John McConda, principal consultant at Mozer Consulting, discusses his workshop designed to aid testers who work in a regulated environment to implement agile and automated testing. He talks about how those who work in businesses that are regulated by federal agencies, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and other compliance requirements can still work within those rigid specifications to introduce agile and automated processes.

Matt Grasberger, a software consultant with Coveros, talks about how security testing is often put off in the development lifecycle until risks are so embedded that it’s a massive undertaking to fix them. Matt highlights two tools that can be used to automate security testing early in the development lifecycle and gives some resources for requirements that you should have as a baseline for your security testing.

Jason Arbon, CEO and founder of test.ai, discusses his goal to test all the world’s apps. Jason also provides insight on a frequent question he faces: When will AI replace my job? He believes that AI and machine learning have already started taking over some aspects of software testing, and that this transition will keep accelerating. Based on available data, Jason predicts which aspects of testing are going to be subsumed by AI, in what order, and in what time frame.

Bob Galen, principal agile coach at Vaco, and Mary Thorn, Vaco's agile practices lead, chat with TechWell community manager Owen Gotimer about the challenges of growing new leaders, the impact leaders can have on people’s lives, and how vulnerability can help leaders build trust.

Chris Loder, an automation developer at InGenius Software, discusses getting started on system-level automation and why he thinks AI cannot take over automation. Chris also gives his insights into the value of the collaboration at conferences between people at various levels.

Mike Sowers, senior consultant and VP of Training with Coveros, discusses the value of attending the STAREAST conference: networking, couch sessions, and being able to discuss common challenges with colleagues. He details conversations about trying to improve personal core competencies along with our teams and organizations, integrating agile and moving into DevOps, and how testing operates in a continuous context. Mike also talks about upcoming conferences and staying ahead of the technology curve through training and learning opportunities.

In this interview, Dmitry Vinnick, lead software engineer at SalesForce, discusses the value of attending conferences in person as opposed to just taking advantage of the online presentations. He also addresses the challenges of being a remote employee and methods of overcoming those challenges.

In this interview, Dawn Haynes, CEO, testing coach, and consultant for PerfTestPlus, discusses the ever-evolving world of AI and machine learning and the impact on the future of testing. Dawn explains why tools and automation will not be able to replace people, so testers don’t need to worry about job security.

In this interview, Melissa Tondi, senior QA strategist at Rainforest, discusses the foundation you need in order to have a positive introduction for new tools and technologies. She explains why the team leader has to understand what motivates each individual and how to get them excited about their job. Melissa says team members also have to realize that if they are in any way involved in testing software, they are a technologist, so they have to embrace the tools and technology that will continuously improve and streamline repetitive tasks.

In this interview, Jason Wick, senior manager at MakeMusic, discusses his STAREAST presentation about eight ways you could be making your one-on-one meetings completely useless. He discusses in depth what he feels is the number one way to ruin these meetings: holding back on feedback. He also offers advice on how you can educate your team leader to avoid the pitfalls that lead to ineffective one-on-ones.