testing Spirit	Pune	Jun-10
vodQA	Pune	Oct-10
vodQA	Pune	Mar-11
vodQA - Agile testing  for Enterprises	Gurgaon	Dec-11
vodQA - Continuous Testing For Total Quality Assurance	Chennai	Jan-12
vodQA - Agile Testing for Team and and Enterprises	Bangalore	Feb-12
vodQA – Testing and Beyond	Pune	Mar-12
vodQA – NCR	Gurgaon	Jun-12
vodQA Geek Night – Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) workshop	Pune	Jul-12
vodQA - The ABCs of testing - Automation, Big Data Analytics , Cloud Testing	Bangalore	Sep-12
vodQA – Going Beyond the Usual	Pune	Oct-12
vodQA Geek Night – Test Automation workshop	Pune	Apr-13
vodQA – Get, Set, Test	Bangalore	May-13
vodQA - Served on Mobile	Chennai	Jul-13
vodQA - Agility In Mobility	Gurgaon	Jul-13
*vodQA – Smarter | Faster | Reliable	Pune	Oct-13
*vodQA Gurgaon - Selenium for Beginners -	Gurgaon	Oct-13

*Upcoming events

Some interesting quotes from attendees:

• Liked the participation, interactive approach of the organizers and the passion and energy to make sure that audience goes satisfied
• A Saturday well spent @ThoughtWorks #vodQA. Got a chance to meet some highly motivated & inspired ThoughtWorkers & industry professionals!
• This is our QA family, and we want to see it grow

Overall we have had 800+ external (non-ThoughtWorker) participants and 75+ talks / workshops / games / sessions across all vodQA events. There have been a decent % of Developers / Business Analysts / Software Coaches attending and speaking, though the majority of attendees has been Software Testers.

I am very happy to see vodQA become popular and valuable to all passionate about Software Testing, all across India.

My dream is to take vodQA across the world as a community driven, Testing practioners conference!

TaaS and BDT - back to back at WCNGT, Bangalore

I had a great time talking about TaaS and BDT at WCNGT conference in Bangalore on 11th July 2013.

Here is more information about the talks:

Integrated Testing in Enterprises using TaaS:

http://essenceoftesting.blogspot.in/2013/07/taas-in-wcngt-bangalore-and-agile-2013.html
The audio recording of the talk is available here.
The slides for the talk are available here.
TaaS is available on github and as a gem on rubygems.org.

Building the "right" regression suite using Behavior Driven Testing (BDT)

http://essenceoftesting.blogspot.com/2013/07/building-right-regression-suite-using.html
The audio recording of the talk is available here.
The slides for the talk are available here.

A very intense BDT workshop in vodQA Bangalore

I, with the help of my colleagues, ran a BDT workshop in vodQA - Get, Set,Test! at Bangalore on 18th May 2013.

It was a very intense workshop, and challenging for us to execute as well for various reasons:

1. When we had run this workshop as part of vodQA Geek Night in July 2012, we had the opportunity to have a couple of dry runs - which allowed us to fine tune the content + pace ourselves better
2. The vodQA Geek Night session was 2.5-3 hours in duration
3. This time around, for vodQA Bangalore, all volunteers driving the workshop were in different locations. After the workshop was selected for this vodQA, we all met face-2-face directly on  the day of the event. So there was no question of a dry run before the event
4. The duration of the workshop this time around was 1.5 hours.

Despite all the challenges, I think we managed to deliver a good, solid content workshop and all the participants seemed very engaged, and there were a lot of good discussions.

Here are all the photos from vodQA - Get, Set, Test!

The slides used in the workshop are available here. Videos will follow soon.

For more info on past and upcoming vodQAs, please join our vodQA group on facebook.

vodQA Geek Night - Test Automation Workshop

As a follow-up to our vodQA Geek Night - Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) workshop last year, we are conducting another workshop in ThoughtWorks, Pune focused on building a Test Automation Framework - the "right-way".

Here you will use your prior test automation experience to build a test automation framework from "scratch".

