Meet the speakers

Emna Ayadi

Agile Quality Coach | International Speaker
Sogeti, France

Bio
Emna is a passionate tester, who started her career in IT in 2015. She got the chance to work on multinational projects combined between testing and quality coaching roles. Currently, she works at Sogeti France. Emna is an international speaker and workshop facilitator. She has spoken at several testing and agile conferences. Follow her learnings and adventures via her hashtag #ExploreWithEmna on LinkedIn.

Workshop | ”Master the Art of Quality Coaching through Gamification and Engage Your Stakeholders”
Can you imagine how frustrating it is when our stakeholders or people in our team don’t understand what testing is all about?

This happens to a quality coach quite often. Because of the challenges we face, we like to involve those people in testing and make them aware of what testers are doing and how they can collaborate with them. As a quality coach we focus on improving quality and therefore testing too, and that means that you also have to improve our coaching part.

There is a great way of doing this by making it playful, through games!

In this workshop we will engage the attendees with several techniques and of course we will practice! For example: the lego game: how to involve your stakeholders by building a product. But there are hidden bugs so we can make our stakeholders aware of the importance of testing early and understand the different levels of testing. Or what about playing a game where we use a board, cards and dice and guide team members through different steps to get a better understanding of problems that concern the product under test, the process or their team, they will be able to define relevant metrics to measure progress in solving the problem and identify quality measures that will help them improve testing.

This workshop will help you -as a quality coach- to transfer the frustration into a positive and funny vibe. The games will help you to change various situations into situations where you challenge non-testers, and show them how much fun testing is.

The session is all about becoming more skillful in using games and facilitations techniques.

These will help to increase the performance and morale of your team members by following the saying:
« Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I will learn »

Key takeaways:
1. Learn different coaching aspects that could help you as a quality coach
2. Experience suitable facilitation techniques by involving both testers and non testers
3. Discover the importance of gamification to engage the whole team and stakeholders towards quality, through real examples

Gitte Ottosen

Test Manager | Quality Coach
Key2Quality, Denmark

Bio
Gitte Ottosen is a test manager and quality coach with a strong focus on a value driven approach to software development. She has 30 years of experience in IT, primarily within test, test management and process improvement, in both traditional and agile contexts. She is focusing on supporting a quality mindset across teams and organizations in Denmark. As a self-confessed test and agile evangelist who preaches the need for a strong quality and value driven focus, Gitte is a strong advocate for a context-driven approach, a role requiring profound professional insight, passion, and persistence—qualities that she holds in abundance. Gitte is a dedicated trainer within the areas of agile and test and is a regular speaker at international conferences. She is a trained Master coach, and also holds several certificates within testing as well as agile: ISTQB Expert Level Test Management – Full, Certified agile tester (CAT), TMap Test Engineer, TMAP Organizing Built-in Quality at Scale, Certified SCRUM Master, SAFe Program Consultant.

Session | ”30 years in testing – Battles won and battles lost”
May 1st 1995 I started my career in testing, moving from a job in the air force to a role of testing military software – before the agile manifesto, most test automation and test training. Looking back to where it all begun I realized that I was so privileged to work as a tester in an agile team, before agile was defined. Having the role as tester with the deep domain knowledge that helped me understand the needs of the users and help my team do the same. Much have changed over the years, I have created a good backpack of skills – based on the training and practical experience I have gained over the years – a backpack full of stuff that can help me help others. And now the world is so different from then; different platforms, different roles, agile frameworks, AI and more – so a whole other world for me as a tester… or is it? The essence of what I do and what I stand for hasn’t changed much. I work with the focus of building bridge between the end user and the project, doing my best to understand the needs of both. And I use my testing skills together with my ability to build relations with others to do this. In my presentation I will take you through examples from those 30 years of testing, illustrating that the center of all technology is people, and being able to communicate and assist in ensuring that our end users get the value they search for is key.

• Takeaway 1 – Human centered testing focus – make a difference to your end users
• Takeaway 2 – Test techniques still add value – use them together with your end users
• Takeaway 3 – Communication as a critical skill: especially the ability to relate well with both users and project teams.

