Vojtěch Barta
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TechMeetup Ostrava Conference

I was asked whether I would like to take care of the QA Stage at the TechMeetup Conference in Ostrava — to own the topic, invite speakers, and shape the programme. I said yes, of course.

So far there have been two editions I was involved in: 2024 and 2025. For the first one I focused mainly on speakers from the Czech Republic. For the second, I leaned on people I had met over years of travelling and speaking at conferences abroad, and brought in great speakers.

2025 — QA Stage

Paul Gerrard — New Model for Testing

This talk explains a model of the thought processes that every tester uses. At the highest level, what we do is this: “we explore sources of knowledge to build test models that inform our testing”. There are two modes of thinking – exploration and testing – and we use judgement to decide when to flip from one to the other.

Niels Malotaux — How to move towards Zero Defects

How many defects should the users of our software find? How many issues do you accept the users to experience? If you agree that it should be “Zero!”, then we can discuss how to achieve that. If you think it’s impossible, better attend and learn, to avoid being put out of business by those who are delivering Zero Defects.

Michaël Pilaeten — What really works when you want to prevent defects

Talking about code reviews but more importantly about mental health, sleeping, etc.

Marcel Veselka — Building AI Agents for Testing with 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 AI at the forefront, that future is closer than ever.

Joel Oliveira — Metrics: What You Want vs. What You Get

We rely on metrics to bring clarity to testing, to tell us how good our product is, how effective our process has been, and whether we’re ready to release. But too often, what we measure doesn’t match what we actually want to know.

Sebastian Małyska — API testing: dos and don’ts

Discover how to master the complexities of web protocol testing in a session that brings clarity to REST, SOAP, GraphQL, WebSockets, and Webhooks through practical demonstration and interactive discussion. Participants are invited to explore the unique architectures and challenges of these technologies, drawing on current industry practices and trends.

2025 — the day

I had the pleasure of being responsible for the QA Stage at TechMeetup Conference. Here is how the day unfolded:

  • I kicked it off by talking about focus areas in testing — thanks to James Bach for planting the seed in my head a few years ago during your training.
  • Sebastian Małyska continued with his experience across many different projects.
  • Then Lukas Renc (CEH) gave a strong live demo of penetration testing.
  • Jan Trnavský shared what he learned using UI tests when migrating from Cypress to Playwright.
  • Lukáš Vitala walked us through “sins” to avoid in a QA career.
  • The lunch break turned into long discussions with good friends.
  • After lunch we had two talks on getting better: Roman Kováč on high-performing teams, then Radek Kitner on learning in IT.
  • We also welcomed a product perspective: Michaela Šindelová on the PO role and how it connects to quality.
  • Tomáš Vepřek covered performance testing in depth.
  • We closed with a panel discussion with several of the speakers.

Here is my session from the event — Testing Quadrants — the same clip linked from my home page:

Thank you to Vendavo for supporting the community.

It was a great event — more than 500 participants — and a chance to catch up with many friends. Thanks to all the organizers, and see you again next year.