This will be a 2.5 / 3 hour workshop - starting at 5.30pm. Please plan to come in by 5.15pm latest to complete the registration formalities.

See more event and registration details on our vodQA Geek Night - Test Automation Workshop event page in vodQA group on facebook. 

thucydides for ATDD / BDD / BDT?

Anyone heard or used the tool "thucydides"-  for ATDD / BDD / BDT before?

Whats your review / thoughts on it? Any pros / cons? 

http://www.thucydides.info/
https://github.com/thucydides-webtests/thucydides

From their website: "Thucydides is a tool that lets you use WebDriver-based unit or BDD tests to write more flexible and more reusable WebDriver-based tests, and also to generate documentation about your acceptance tests, including a narrative description of test, along with the corresponding screen shots, and also high-level summaries and aggregations of the test results."

December 2012 conferences - WAAT & TaaS it is!

December seems to be a busy time related to conferences for me.

First, I attended test-ed 2012 conference hosted by moolya where I had the opportunity to meet James Bach and a few other great speakers. 

I was a little let-down by James talk. It seemed like more of a marketing pitch for moolya - and somehow I felt I expected more from a person of his caliber! None-the-less, I am sure he inspired a lot of folks in the auditorium to become a free and innovative tester! 

I also got to talk with him 1-1 about BDD and what situations it works well, and more importantly, when it does not work well. Also spoke with him on how BDT (Behavior Driven Testing) helps in building the "right automated regression suite" and the challenges facing the Testers in India in order to become the "free-spirited, creative and innovative testers" he spoke about.

Next, on 13th December, I am speaking in UNICOM's Next Generation Testing Conference in Bangalore about "The What, Why, and How of Web Analytics Testing". I will be talking about my open-source framework - "WAAT - the Web Analytics Automation Testing", and how that can ease the manual drudge of web analytics testing.

To close the year, I will be speaking on 18th December in another UNICOM's Next Generation Testing Conference in Mumbai. Here I will be talking about "Integration testing in Enterprises using TaaS (Test-as-a-Service)- Via Case Study". This is about another open-source framework I have created - TaaS - Test as a Service.

Hope to see you all in Bangalore / Mumbai.

Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) in Agile - slides uploaded

I spoke in SiliconIndia's SoftTec 2012 in Bangalore on 14th July on Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) in Agile. 


It was a pretty big conference - with the Test Technologies / Methodologies track having an attendance of about 250 people, and the People / Process / Business track having an attendance of about 150 people. There were good interactions with the attendees and fellow speakers during the break times.

The topic of my talk was Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) in Agile. Off late, I have been speaking on this topic at various different places in some form or the other. Click here for all information related to BDT.

Here is the abstract of this talk: 

In this talk, I will explain Agile Testing and how a technique called "Behavior Driven Testing (BDT)" can make your testing more effective. I will also cover the differences between BDD (Behavior Driven Development) and BDT, how BDT affects the Test Pyramid, and the value proposition of using BDT. 

The slides from this talk are available in the vodQA group on facebook and on SlideShare.net. 

vodQA Geek Night - Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) update

We hosted a vodQA Geek Night focussing on Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) at ThoughtWorks, Pune on 5th July 2012. The workshop itself was very intense and saw great participation and interactions with the attendees and the workshop facilitators.


There were many firsts for this workshop:

• The first vodQA Geek Night
• Event was announced, marketed and registrations done purely as a Facebook event
• 95% attendance

Pictures and slides have been uploaded on the vodQA group in Facebook.

Contact me or the vodQA Pune team for more information / questions.

Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) in Agile

I am speaking in SoftTec 2012 in Bangalore on 14th July on Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) in Agile. 


Abstract: 

In this talk, I will explain Agile Testing and how a technique called "Behavior Driven Testing (BDT)" can make your testing more effective. I will also cover the differences between BDD (Behavior Driven Development) and BDT, how BDT affects the Test Pyramid, and the value proposition of using BDT. 

Test Driven Development via Agile Testing - slides + audio

I just finished a presentation on Test Driven Development via Agile Testing in the Next Generation Testing Conference in Bangalore. Went pretty well.

