Tag: agile testing

My experience speaking at DevOpsCon, Singapore 2024 – Talks, Learning, and Inspiration

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend and speak at DevOpsCon Singapore, an event that brought together some of the brightest minds in the DevOps and agile communities. It was an experience filled with learning, sharing, and connection, all while revisiting the vibrant city of Singapore.

My Talks at DevOpsCon

I had the privilege of delivering two talks, each centered on topics I am deeply passionate about:

  1. Mastering Test Automation: Strategies for Maximum Efficiency and Impact
    In this session, I explored how teams can elevate their test automation game to ensure faster feedback, better quality, and smarter integration into CI/CD pipelines. We discussed practical strategies, real-world examples, and tools that can help achieve these outcomes. The engagement and thoughtful questions from the audience truly made this session a delight.
  2. Navigating the Agile Seas: Program Management in Startup Waters
    This talk was all about managing the unique challenges faced by agile teams in fast-paced startup environments. I shared insights and anecdotes from my own experiences, focusing on strategies for balancing speed with quality, fostering collaboration, and keeping teams aligned with business goals amidst chaos.

Both sessions were well-received, and I was deeply encouraged by the feedback and conversations they sparked. Knowing that my insights resonated with the attendees is always a humbling experience.

The Power of Learning and Collaboration

One of the highlights of the event was attending Ben Linders‘ workshop on Agile Teams Gamification. The session was not just informative but also incredibly interactive, showcasing how gamification can be a powerful tool to foster team collaboration and innovation. The exercises and insights were eye-opening, and I’m already thinking of ways to incorporate some of these ideas into my own work.

Workshops like these remind me of the endless possibilities for learning and the value of sharing knowledge within a community. It’s moments like these that inspire us to challenge conventional thinking and embrace fresh perspectives.

Reflections on the Event

Events like DevOpsCon are a testament to the power of tech communities. From engaging discussions with fellow speakers and attendees to exploring ideas that can reshape the way we work, the experience was nothing short of invigorating.

Beyond the technical learnings, it was also about connecting with people—whether it was hearing about their challenges, sharing stories over coffee, or simply realizing how much we all have in common in our pursuit of excellence.

Gratitude and Looking Ahead

I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity to represent my ideas on such a global stage, and for the chance to learn from some of the best minds in the industry. Sharing my knowledge, while also growing from the knowledge of others, is what drives me to keep pushing forward.

Here’s to more opportunities to learn, share, and grow together! If you attended the event or my talks, I’d love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation.

#DevOpsCon #AgileLeadership #ContinuousLearning #Grateful #TechCommunities

I am speaking at DevOpsCon, Singapore

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

I am elated to share that I have been invited to speak at DevOpsCon, SIngapore – an event by devmio. This event is known for its power workshops, practical learning avenues and networking with international community of Agile & DevOps enthusiasts, I am excited to be presenting not one but 2 sessions – one focused on Agile Delivery and another on Test Automation Strategies!

The conference offers 4 full days of learning in the form of sessions, keynotes and workshops, with options to attend in-person or online – here is the full program https://devopscon.io/singapore/program-singapore/

As I prepare for the sessions and my travel, I am also looking for recommendations and ideas for things to include in these sessions. Please share your thoughts and suggestions on what you would like to be included in these topics – here are the details of my sessions:


Navigating the Agile Seas: Program Management in Startup Waters

Agile teams in startups can be in a constant state of flux, and creating harmony there requires mastering adaptive leadership techniques, relooking at processes and leaning them out to suit the needs of the teams. In this session, we will dissect the intricate dance of leading software delivery in startup agile teams, and discover actionable strategies for navigating the complexities of program management in fast-paced environments. Program and engineering leaders will gain valuable insights into aligning team efforts with business goals while maintaining agility and high-quality standards.