Henrik Simpanen 

Test Consultant
Test Scouts, Sweden

Bio
Henrik Simpanen is a skilled software tester with experience in both embedded systems and IT. He specializes in Model-Based Testing (MBT), using it to enhance test efficiency and accuracy.

Henrik is known for his adaptability and structured approach to testing, as well as his ability to mentor team members and optimize testing workflows. He is continuously looking for ways to improve testing methodologies and software quality.

Machiel van der Bijl  

CEO | Founder
Axini, The Netherlands

Bio
Machiel van der Bijl is CEO and co-founder of Axini, The Netherlands, a company specialized in modeling and model-based testing. Machiel holds a PhD in computer science and has a broad experience in computer science both theoretical and practical. Axini makes the Axini Modeling Platform that supports test-automation without the need to program and maintain test-scripts. The technique under the hood is called model-based testing. Based on these models, the platform automates the entire test-process. Our users are in the high-tech, rail and finance industries. They have a proven track-record with our solution to shorten their time to production, while increasing their quality.

Workshop | ”Beyond Test Cases: Exploring Software Behavior with Model-Based Testing”
Are you ready to uncover hidden bugs and visualize software behavior using Model-Based Testing (MBT)? In this hands-on workshop, you’ll step into an interactive test environment where you’ll model, explore, and test multiple implementations of an application.

Through a learn-by-doing approach, you will:
✅ Translate requirements into test models
✅ Generate and execute tests from your models
✅ Investigate system behavior and hunt for bugs
✅ Gain practical experience in applying MBT to real-world cases

No prior MBT experience is required—just bring your curiosity and a willingness to explore! Whether you’re new to MBT or looking to sharpen your skills, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge and hands-on experience to integrate MBT into your testing toolkit.
Join us and see firsthand how models can revolutionize the way you test software!

Jonathon Wright 

Chief AI Technologist | Keynote Speaker
Keysight, United Kingdom

Bio
Jonathon Wright is a strategic thought leader and distinguished chief technology officer. He specializes in emerging technologies, innovation, and automation, and has more than 25 years of international commercial experience within global organizations. Jonathon combines his extensive practical experience and leadership with insights into real-world adoption of Artificial Intelligence (Agentic & Generative AI). In his spare time, he is a member of Harvard Business Council, A.I. Alliance for the European Commission, review committee for the ISO-IEC 29119 part 8 “Model-Based Testing” and part 11 for the “Artificial Intelligence Testing” as a fellow for the British Computer Society (BCS SIGiST). Jonathon also hosts the CTO lead (based in Canada) and the author of several award-winning books (2010 – 2022) the latest with Rex Black on ‘Artificial Intelligence building trustworthy systems.

Workshop | “Agentic AI: A Hands-On Workshop”
This immersive workshop is designed for QA professionals, testers, and developers who are eager to leverage the cutting-edge capabilities of AI to enhance their testing strategies, automate processes, and uncover bugs with unparalleled accuracy. By blending theoretical knowledge with practical exercises, participants will gain firsthand experience in harnessing the power of AI-Augmented Testing to transform their approach to testing, making it more efficient, effective, and innovative.

Throughout the workshop, attendees will explore the core concepts of generative AI and its application in testing, including how to generate comprehensive test cases that cover every conceivable scenario and how to use AI to identify bugs in the most unexpected places. The workshop will also delve into the nuanced art of prompt engineering tuning, teaching participants how to craft effective prompts that guide AI in performing highly specialized testing tasks. Through a series of hands-on exercises, interactive sessions, and live demonstrations, attendees will learn how to integrate these AI-powered tools and techniques into their daily workflows, elevating the quality of their testing and the products they help to create.