The following topics and answer questions related to:

• Overview of Agile Testing
• The Test Pyramid
• Different flavors of TDD
• BDD – Behavior Driven Development
• ATDD – Acceptance Driven Development
• BDT – Behavior Driven Testing
• Difference between BDD and BDT
• Tools that support BDT
• The value proposition BDT offers

Here is a link to the slides. The audio recording of my talk can be downloaded from the link below. You will be able to  listen to the talk using VLC Player or similar.

vodQA Geek Night - Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) on 5th July

I had presented a topic on Behavior Driven Testing (BDT) in vodQA - Testing and Beyond. 


We are now running a workshop as a followup to the session to provide a first-hand experience into understanding BDT, and how it can potentially help you in your testing efforts.


Since this is a workshop, seats are limited. If you are interested in attending, please join our vodQA group on facebook and confirm your presence for the vodQA Geek Night event scheduled at 5.30pm on 5th July 2012 in ThoughtWorks Pune.

Test Driven Development via Agile Testing

I will be giving a talk in the "Next Generation Testing Conference" held in Bangalore on 21st June 2012. 


The topic and abstract is as mentioned below. See you at the conference!

Title:

Test Driven Development via Agile Testing

Abstract covering main features of the talk:

In this talk, I will cover the following topics and answer questions related to: ·       Overview of Agile Testing ·       The Test Pyramid ·       Different flavors of TDD o   BDD – Behavior Driven Development? o   ATDD – Acceptance Driven Development? o   BDT – Behavior Driven Testing? §  Difference between BDD and BDT §  Tools that support BDT §  The value proposition

vodqa Pune (17th Mar '12) videos, pictures, slides, feedback ...

Dear Testing enthusiasts,

Our recently concluded vodQA organized by ThoughtWorks Pune, on 17th March 2012 (http://testing.thoughtworks.com/events/testing-and-beyond), was a huge success. Your participation, energy, questions, thoughts, comments and feedback raised the level of this event to great heights! We thank you for that.

You can join the following groups to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in vodQA, to know when the next vodQA is happening, to connect with fellow testing enthusiasts, share thoughts related with testing, etc.

LinkedIn group: vodQA (http://linkd.in/IaHcFG)
Facebook group: vodQA (http://on.fb.me/HUPAX9)
Twitter: @vodqa

Here is what happened in this 7th edition of vodQA (4th in Pune):

Statistics:
375+ attendee registrations
35+ speaker registrations
130+ attendees

All videos from this edition of vodQA are available here: http://bit.ly/JRRTtH, and pictures are available here: http://on.fb.me/Jq4Qyh

Based on feedback received, here are the topics that attendees found most useful:
- Open Space
- Mobile Testing
- BDT  [ Behavior Driven Testing ]

Summary of feedbacks received:- video feedbacks (http://bit.ly/Jm88Qd)
- Impressive, please continue conducting such events
- I have attended vodQA for first time, it is an amazing experience
- Nice initiative taken by ThoughtWorks
- Have this event once in Quarter
- Parallel tracks (Participants found it difficult to choose one session over the other)
- Each speaker should have a Slide with email and contact details
- Should have more experienced speakers
- More time for Open Space
- Make arrangements for Parking
- Food can be improved

Want to hear more of:
- Cloud Computing, Security Testing, Malware, Ethical Hacking, Agile methodologies, mobile tech
- Current industry trends and topics

Suggestions given by attendees for next vodQA: http://bit.ly/HXGZ9I


External blogs by:
Anand Bagmar: http://bit.ly/HU78r5
Savita Munde: http://bit.ly/FOS6ll
Srinivas Chillara: http://bit.ly/IaVRAB
Sessions/Topics details:
- vodQA opening
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb3MPl

