CAST 2016 Recaps

CAST 2016 was held in Vancouver, BC. This was my first time to Vancouver, but I love the Pacific Northwest, so I was pretty sure I was going to love it there. Spoiler alert: I loved it in Vancouver!

I’m so happy I got to attend CAST this year, after missing last year due to project work. Since I first attended in 2014, I knew that CAST was a can’t-miss conference for me for as long as it runs. Putting the “confer” back in “conference” is the style that really appeals to me – as an audience, we’re not just talked at; we engage in active discussion. Everyone is part of the conversation.

This year, I feel like I learned things about myself as a person and as a professional, as well as some solid takeaways to implement at work. Some of the best takeaways came from side conversations, which is true to the spirit of CAST!

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On the first day of CAST, I attended two tutorials:

• What Catalyzes Testing? Testability with James Bach
• Learning To Say No with Fiona Charles

Here’s the link to the Storify for day 1: https://storify.com/g33klady/cast-2016

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On the second day of CAST, I attended the following sessions:

• Opening Keynote: Automation, Software Design, and the Human Factor with Nicholas Carr
• Babble & Dabble: Creating Bonds Across Disciplines with Katrina Clokie and Carol Brands
• Afternoon Keynote: Test Management Revisited with Anne-Marie Charrett
• Cooperating to Exercise Judgment and Skill: Requirements with Julie Lebo
• How King Uses AI in Testing with Alexander Andelkovic

Here’s the link to the Storify for day 2: https://storify.com/g33klady/cast-2016-day-2

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On the third and last day of CAST, I attended the following sessions:

• Opening Keynote: Neuro-Diversity & Software Development with Sallyann Freudenberg
• Alpha Testing as a Catalyst For Organizational Change with Steven Woody
• How Do I Reach The Congregation When I’m Preaching To The Choir with Erik Davis and Rob Bowyer
• It’s Certainly Uncertain – Fostering Healthy Uncertainty on Software Projects with Fiona Charles

Here’s the link to the Storify of day 3: https://storify.com/g33klady/cast-2016-day-3

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Of course I did some sightseeing in Vancouver! Here’s a collection of some of those posts:

https://storify.com/g33klady/aside-from-cast-in-vancouver-bc