Key takeaways:
• Elevating Tester Roles with AI: Understand how AI-augmented testing transforms the role of testers from routine task executors to strategic problem solvers. Learn how testers can leverage AI to focus on more complex, creative, and strategic aspects of testing, thus elevating their role and value within development teams.
• Mastering AI-Augmented Testing: Learn how to utilize AI-driven technologies to automate and enhance your testing processes. Gain hands-on experience with tools that enable you to generate comprehensive test cases and automate complex testing scenarios, significantly improving efficiency and coverage.
• The Art of Prompt Engineering for Testing: Acquire skills in prompt engineering and fine-tuning, enabling you to craft effective prompts that guide generative AI in performing highly specialized testing tasks. Learn how to tailor these prompts to your specific testing needs, unlocking new dimensions of test engineering capabilities and enhancing your ability to test more creatively and thoroughly

Laveena Ramchandani 

Quality Engineering Manager | Keynote Speaker
easyjet, United Kingdom

Bio
Laveena Ramchandani is an experienced Testing Consultant with a comprehensive understanding of tools available for software testing and analysis. She aims to provide valuable insights that have high technical aptitude and hopes to inspire others in the world through her work. Laveena is a host, blogger and an international speaker who regularly speaks at events on data science models and other testing topics.

Emilia Moberg 

Test Consultant
Test Scouts, Sweden

Bio
Emilia has been testing software almost three years, both in bigger cooperations and smaller startups. Holding a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science she is equipped with a solid understanding of human cognition and technology interaction. By understanding how cognitive processes influence user interactions with technology, she is able to identify usability issues and enhance accessibility for a wide range of users.

Workshop | ”Designing for All: Embedding Accessibility into Testing Workflows”
”The application has to be accessible – have we done accessibility testing?” How many of you have heard this question before? And how many have wondered where to start, which tools to use, or how to integrate it into existing workflows?

Accessibility testing is not just a legal requirement – it’s a moral obligation. In the UK, at least 1 in 5 people have a long-term illness, impairment, or disability, with many more experiencing temporary accessibility challenges. Ensuring inclusivity from the start helps everyone and makes a significant impact.

In this tutorial, we’ll explore:
• Why accessibility should be integrated into non-functional testing.
• How to make accessibility testing a seamless part of your team’s workflow.
• Key tools, strategies, and insights to help you shift-left and champion accessibility.

Oh, and if you haven’t heard about the EU 2025 accessibility legislation yet—don’t worry! You’ll leave this session fully equipped with the knowledge, tools, and skills to make a real difference.

What You’ll Learn:
• How to think more accessible – Spot potential barriers and adopt an inclusive mindset.
• How to test for accessibility – Use keyboard navigation, browser extensions, automated tests, and assistive tech.
• How to help teams create accessible content – Apply the social model of accessibility, annotate designs, and follow WCAG guidelines.

Key Learnings:
💡 Introduction to Accessibility – A 101 session covering everything you need to know.
📜 EU 2025 Accessibility Law – Understanding legislation and how to work within its framework.
🧠 The Accessibility Mindset – Prioritizing inclusive design from the start.
🛠 Testing & Automation for Accessibility– Exploring powerful, free tools for testing.
📋 Reporting Accessibility Issues – Creating checklists and effectively documenting findings.

Additional Takeaways:
• The best accessibility testing tools available today.
• How to assess components and full-page accessibility.
• The difference between automated and manual testing.
• How to interpret automated test results.
• How to use screen readers and keyboard navigation for testing.
• Testing on both desktop and mobile platforms.
• How to integrate accessibility testing into daily workflows and CI/CD pipelines.

Lena Nyström 

Senior Test Consultant | Keynote Speaker
Test Scouts, Sweden

Bio
Lena has been building software since 1999, in roles across development, testing, leadership and management. It is basically all she knows – she won’t be much help when the zombie apocalypse comes.

Lena found her passion in testing a decade later and has been focusing on quality in software since then. Lately she has shifted even further left – to building organizations and people. The testing community is her home and she is especially interested in asking “should we build that” when others focus on “could we build that”. Her core drive is continuous improvement and she strongly believes we all should strive to challenge ourselves, our assumptions and the way things are done.

She is the author and creator of “Would Heu-risk it?”, a MASH (Mentor and Speaker Hub) core member, an avid blogger, keynote speaker and facilitator.  

Rachel Kibler 

Quality Engineer | Public Speaker
SeekWell, USA

Bio
Rachel Kibler is an enthusiastic and eager tester with a varied background of law, music, and entrepreneurship. She brings both analytical and creative thinking to her testing, enjoys the challenges of building something new, and has taken to using artificial intelligence in her work and life with both caution and excitement. She is always looking for ways to improve her competence as a tester and a human, and AI has helped augment both of these. She is based in Salt Lake City, where she works for SeekWell, which sells contact lenses and glasses online, sings semi-professionally, knits for fun, and travels as much as she can.