- Opening note by Chaitanya Nadkarny
YouTube: http://bit.ly/JckWcR

- Quiz
YouTube: http://bit.ly/I8o5sv

- Testing is Dead. Long Live Testing - Shrinivas Kulkarni
Synopsis: Last year, three leading software doctors pronounced testing dead. As we mourn the alleged demise of our craft - questions raise as what to do next? This talk analyses the meaning and impact of death of testing. The talk then deliberates on potential next steps and challenges ahead of us.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/JpXI4O
Slides: http://slidesha.re/IrBL4o

- Testing a Massively Multi-player Online Game Server - Nirmalya Sengupta, Srinivas Chilllara
Synopsis: An online game server's functional and non-functional features lead to non-standard challenges for both architecting as well as testing. This talk starts with an overview and then discusses one testing scenario in depth. We stress particularly on testing the asynchronous nature of the application's method calls. A few general approaches of testing such applications terms are alluded to at the end.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HWO1NP
Slides: http://slidesha.re/JRZKHQ

- Virtualization Impact on Software Testing - Parthasarthi T
Synopsis: Virtualization Impact on Software Testing
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HWjFrj
Slides: http://slidesha.re/Jq4bNe

- Mobile Testing: Challenges and Solutions - Ashwini Phalle
Synopsis: Different testing requirements that mobile applications have, challenges and solutions.
Challenges:
1. Complex mobile testing matrix, Expensive test environment
2. Repetitive testing
3. Mobile testing for devices located at various locations
Solutions:
1. Risk Based Testing approach
2. Using Mobile device emulators
3. Use of Automation tools
4. Leveraging external services
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb4hZw
Slides: http://slidesha.re/Jb9Rer

- Open Space discussions
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb4k7O

- The Marshmallow Challenge - Sneha Kadam
Synposis: This is a fun and instructive design exercise that encourages teams to experience simple but profound lessons in collaboration, innovation & creativity. It challenges you to find hidden assumptions in business requirements & learn to Fail-Fast-Fail-Often! In 18 minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of spaghetti, tape, string and one marshmallow which must be on top.
YouTube: Part 1: http://bit.ly/HR4XiX
YouTube: Part 2: http://bit.ly/J7t8zJ

- Mobile Testing: In and Out - Sudeep Somani
YouTube: http://bit.ly/JifEQH

- BDT (Behaviour Driven Testing) - Anand Bagmar
Synopsis: What is Behavior Driven Testing (BDT)? How does it differ from Behavior Driven Development? What tools support this kind of testing? The value proposition BDT offers.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HUSuuY
Slides: http://slidesha.re/I69BNK

- Code Coverage of Function Testing Automation Scripts - Aakash Tyagi
Synopsis: Challenge As the product is a vast product that provides so regression suite of this was very big. It was taking about 14 days to execute and with every release it was increasing. The main challenge was to keep regression suite comprehensive as well small so that it can be executed many time. Solution Emma was used to find code coverage of product code then redesign the regression suite.
Slides: http://slidesha.re/HWQJCQ

- Negative Testing, in a positive vein - Srinivas Chillara
Synopsis: How to think about "negative testing", and why it may not be truly negative.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/IaKOr4

- Virtual Communication and Testers - Archana Dhingra
Synopsis: What is Virtual communication and its importance in IT industry. - The common mistakes we all commit while communicating in a Virtual environment - How to effectively manage and communicate with virtual teams. - Conflict resolution in a Virtual setup.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jq3uUc

- Automation Reusable Framework based on QC - Vysali Alaparthi
Synopsis: About ART:A hybrid framework named as ART (Automation Reusable Test) is used for end-to-end automation as ART framework supports automation of web, windows, and AS/400 applications. ART framework uses automation tool owned by HP i.e. Quick Test Professional (QTP) for execution of automated keyword-driven test scripts.Key Achievements: Efforts involved in test cases/scripts integration has reduced.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jlb8MH
Slides: http://slidesha.re/IrBtua

Closing note: Shalabh Varma
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb9fFO

Looking forward for your continued comments, feedback, thoughts and support to make vodQA more successful, and the QA community more vibrant and connected!

See you in the next vodQA.

Thank you.

vodQA Team.
vodqa-pune@thoughtworks.com