11 Testers. 2 Days. No Agenda.
A house in the countryside, a handpicked group, four days of real exchange. Admission by invitation only.
Why This Retreat Is Different
Not another testing event. A format deliberately designed for real exchange.
Deliberately Small
11 spots. No more. Because real conversations need a size where people get to know each other, not just broadcast at each other.
Already Proven
The first German Testing Retreat took place in September 2025. Four days, not a weekend format. The format works. The second one is happening.
House in the Countryside
No conference hotel, no co-working space. A place that creates distance from everyday life. And room for real conversations.
7-10 September 2026 in Eschwege. Sold out.
Format: Four days. Arrival the day before, two days of intensive work, departure on the fourth day. Not a weekend format.
Location: House in the countryside, Eschwege region.
Spots: 11, handpicked, so the dynamic works. All taken.
Investment: Cost price. Not a commercial offering, just cost coverage. Sold out for 2026. Admission by invitation only.
Admission: Very limited spots, personal conversations decide.
Participants 2026 (2 new faces): Georg Haupt (new), Matthias Gross, Julia Leitner, Florian Fieber, Björn Scherer, Christian Mercier, Dehla Sokenou, Ina Schieferdecker (new), Lilia Gargouri, Wolfgang Sperling, Richard Seidl.
11 Testers, 2 Days, 1 House in the Countryside. It was exactly what was promised.
What happened instead: real discussions about the questions that don't get enough attention in everyday work. How do we handle AI-generated code? What does testing excellence mean when the tools are changing? How do we build communities that last?
And alongside that: cooking, playing, walks, long evenings. Connections don't form in sessions, they form in between.
Participants 2025: Udita Sharma, Matthias Gross, Julia Leitner, Florian Fieber, Björn Scherer, Christian Mercier, Dehla Sokenou, Andrea Jensen, Lilia Gargouri, Wolfgang Sperling, Richard Seidl.
Four Days, Not Packed, But Deliberately Shaped
No minute-by-minute schedule. Structure where it helps, space where it's needed.
- 1
Day 0: Arrival
Arrival the day before. No tight schedule. Time to settle in, get to know each other, get comfortable. First informal exchange over a shared meal.
- 2
Day 1: Hard Work
First working day. Discussions about the questions that really matter, brought by the participants themselves. No fixed agenda. Cooking together, eating together.
- 3
Day 2: Hard Work
Second working day. The best ideas don't come in sessions, they come over dinner, on a walk, in the conversations in between.
- 4
Day 3: Departure
Departure on the fourth day. With a full head and a network that lasts. The connections from the retreat hold. That's how it was at the first retreat, and that's the standard for all the ones that follow.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Retreat
What you want to know before registering. Answered directly.
Looking for ongoing exchange?
The retreat is four days. The Software Test Mastermind is an ongoing process: regular online meetings over six months, with testing professionals working on the same questions.
Want to go deeper? The podcast.
Richard Seidl and his guests discuss in the Software Testing Podcast the questions that come up at the retreat too: testing excellence, AI in testing, community, and careers. 176+ episodes, 300,000+ downloads.