You can find more information about her on racheljoi.com

Keynote | ”AI – Utopia or Dystopia?”
Technology has changed lives, quality of life and even the direction of mankind. Without pushing the boundaries of the possible, who knows where we would be today? The only thing we can know is that it would not be where we are today. 

With AI evolving from advanced Excel macros into sophisticated tools integrated into our daily lives – the ability to truly transform the world and our reality is growing exponentially. And who knows what we will be able to do tomorrow! If we can predict the early signs of cancer from a tiny speck in an x-ray-picture – will we be able to slow down aging or eradicate disease in the future? If we can have machines do the dangerous (and tedious) work in mines and factories – will that leave time and space to explore the creative arts or look into the stars for the future of humanity?  

But not everyone sees this as the golden era of humanity. Some are skeptical, hesitant – even terrified of the possible end result. They talk about caution, about being critical to how we use it and implement it into our products. They speak of AI-polluted media feeds, the eradication of clear lines between truth and fiction and biases and prejudices being reinforced and exaggerated. Will we be able to control it? Legislation and standards are being put in place but is it too little, too late? Can we even stop the momentum if we want to, or need to? 

So, is AI the potential saviour of humanity? Are we heading into a utopia where technology will solve our problems? Or is it a dystopia, where we will soon see Skynet emerge and our robot overlords take over? Or maybe there’s a grain of truth to both sides.

This talk will explore AI from the viewpoint of an enthusiast and a skeptic. Let’s see who convinces who.

Lina Zubyte

Independent Quality Consultant | Tech Leader & Speaker
qualitybits, Lithuania

Bio
Lina Zubyte is a passionate Quality Advocate who truly loves sharing her varied work experience with audiences. She has worked with different products and people, moved countries for work, and loves learning new things. Lina had a podcast “Quality Bits” and shares her writings on all things quality at qualitybits.tech

Session | ”Escaping the “perfect”: Does it actually matter?”
I remember finding a pesky annoying bug. The adrenaline was rushing through my veins. I was proud, I was excited – this has to get fixed… I remember writing to the team that the release needs to be stopped… Wait a minute… Why should that bug be fixed?

Working in multiple companies and currently working in a non-profit company, I questioned a lot the purpose of my work. What actually matters for the quality of the product? Are we representing the customer or just think that we do? How can we understand better what actually matters?

In this talk, I’ll share my transformation from a ”gatekeeper” QA working with big corporations to a very open-minded, humbled-by-experience, quality consultant. I’ll share stories about understanding what matters: from realizing that the bug you found is actually not important to learning how to test not only better but smarter and less by understanding what is essential.

Marcel Veselka

CEO  | Conference Speaker
Wopee.io, Czech Republic

Bio
Marcel is the CEO and Founder of Wopee.io, with over 20 years of experience in software testing and development. Marcel is passionate about bringing intelligent, scalable testing solutions to teams everywhere. As a thought leader in AI-driven testing innovation, he’s dedicated to building tools that merge practical testing experience with the latest AI advancements, making automated testing smarter, easier, and more impactful.

Workshop | ”AI-powered Test Automation: Building Bots in Playwright”
Imagine a future where testing is seamless, intelligent, and completely free from tedious manual tasks. Over the past two decades, the software testing industry has evolved significantly, but the ultimate goal of achieving truly autonomous testing is still on the horizon. With artificial intelligence at the forefront, that future is closer than ever.

In this hands-on workshop, Marcel will explore AI-powered test automation using Playwright, where manual testing efforts are minimized. Discover how to significantly enhance your testing efficiency with the Playwright AI Bot, which effortlessly generates and maintains automated test cases. Marcel will demonstrate how the bot autonomously navigates your application, captures important screenshots and HTML, and converts them into user stories that can be easily transformed into executable Playwright tests. This is made possible through advanced large language models (LLMs) and modern AI Agent Frameworks.

