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Why I’m no longer Speaking at Software Testing Conferences?
Presentations are not effective for helping implement real test automation.
Between 2010–2013, I spoke at several international software testing conferences. STARWEST 2013, regarded as the most premium conference in software testing, was the last conference I spoke at. In this article, I share my thoughts on conferences and why I no longer pursue or decline invitations to speak at.
- Presentations are not effective
- Conferences are a legacy way to get new ideas
- Organizing a Conference is a business
- Speaking at conferences is a business too
- What do I do to spread my voice?
1. Presentations are not effective
I heard “Amazon’s boss dislikes PowerPoint presentations”. My daughter, who started her first full-time job at Amazon this week, confirmed that is indeed the culture.
Jeff Bezos Banned PowerPoint in Amazon Meetings
For serious presentations, it will be useful to replace PowerPoint slides with paper handouts showing words, numbers, data graphics, and images together. Handouts allow viewers to contextualize, compare, narrate, and recast evidence. In contrast, data-thin, forgetful displays tend to make audiences ignorant and passive.
At TIST 2011 conference, I noticed one attendee who sat in the exact same spot (first row) for all my 4 sessions (including two in the previous year). After the talk, I chatted with him.
I asked: “You seem very interested, is your company conducting test automation?”
He answered: “No. I like your presentations and practices, such as Maintainable Test Design and Functional Test Refactoring.”
I continued, “Will you introduce these (practices) to your work?”
He paused for a few seconds, then said: “Probably not, I would like to, but I don’t have the confidence to do that”.
