For two decades now, EuroSTAR has been the leading European
software testing conference, attracting delegates and speakers from
around the globe. They have one thing in common: all of them are on
a quest for knowledge, eager to learn and trying to improve
themselves and their testing.
I'm absolutely delighted to be Programme Chair for EuroSTAR 2012,
taking place in the vibrant city of Amsterdam this year. I have the
great pleasure of introducing the programme committee, my personal
dream team: Julian Harty (UK), James Lyndsay (UK) and Shmuel
Gershon (Israel). This year marks EuroSTAR's 20th anniversary, and
we are all committed to make it an event to remember.
Our aim is to provide a safe learning environment for all
attendees, a creative platform for collaboration that already
starts before the conference and will hopefully last long after the
last gala dinner drink is finished. To accomplish this, we need
your help: your stories, your ideas and of course your willingness
to share them.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
(William Edwards Deming)
"There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human
resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress,
and we would be forever repeating the same patterns."
(Edward De Bono)
These two statements are not new, but they are still amazingly
relevant. The (software) world is changing at an incredible pace.
We are faced with new technologies, unprecedented problems and
increasing complexity. If we want to keep up, our testing needs to
evolve as well.
That is why the theme for this year is "Innovate &
Renovate: Evolving Testing".
Innovate (ˈi-nə-ˌvāt) to introduce changes and
new ideas
Renovate (ˈre-nə-ˌvāt) to repair and improve
something, restore to life
Learning and creativity are essential to both concepts. If we
stop learning, we stop evolving. And to stop evolving means to
perish. Creativity is a skill that can be learned and trained; it
is about coming up with new ideas and novel approaches. Innovation
occurs when we start acting upon those new ideas. Renovation, on
the other hand, requires learning from the past and transforming
what we already know.
The 20th EuroSTAR wants to focus on ways we can learn to be better
testers, including finding ways to be more creative. This could
mean trying new approaches, but also rethinking old ones. Our goal
is to make it a practical conference, since learning by doing has
proven to be a very effective way to gaining understanding.
This year, EuroSTAR welcomes submissions on software and systems
testing with a focus on learning, adaptation, repurposing, novel
approaches, lessons learned (both old and new).
If you have any form of publication that illustrates or clarifies
your story (e.g. organisational case studies, blog posts, articles,
white papers, academic papers, software, tools,...), this is worth
pointing out. It is always nice to provide attendees with
additional sources for learning.
EuroSTAR 2012 provides a unique opportunity to share with fellow
testers: your thoughts, your learning and creativity, your
innovative/renovative ideas.
Let's move testing forward. The floor is all yours.
We look forward to receiving your proposals. Click here to
view the Speaker Submission Form.
You can view the EuroSTAR Submision
Guide here. This will give you an outline of how best to
prepare your submission, giving you optimum chances at success.
Sincerely,
Zeger Van Hese,
Programme Chair EuroSTAR 2012
Important Dates
Deadline for submissions: 29th February
Notification of acceptance: 4th April
Conference Dates: 5 - 8 November