Whether you’re starting your journey with Playwright or are interested in the impact of AI on testing, this technical deep dive will enhance the efficiency of your TypeScript testing framework. Join Marcel as we explore how AI-driven testing is transforming the industry, allowing you to step into the future of seamless and scalable test automation.

Mark Micallef

Associate Professor | Co-Founder Knowledge Fabric | Speaker
University of Malta, Malta

Bio
Mark Micallef is an Associate Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Malta,
where he specialises in software testing research, with a particular focus on the human
dimensions of the field. Deeply interested in how people think, work, and connect, he is
currently training to become a psychotherapist with a view of forming a deeper
understanding of how engineers and testers deal and adjust to the fast paced technological
world. He describes himself as a researcher, speaker, and occasional practitioner.

While his academic role focuses primarily on the theoretical and empirical study of software
testing, Mark regularly consults for organisations and has delivered industry-focused talks at
leading conferences, including Eurostar and the Google Test Automation Conference
(GTAC), and now, Test Coast. He holds a PhD in Software Engineering and has published
extensively in the field.

Session | ”Hidden Threads: Managing Knowledge Risk in Testing Teams”
In software testing teams, knowledge is both a critical asset and an often-overlooked vulnerability. When key individuals depart or transition roles, teams frequently experience disruptions that are not the result of poor process or tooling, but of unaddressed knowledge risk. That is, the risk associated with the loss or inaccessibility of essential know-how embedded within individuals.

This talk examines the concept of knowledge risk in the context of software testing, drawing on research from knowledge management, organisational behaviour, and software engineering. We will begin by outlining how knowledge is constructed and disseminated within testing teams, with particular attention to the distinction between explicit knowledge (codified, documented) and tacit knowledge (experiential, intuitive). The latter, while frequently critical to effective testing practices, is especially prone to loss due to its informal and non-verbalised nature.

Through case examples and conceptual framing, we will demonstrate how testing teams become susceptible to knowledge risk over time, especially in environments characterized by high team turnover, rapid delivery cycles, and siloed responsibilities. We will also review common organisational responses to this challenge, highlighting the conditions under which they succeed, as well as the limitations that often undermine their effectiveness Finally, drawing on ongoing research at the University of Malta, we will discuss new techniques and how they can contribute to addressing knowledge risk. The aim is to offer an alternative perspective to prevailing knowledge management strategies, and to illustrate how a combination of techniques can be used to protect testing teams from knowledge loss.

The session aims to equip practitioners, team leads, and decision-makers with both a conceptual framework and practical strategies for managing knowledge risk, with particular relevance to the unique dynamics of software testing teams.

Martijn Goossens 

Agile Quality Consultant | Conference Speaker
Xebia, The Netherlands

Bio
Martijn has over 19 years of experience in the QA field. He started as an Agile QA automation engineer and has fulfilled various QA leadership roles for the past 8 years. Martijn is ISTQB and TMAP certified and is a frequent participant in QA meetups and conferences. In recent years he found the international conference stages where he is keen to share his experiences from the trenches. Follow his journey on LinkedIn or on his website: www.goossens.io

Session | ”Become a performance test master – The non-technical side of things”
Stress tests, load tests, spike tests, soak tests. Martijn has done them all, from setting up the
test scripts to reporting the results and findings. While there is plenty of documentation
around the tools side, in this talk Martijn will share with you his takeaways on running a
successful test and analyzing the results.

There wouldn’t be good results without a good test plan, so in this talk, we will start and look
at how to set up a proper performance test for a web application. A recipe that, when
followed, will give you pretty results to dive into. As somewhat of a performance test expert,
Martijn finds that there are a few recurring signals he looks out for in performance test
results: throughput, response time, and error rate. He will explain each of these key
indicators and give you the tools to spot a server in trouble and when it might be OK to end a
test prematurely. After we’ve discussed the indicators, we will look at three real-life scenarios
and check if you can spot the details when we analyze them together.

Takeaways:
• Why performance testing is important and shouldn’t be an afterthought
• How to gather all the input to set up a good performance test
• That performance test results are agnostic of the tool they come from
• How to interpret performance test results with some easy patterns to spot and indicators to keep an eye on.

