German Testing Day

The German Testing Day is an independent specialist conference for software testing, which was founded in 2011 and takes place annually in Frankfurt. The Conference Board consists exclusively of end users with no vendor or consulting interests. The focus is on practical experience, test automation and AI-supported testing, supplemented by socially relevant keynotes and open formats such as Open Space and Lean Coffee.

Key Takeaways

• The German Testing Day was founded in 2011 based on the model of the Swiss Testing Day and Dutch Testing Day and was deliberately set up as an independent, non-commercial community conference, with no providers of software, tools or consulting on the conference board.
• The Conference Board is made up exclusively of end users, from large companies such as Siemens to SMEs, and evaluates submitted presentations in two stages: first the abstract, then the finished presentation.
• The number of participants grew from around 200 to 250 at the first event in Frankfurt to a peak of 450 before the coronavirus pandemic.
• What started as a one-day event now lasts one and a half days because the evening program was gradually expanded due to high demand.
• Underrepresented topics such as usability, user experience with modern measurement methods and security testing are explicitly mentioned by the Board as desired fields of submission for future calls for papers.

What is the German Testing Day?

The German Testing Day is an independent conference for software testers in German-speaking countries. It was founded in 2011 by the Swiss company SwissQ, following the example of the already running Swiss Testing Day and the Dutch Testing Day.

From the outset, the basic idea was to set itself apart from traditional corporate conferences. Instead of a commercial interest, the focus was to be on a community concept. This was already reflected in the structure: the sponsors nominated independent people for the conference board instead of determining the content themselves.

Klaus Moritzen has been on the board since the very beginning. Thomas Rinke initially took part as a participant in 2011 and joined the Conference Board in 2016. The conference is now in its 13th year, with breaks.

Why an independent conference is set up differently

Independence still characterizes the composition of the Conference Board today. End users sit on the board, not providers of testing tools, services or consulting.

The spectrum ranges from large companies such as Siemens to SMEs. Over the years, scientific representatives have also joined the Board, although slightly fewer in recent years; Karin Forsterberg currently represents science on the Board.

This mix ensures practical relevance. Those who design the program do the testing themselves instead of selling a product. That is a real difference, not a marketing promise.

One day became one and a half

The German Testing Day started as a single day. Today it lasts one and a half days, and most participants plan to attend for two full days.

The expansion was the result of a practical observation. Many people arrive the evening before anyway. This initially became the German Testing Night with a presentation and a fishbowl discussion as an introduction.

Because the contributions submitted were good and in demand, the evening program gradually expanded. This occasionally leads to confusion about the name: German Testing Day or German Testing Days. With two days actually used, both can be justified.

How participant numbers and location have developed

The first edition in Frankfurt at the Jahrhunderthalle attracted around 200 to 250 participants. Before Corona, the peak was around 450.

In between there was a phase as a traveling circus. The conference was held at BMW Welt in Munich, Hotel Estrel in Berlin and Cap Europa in Frankfurt. The idea behind it was to reach people who don’t want to travel that far.

The search for suitable locations proved to be difficult. They need sufficient capacity, must be attractive in terms of technology and space and at the same time affordable. Cap Europa provided a good basis for the German Testing Day. In addition, the number of participants was higher in Frankfurt, presumably due to the better accessibility and the many local companies.

A decisive event occurred early on: SwissQ no longer wanted to continue with the event and it was canceled for a year. in 2013, the Conference Board took over the conference itself. Melanie Wohner became Chair and organized the event independently.

How contributions are selected

The German Testing Day uses a two-stage selection process with five evaluation criteria. The presentations are submitted via a tool in which the evaluation, including all status transitions, also takes place.

Three criteria are content-related:

• Experiential: something someone has actually done, not purely academic.
• Degree of innovation: how new the approach is.
• Benefit for the user: what the participants take away.

These three are first applied to the abstract. Once the draft presentation slides are available, two further criteria are added: comprehensibility and storyline. Only then is the final selection made.

The German Testing Day does not specify a main topic

Unlike some conferences, the German Testing Day does not specify an overarching theme. The Call for Papers merely teases out key topics.

AI has been a strong trend in recent years, especially testing by and with AI. The program also includes classics such as test data management and test automation. There is also room for peripheral topics: organizing test sessions, ensemble testing or contributions to personal development as a tester.

The board’s perspectives on individual contributions vary widely. It is precisely these different opinions that help to maintain a balance so that the program does not consist only of AI or only of test management presentations. Diversity is a deliberate design goal, not a product of chance.

Practical relevance and the courage to take risks make the difference

The strength of the German Testing Day lies in its combination of independence, practical relevance and openness to new formats. The board specifically acquires end-user contributions, but also takes risks from time to time.

One example: a Finnish children’s book author who taught children software testing with a metaphor that software errors are like dragons in the Middle Ages.

You can say that’s not professional. But you have to do something like that sometimes.

• Klaus Moritzen

Promoting diversity is part of this, for example when young talents are invited to submit their ideas. The keynotes also follow a fixed pattern: typically a technical keynote on software testing and one with social relevance. Topics such as deep democracy or mindfulness provide a broader perspective; at one point, someone spoke about how they accidentally founded a company and ran it completely democratically.

How the German Testing Day creates community

In addition to the pure lecture format, the German Testing Day focuses on interactive formats. These include workshops with moderation, lean coffees and an open space where every participant can contribute their own topics.

The innovative formats from the further development of the conference also contribute to this: Lightning Talks, Pecha Kucha and World Café.

The aim is to maintain contact throughout the year, for example via the German Testing Night and individual events between the conferences. At this point, the organizers themselves still see room for improvement. More formats during the year, low-threshold opportunities for casual drop-ins are on the agenda, but progress has been slow so far.

What will shape the next edition

The program mix is dominated by AI, i.e. testing with and by AI. There are also proven techniques such as test automation, continuous integration and DevOps.

The keynotes remain the highlight for many. Among others, a company founder from Estonia has been announced who runs a completely virtual company and has received several awards for entrepreneurship. The evening keynote will be particularly scenic, less typical for a more traditional test conference.

The German Testing Day will take place on May 7 and 8 in Frankfurt.

Where the German Testing Day is heading

The main conference with one and a half days is considered a successful format and should not be extended to two or three days. An extension would change the structure, for example with half-day workshops or tutorials, as the Eurostar stretches over an entire week.

Instead, the focus is on more German Testing Nights during the year and possibly a regular format of its own. Eurostar’s Test Time Out serves as a model: every two weeks, on Fridays at 11 a.m., a quarter-hour contribution from a single speaker. Such formats can also be used to get to know future keynote speakers.

A clear goal is to turn participants into speakers. Those who have attended should have the confidence to share something themselves instead of just consuming. A personal approach has already achieved this for some.

The bigger challenge remains retention. At many conferences, there is a hard core that comes every year, while around half of the participants are new. Getting these newcomers to come back is the task that formats during the year are supposed to solve.

Which topics are still missing

Some topics are underrepresented from the Board’s point of view, although they would be worthwhile. Usability and user experience could be dealt with in more depth, for example with modern methods such as eye tracking or concrete measurements.

Non-functional testing and security testing are also neglected, although many companies have internal regulations and processes for this. The Board would also like to see original, unique contributions, such as the children’s book author, which cannot be planned in advance.

Beyond the topic, it is the type of presentation that counts. Contributions that show personal development have been particularly popular in recent years: how to learn to test, how to redefine your role, how to inspire others to develop further too. If you are proud of something and want to share it, the Call for Papers is the right place for you.