The EuroSTAR 2010 Programme Committee are:

• Nathalie van Delft, Capgemini, The Netherlands
• Peter Morgan, Nicemove, UK
• Rikard Edgren, Spotfire, Sweden

We bring you a personal introduction to each member of the programme committee below:

Nathalie van Delft

Hello, my name is Nathalie Rooseboom de Vries van Delft and I'm as excited as I'm proud to be in EuroSTAR 2010 programme committee.  I'm relatively new to the EuroSTAR history:  my first attendance to EuroSTAR was the one in 2006 in Manchester and in last year's edition I was a first-time speaker.  I really love being able to work on the programme of what I have gotten to know as the best Test conference in Europe!

I'm 'into' testing since 2004. Before that I was an interface designer, an e-commerce consultant, a webdesigner, business/software analyst and programmer, and occasionally I also did some helpdesking and system administration.  At first I was a bit reluctant to become a tester, but when I started the job I was totally hooked! Since then I have really set off within the testing expertise and became quit fanatic, hence the internet alias 'Female FunTESTic Fanatic'. I'm very passionate about (software)testing in general, but the subjects Data Warehouse Testing, Chaintesting, Standardization, Ethics/ Philosophy and Test Architecture (Framework) are my most favorite.

Currently I'm testing for NS Hispeed, the international public transport company in the Netherlands. They started with the high speed train this year and I tested the ticketing systems, now the assortment will become broader and for international destinations, so I'm still very actively testing for this program. Before that I tested BASEL II related systems, SWIFT and "MijnPostbankPas"; which was a bank card on which you could design your own picture. I'm also Expert Group Leader Testing Technologies and Processes at Capgemini FS SBU, a role where I get to develop the expertise, advise on trends and training and have a motivational role to let others become as enthusiastic as I am. Last but not least I'm a member of the NEN NC 381007 for Software and System Development, the Dutch standardization group in which also the ISO/IEC 29119 is discussed.

I use a lot of my time for my work, developing my or others' skills and 'stuff' in testing, but sometimes even I do some other things. When I'm not testing software, I test first-aiders and other aids like fire departments and hospitals as a casualties union 'victim'.  I build miniature houses and its contents (1:12) and do a lot of paper crafting. And sometimes I'm literally rocking my socks off on the WII guitar or rocking in real life at different rock- and metal concerts together with my husband. In the wintertime I'm also fond of watching movies in the SF, fantasy and B-horror genre. In the summertime you can find me on the golf course occasionally.

Peter Morgan

Peter Morgan is a testing professional who has been involved in the ICT industry for more than 30 years, and worked in the freelance marketplace for much of that time. His time has sometimes moved from testing to 'development', but he would add "always using the mindset of a tester". He is passionate about testing and a firm advocate of testing qualifications. Peter was one of the first tranche of testers to sit and pass the (old style) ISEB Practitioner's Certificate in Software Testing, and he vociferously encourages other testers to obtain formal testing qualifications. An occasional speaker and author, Peter tries to base his output on hand-on experience, attempting to relate fine sounding ideas back to how it will affect Joe or Jane Tester in their everyday working lives in the war of attrition that we call software testing.

A strong believer in "testers for testers roles", Peter makes a virtue out of a varied business background within the UK; MOD, Health, Gas Supply Industry, Post Office automation, interface checking on 3rd party credit agencies, etc. As with others in the industry, he has occasionally been involved in a project that sunk without trace, and one such was cited before the United Kingdom Public Accounts Committee as a fine example of how NOT to undertake a software development project. From that he takes lessons, but fairly obviously does not unduly highlight his involvements.

Peter has attended EuroSTAR a number of times, speaking on two occasions. He has regularly been a track chair, and has been on the wider review committee for the past 3 years. He advocates that EuroSTAR attendees should try and mix it with those from different industries and countries at the conference, and in such chance meetings, has developed a strong personal network of testing contacts himself. He has taken a number of key items from a short meeting (perhaps at the conference meal table) back into his everyday working life, and, hopefully "made a difference".