Paul Gerrard

Eminent Software Consultant | Keynote Speaker | Author | Teacher
Gerrard Consulting, United Kingdom

Bio
Paul Gerrard is a consultant, teacher, author, and speaker specializing in software testing and quality assurance, with a focus on test assurance. He has delivered keynote talks and tutorials at major conferences globally, including in Europe, the USA, Australia, and South Africa. Paul is a Principal at Gerrard Consulting Limited and co-director of Technology Unleashed. He has served as Programme Chair for the EuroSTAR conference and other industry events. Paul has received several prestigious awards, including the EuroSTAR Testing Excellence Award (2010), the TESTA Lifetime Achievement Award (2013), and the ISTQB Testing Excellence Award (2018). He is leading an initiative to create the Test Engineering Society, a professional body for test engineers.

Keynote | ”From Surviving to Leading: Owning Your Testing Career”
The role of the test manager is under pressure—from continued Agile adoption, DevOps culture, and rapid shifts in technology especially the rise of Artificial Intelligence. Many find their roles shrinking or disappearing altogether. So how do you stay relevant, valuable, and satisfied?

This talk explores the evolving nature of testing careers and offers practical strategies to adapt and grow. Drawing on insights from Paul’s Leadership in Test class, we’ll discuss how to separate timeless testing principles from fast-changing tools and processes. We’ll also explore potential career paths in assurance, coaching, and consulting.

Focusing on non-technical skills, Paul suggests how to develop your leadership, business knowledge, and communication skills—and how to build a strong testing leadership reputation. Whether you’re looking to evolve your current role or chart a new path, this talk offers help to take control of your testing future.

Tamoya Beckford

Senior Software Developer in Test
IT Solutions Company, Jamaica

Bio
Tamoya is a Senior Software Developer in Test with over eight years of experience in software quality assurance. She has worked on diverse testing projects across web, mobile, desktop, and automation, ensuring software reliability and efficiency. Her testing philosophy—”Test early, test often, and test enough”—guides her approach to delivering high-quality software solutions. Beyond her professional expertise, Tamoya is a passionate traveler who thrives on cultural exchanges, learning from people around the world, and sharing her experiences.

Giselle Todd

Software Quality Assurance Engineer
MC Systems, Jamaica

Bio
Giselle is a dedicated Software Developer in Test with a passion for making software reliable and user-friendly. She’s worked on many software projects both locally, in Jamaica, and internationally. With a strong belief in leaving a lasting impact through both quality and kindness, she approaches every project with a focus on empathy and technological improvement.

Session | ”Leading a One-QA Show: Advocating for Quality as the Sole QA on Your Team”
Starting a new role as the only QA on a team was both exciting and daunting. Coming from a background where collaboration with a team of QAs was the norm, we quickly realized how different—and challenging—things were when we became the sole advocate for product quality. While we weren’t managing all testing tasks alone, we still had to navigate the responsibility of ensuring quality without the support we were used to. As organizations move towards smaller, more agile teams, the role of the sole QA is becoming more common. Yet, few resources exist to help QA professionals succeed in this isolated position.

In this session, we’ll share our journey of navigating the realities of being a “One-QA show.” We’ll dive into how we managed to advocate for quality, maintain work-life balance, and manage expectations in this solo role. From building strong relationships with developers to creating efficient processes, we’ll share the strategies that helped us thrive. Attendees will leave with practical, actionable advice on leading quality efforts even in a solo QA environment, and how to navigate the isolation while continuing to grow professionally

In this talk we will be uncovering the four (4) takeaways:

• Managing and Advocating for Quality in an Isolated Role: Learn how to effectively maintain and advocate for product quality and ensure it’s prioritized, even when you’re the only QA professional on the team.
• Building Effective Communication Channels with Developers and Stakeholders: Discover strategies for creating strong communication with your development team and stakeholders to ensure smooth collaboration and alignment on quality goals.
• Prioritizing Tasks and Managing a Heavy Workload: Understand how to manage competing priorities and a large volume of tasks, ensuring critical quality areas are addressed while staying organized.
• Techniques for Self-Care and Avoiding Burnout: Gain insights into how to prevent burnout in a solo QA role by implementing self-care practices and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.