My First TestBash Experience

What an amazing few days it has been in Munich.

This was my first time attending a TestBash event and it was even more special that I got to experience it in Germany, sampling some new culture along the way.

I’ve met some fantastic people, learnt so much and grown as a person.

I’ve often mused about the testing community being helpful but attending this conference took it to a new level for me and helped me really appreciate how wonderful the people ALL over the world really are.

I really wanted to get my thoughts down on paper for this one so it will be a mixture of a what I learned from the talks as well as my emotional response to the event as a whole.

I would also like to split the even up into the different parts that I attended, so the Pre-Meet-up, the conference itself and then the Open Space.

Pre-TestBash Meet-up

First up was the pre-TestBash meet-up that is custom before these conferences. I arrived in Munich and went straight to the meet up at the offices of QualityMinds.

This was not without its drama mind you as I had to navigate their underground transport system with no grasp of the German language. I got lost but somehow still somehow managed to make it to the meet-up in good time.

My social anxiety has always been one to play havoc in social situations especially when I don’t know anyone. I travelled to Munich with a former colleague but we arrived at the meet-up at different times so I was very nervous to meet people alone.

On arrival I was greeted by the lovely Vera Gehlen-Baum (one of the hosts of TestBash Germany). She instantly made me feel welcome and offered me a beer. (A winning tactic to make an ally out of me.)

Determined to mingle I walked around the Quality Minds office, wondering how I would pluck up the courage to actually talk to people. I didn’t need to though, within minutes a fellow tester, Magda Oszer recognised me from Twitter (the power of social media!) and showed me around, introducing me to a few people. My anxiety started to dissipate and I enjoyed the rest of the evening meeting people I’d only previously interacted with on social media.

Overall the pre-conference meet-up was a great way for me to relax and share ideas with other professionals. I cannot stress enough how important and helpful this was in putting me in the right frame of mind for the conference.

Stay tuned for the next part of this blog in the coming days where I will detail the conference day and open space offering my thoughts on them