CAST 2011

We are pleased to announce our 6th annual Conference of the Association for Software Testing. This years conference promises to be the most unique to date,  it will be the first Context-Driven Testing conference to ever be held. This years program features some most outspoken context-driven testers in the world. This international gathering will span three days in August and offer attendees the opportunity to discuss, debate, question, and learn about Context-Driven Testing.

This year’s theme centers on what it means to perform context-driven testing. Testing, learning, observing, problem solving, understanding, decision making, and applying knowledge – all while taking into consideration the specifics of your mission, environment, customers, product, time lines and other variables that define your context. This year’s conference provides a venue to explore why the context-driven approach to testing is pushing software testing to new levels with “brain engaged” testers with hands-on exercises, demonstrations of live testing, and, as always at CAST, the opportunity to voice your questions and get answers. Think of CAST not as a conference but as continuing education in context-driven testing.

Track Sessions— Full & Half Day Tutorials—Tester Competition

What makes CAST unique?

• For testers, by testers
• We strive to advance and improve the science of software testing
• We share, discuss, and question
• Meet industry leaders (authors, bloggers, and personalities)
• Network with peers, and experts
• Reasonably priced, high ROI

Who should attend CAST?

• Software Testers, Practitioners, and Managers
• Scholars and Researchers
• Students
• Developers

The core mission of The Association for Software Testing (AST) and CAST is to help build an active community of software testing scholars, practitioners, and learners who can in turn positively influence and advance the practice of software testing.

CAST is more than a conference, it’s a unique opportunity to learn and discuss not found anywhere else. Each scheduled session is split into two parts. Half of the session is a presentation by a speaker, however the balance of the time is a facilitated “open season”. This open season allows attendees to question, discuss, and test the presentation.

What makes CAST truly unique is what takes place in the hallways, at receptions, during meals, and at Emerging Topics talks. For many the true value of CAST is the ability to discuss topics you are interested in with peers, experts, and academics that are leading change in the industry. At CAST you are among friends…let’s confer!

Follow CAST on twitter: #cast2011

Conference Chairperson

Jon Bach has been in testing for 15 years, 12 as a manager. His experience includes managing teams at Microsoft, HP, and LexisNexis. The co-inventor (with his brother James) of Session-Based Test Management, Jon frequently speaks about test management and exploratory testing. Jon’s passion is puzzles and games of all kinds. He just started as a Director of Quality Engineering for eBay’s Search & Discovery team where he manages testers and test managers dedicated to testing front-end search on eBay site pages.  He is a collector of trivia there, so if you think you have found the most bizarre thing for sale on eBay, please tell him what you think it is. Find him on Twitter as jbtestpilot, or Quardev.com for most of his presentations, articles.  His blog is jonbox.wordpress.com.

Program Chairperson

James Bach began as a video game programmer in 1983, after quitting high school, but programming quickly lost its new job smell. Fortunately, he bumbled into work as a test manager at Apple Computer and found a role that never gets old: searching for trouble. James likes trouble. Almost immediately, he began to question and reinvent testing for himself. He’s still doing that today, as a world-roving teacher and consulting tester. James is best known for popularizing a skilled approach to exploratory testing, for being a founding member of the Context-Driven school of testing, and for opposing bad certification programs, standards, and trying to make the world a better place for ambitious and serious testers. James is also a founding member of the AST, and has authored two books: Lessons Learned in Software Testing, and Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar.