Sirius Ruminations

I Love conferences. I go to them as often as I can, and I almost always come home feeling energized and excited. But there is a difference between coming home and feeling like you had a good time, and coming home and feeling like you were just a part of something very special. Today, I feel like I have just been privileged to be a part of something special.

Ahh, we are at that time of year again…Conference Time! I love conferences…but sadly, like many small businesses, my ability to attend conferences in the last two years has been beaten down by the economy in general. This hurts not only me, and others like me, but also the conferences; their attendance falls overall, which makes it more difficult for them to get good content and good venues…without raising their prices…which just makes it more difficult for folks like me…you see the cycle emerging.

It’s that time of year again for me – conferences. I love this time of year, because I think conferences can be very valuable. The tough part is deciding which ones to go to, since I can only take so much time away from my real work to indulge in my ongoing professional development. But this year, that decision is a little easier.

I recently went to a conference, my favorite, StarEast.  For many reasons, I have been laying low this year, so for the first time in many years, we did not participate in the vendor expo, and I did not submit a presentation.  I was simply an attendee.  However, since we have been so heavily involved for so many years, when I checked in I was pleasantly surprised to receive a small gift for being an alumnus, an insulated coffee mug with this years conference logo on it.

I have taken a long break from blogging, and that ends now.

And as is common, the catalyst for my newfound energy and enthusiasm is a conference — StarEast, to be specific.

Last week, I went to the Better Software Conference in Vegas.  I hate Vegas;  but that’s not what this is about, the title notwithstanding.

Few things in life are certain, and in software testing, even fewer.  Like our modern political system, the community of software testers is fractured and splintered.  And while we may draw bold lines around big camps such as Context Driven or Factory, Manual or Automated, Exploratory or Scripted, within any of those major camps there is fierce competition.  This can leave us poor individual testers wondering if there is in fact nothing solid for us to hold onto.  But there is… 

Star light, Star bright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might
Get some decent sleep tonight.

I have just finally landed after spending a month running around to various conferences and workshops. I will discuss each of them in a bit of detail below, but first I want to talk about the entire experience. Conferences, tradeshows, and workshops have many purposes. For vendors, it is an opportunity to try and get your wares in front of an interested audience. For practitioners, it is an opportunity to see the latest in tools and technology, and attend tutorials and sessions, sometimes from prominent industry leaders. And for everyone, it is an opportunity to meet new colleagues, reconnect with old friends, and engage in that most basic and valuable activity of any true conference…conversation.