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!

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

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

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

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