The STARWEST Virtual Attendee Experience

K1

Jason Arbon
Checkie.AI

KEYNOTE | Inflection Points

Software testing was once so difficult that only humans could do it. A million people a year are clicking web pages, hand-crafting scripts that marry code with automation frameworks, and creating permutations of API calls. But, the craft of software testing is changing. Every aspect of software testing is changing. Software engineering is also changing, with software accelerating developers to build “more” and “faster”, and all that software needs to be tested. Software is soon generating software–ever more software that needs to be tested. Even the rates of these changes are accelerating. All this acceleration creates inflection points, points where jobs, quality, and the lives of humans will change dramatically. Jason has thought about this over a coffee or two and will walk through these upcoming inflection points that will soon impact your world of software testing and quality.

K2

Jun-young Kwan & Priyyanka Halder
Tinder

KEYNOTE | Engineering Love Stories: Behind the Scenes of Tinder's Quality Practices

Jun-young Kwak (Sr. Director, Engineering), and Priyanka Halder (Sr. Leadership, QA & Release) will delve into the fascinating journey of Tinder’s quality engineering over the past decade, highlighting the dynamic evolution and innovative strategies that have underpinned the platform’s success in connecting millions worldwide. The talk traces the early days of experimentation with various quality assurance models, both in-house and outsourced, reflecting on the lessons learned and the pivotal decisions that shaped the future of quality at Tinder. A significant milestone in this journey was the strategic partnership with the developer experience team, which fostered a culture of collaboration and efficiency, crucial for Tinder’s rapid expansion to over 190 countries and adaptation to 45+ localizations. This global growth brought its own set of challenges, from navigating the complex web of international compliance requirements to ensuring a universally high-quality user experience across diverse cultural landscapes. The narrative also explores how Tinder leveraged artificial intelligence to enhance safety and create a more secure environment for its members, showcasing its commitment to innovation and member satisfaction. Through this journey, “Engineering Love Stories” offers an insider’s view into the meticulous work and creative solutions that have enabled Tinder to continue writing love stories around the globe.

W1

AI/ML*

The Rise of the Virtual QA Engineer: Harnessing GenAI

Dmitriy Gumeniuk, EPAM Systems

W4

DevOps Testing*

Flowstate, Automation, and LLMs: Don’t Let Tests Block Productivity

Jonathan Peck, GitHub

W9

API Testing*

API Automation Mastery: From Novice to Ninja

Gregory Goldshteyn, Fox Corporation

W13

AI/ML*

Reinventing the Art of Software Testing with Google Cloud AI Platform

Shared Nagariya, KPMG

W16

Data-driven Testing*

Kafka and Kafka Testing: Streamlining Real-time Data Processing

Deepika Kale, Guardant Health

K3

Alison Wade
TechWell Corp.

KEYNOTE | Lightning Strikes the Keynotes

Throughout the years, Lightning Talks have been a popular part of the STAR conferences. If you’re not familiar with the concept, Lightning Talks consists of a series of five-minute talks by different speakers within one presentation period. Lightning Talks are the opportunity for speakers to deliver their single biggest bang-for-the-buck idea in a rapid-fire presentation. And now, lightning has struck the STAR keynotes. Some of the best-known experts in testing will step up to the podium and give you their best shot of lightning. Get multiple keynote presentations for the price of one—and have some fun at the same time.

K4

Dona Sarkar
Microsoft

KEYNOTE | Revenge of the Nerds: How to Build a Tech Career Niche in the AI-verse

A major question so many of us have on our minds is, HOW do I shift my career to something related to AI so I can stay relevant? This has been coming from industry professionals as well as college grads/new job seekers across ALL industries. QA is no exception! Dona shifted her career to an AI niche in the past year and have hassled and helped many others do the same thing. She want to help YOU do it, too. Let's discuss. What is AI today? What are the five skill sets relevant in the AI-verse? How can you create a career niche in the AI-verse based on your industry and goals? Lastly, Dona will reveal that there is a *shiny bonus* job in the AI-verse that QA/Test folks are UNIQUELY qualified to do.

T2

Career Development*

Change: It's All We Have

Tania Katan, HALO Strategies

T4

Performance Testing in DevOps*

Traffic-Driven Testing—A Primer on Kubernetes Performance Engineering

Matthew LeRay, Speedscale

T9

Test Strategy*

Manual Test Cases Suck...So Get Rid of Them!

Rebecca Petersen, Mountain America Credit Union

T12

Security*

Escape Room—How Skills Needed in Escape Room Challenges Apply to Your Cybersecurity Team

James Risler, Cisco

T14

Requirements & User Stories*

Writing Great Objectives

Richelle Biller, Edward Jones & Saahil Panikar, Atlas Revolutions, Inc.

T17

Test Automation*

AI-Assisted Exploratory Testing for Healthcare Software Based on STEEEP Domain of Healthcare Quality

Anand Gopalakrishnan, Rhythm Management Group

T22

Test Metrics*

Leveraging and Measuring the Use of Formal Testing Methods in Product Development

James Wood, Trimble PPM, Inc.

T24

Exploratory Testing*

Not All Who Wander Are Lost—Exploratory Testing in Agile/DevOps

Aaron Nelson, State Farm

K5

Sophie Küster
Cronn

KEYNOTE | You Don't Talk about That at Work!

There are things you don't discuss with your colleagues—even less so with your boss. Mental health issues are certainly a big no-no. Sophie Küster will discuss her experiences talking about the big workplace "No-Nos" and how that led her to support herself, as well gaining support from her boss, co-workers, and mentors. Ultimately, being able to discuss these workplace taboos led to her and others becoming their most authentic selves. When Sophie started working as an agile tester, she kept her history a secret. She didn't speak openly about topics that were close to her heart: mental health and self-care. But in agile, we value respect, courage, and openness, right? So, how could she reconcile these inconsistencies? How could she be courageous and open if she denies a part of herself? After Sophie attended her first-ever testing conference, she was in awe of the openness to discussing psychological topics. Inspired, and with her head still spinning from the conference experience (and a serious lack of sleep), she came clean to her boss on her first day back. To her surprise, her courage and openness changed her work life. Inspired by her vulnerability and transparency, others in her workplace felt secure discussing their experiences, and others sought her advice on helping others or themselves in a similar situation. Sophie will discuss how communication has improved for her and her team. She will give tips on being there for others in crisis and tell you why she will always talk about "the things you don't discuss at work!"