Outside of his day job in testing, Peter has an on-going involvement with the ISEB software testing qualification, reviewing both potential tutors and training organisations for experience and alignment with the syllabus. A search of the small print will see Peter's name acknowledged in both the ISTQB Foundation syllabus, and the ISTQB Glossary of testing terms.

Together with his wife and any of his 4 grown-up children he can persuade to accompany him, Peter enjoys walking in the countryside, and the quiet, peace and thinking time that this allows. A recent holiday in North East USA included a scramble up the aptly named "Hell's Brook Trail" in Northern Vermont, where a 2 km walk took over 2 hours. However, that did give some bragging rights with the local walkers, who doubted that two people "of mature years" could accomplish this challenging ascent. Peter is also an active member of a local (Christian) church in his home town of Bath, situated 100 miles west of London. Other interests include reading, and Peter has a number of reviews on Amazon.com; some of these are "testing", whilst others reflect his interest in History of Science. Interest in the latter subject reflect his time at university, where he was introduced to the ideas of Karl Popper, who some would credit with being a founding father of software testing (from a theoretical basis).

Rikard Edgren

Hi, I am Rikard, from Sweden; 37 years old living in Gothenburg, but originating from Årjäng, Värmland. I have one child (soon two) and am passionate about baking sourdough bread.

I have been working with software since 1998, at first I wanted to be a programmer, but I got my first job as a tester, and found that it suited me very well. For a while, I thought that I had the perfect background for a tester: I have played lots of music (creativity), and my studies at the University was focused on philosophy (critical thinking), but I know that the strength is having any different background, so our teams are diversified (which is very true for most test departments.)

My first test assignment was Swedish Outlook 2000, where we on Microsoft's behalf executed test case after test case. But at the end of most cycles we were also instructed to perform some ad hoc testing, which was the very most interesting and fun part. So when I had the chance of working at a place where you could decide the testing for yourself, it wasn't difficult to move to Spotfire (interactive visual analytics), where I now have been working for 9 years, as tester, test lead, project manager, team lead, test lead, tester (a chronological circle...)
I have worked (and still work) with many great testers (and great developers too!); you can learn a lot from books and sites, but actual work, on real projects is the best school, at least for me.

We were really passionate about testing, discussing ways of working every lunch for several years; and when we discovered The Ongoing Revolution... by Cem Kaner, there was a new world of complementary ideas. (I have yet not read anything from Kaner that I don't agree with.)

In 2005 I wanted to go to a conference, EuroSTAR, so I wrote an abstract together with Henrik Emilsson, got accepted, and there was never a problem getting the trip paid by the company. In 2006, my abstract was not accepted (Software Testing Creativity, What, Where, When, Why, How?), so next year I re-phrased it and used a sexier title (Where Testing Creativity Grows) and got accepted.
It's a lot of fun at EuroSTAR conferences, so I presented a dystopia in 2008 and about one-liner test ideas in 2009. It's a lot of hard work as well with preparing presentations and papers, but worth it (if you want to decide for yourself, you can read my papers at www.thetesteye.com, a blog I have together with Emilsson and Martin Jansson.)

My views on software testing are very influenced by having worked a long time with the same product, and the same people: I think software testing is at its best when performed by testers that know a lot about the product and the usage; that can understand what's important; that are part of the whole process, from the ideas of next version, throughout the whole development, the roll-out, the support incidents, and eventually retirement of product. I think testers and all other roles should know each other, share knowledge about the product, so we learn as much as possible regarding many aspects.

Testers should be creative, think critically, and test far beyond the requirements, but also come up with ideas for further improvements; we should use the product ourselves, and feel what's good or bad. The paradox is to "destroy something you love". I advocate writing at least test ideas in advance (so developers, stakeholders can get and give feedback), but use an exploratory approach to investigate what seems most interesting when you actually test the product. I like tools, unit tests, and automatic API tests, but love manual testing; which is very needed, at least for products that are used by, and for, people.

I'm honored of being a member of the programme committee, and promise to read all submitted papers for the conference.