By the end of this session, you will:​

  • Gain insights into adaptive leadership techniques tailored for startup agility.
  • Learn practical approaches to balance speed and quality in software delivery.
  • Explore effective methodologies for orchestrating agile programs in dynamic startup ecosystems
  • Navigating the Agile Seas: Program Management in Startup Waters

Mastering Test Automation: Strategies for Maximum Efficiency and Impact

In today’s fast-paced development cycles, effective test automation is essential for delivering high-quality software at speed. This talk will guide you through selecting the most impactful test automation strategies by focusing on aligning with business goals, ensuring scalability, and optimizing test coverage. Attendees will learn how to prioritize which tests to automate, choose the right tools, and create a balanced approach that maximizes efficiency while minimizing maintenance overhead.

Grateful for the opportunity to share my word with the community, and looking forward to travelling the world!

See ya there!

Cheers,

Nishi

I am speaking at Testflix 2024

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

I am super excited to share that I will be speaking at Testflix 2024, being organized by The Test Tribe. With 15+ themes and more that 20,000 people signed up for it already, this is going to be a grand event with testers from 125 countries & from the world’s top companies in attendance!

I am going to be speaking on the theme of Leadership – and my session is specifically about Leadership in Agile. Here are the details of my talk:

Leadership in agile is not about command and control; it’s about empowering teams to collaborate, innovate, and adapt to change. From navigating shifting priorities to fostering collaboration and accountability, agile leadership is about enabling teams to deliver value continuously and grow in a sustainable, self-organizing environment. In this session, we will talk about the lessons in leadership and attendees will walk away with actionable leadership tips to inspire, motivate, and lead their own agile teams to deliver high-impact results.

Talk Takeaways

  • Lessons in Leadership from various hands on agile roles
  • Actionable leadership tips to inspire, motivate and lead agile teams.
  • How to lead agile teams to deliver high-impact results

It is a virtual event which is free to attend, so do sign up now to not miss out on the incredible opportunity for learning & networking at this vibrant community event!

Integrating Testing with Cloud-Based Development: Challenges and Solutions

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

Cloud-based development has become the norm for many organizations due to its numerous benefits. These include the ability to scale resources dynamically, reduce costs, and improve collaboration among development teams. However, with these advantages come challenges, particularly in integrating testing processes. Effective testing is crucial to ensure that applications are reliable, secure, and performant. 

The rapid evolution of cloud-based development has transformed how software is developed, tested, deployed, and maintained. Software testing companies play a critical role in ensuring the quality and reliability of applications developed in cloud-based environments. However, integrating testing within these environments presents unique challenges that require innovative solutions. This article explores these challenges in detail and provides strategies for overcoming them.

What is Cloud-Based Development?

Cloud-based development refers to the process of building, deploying, and managing applications using cloud computing services. This approach leverages cloud infrastructure, platforms, and software to enable developers to work more efficiently and collaboratively. Cloud-based development environments provide tools and resources that facilitate continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), which are essential for modern software development practices.

Benefits of Cloud-Based Development

  • Scalability: Resources can be scaled up or down based on demand.
  • Cost-Efficiency: Pay-as-you-go models reduce the need for significant upfront investments.
  • Collaboration: Cloud environments enable better collaboration among distributed teams.
  • Flexibility: Developers can choose from a variety of tools and services to meet their specific needs.

Challenges in Integrating Testing with Cloud-Based Development

1. Environment Consistency

Ensuring consistency across different environments (development, testing, staging, production) is challenging in cloud-based development. Variations in configurations, dependencies, and data can lead to discrepancies in test results, making it difficult to identify the root causes of issues.

Solution

  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Use IaC tools like Terraform or AWS CloudFormation to define and manage infrastructure. This ensures that environments are created consistently.
  • Containerization: Use containers (e.g., Docker) to encapsulate applications and their dependencies, ensuring consistency across environments.

2. Data Management

Managing test data in cloud-based environments can be complex. Ensuring data availability, consistency, and security across multiple environments is a significant challenge.

Solution

  • Data Virtualization: Use data virtualization techniques to provide consistent and secure access to test data without the need to replicate it.
  • Automated Data Management: Implement automated processes for data provisioning, masking, and cleanup to ensure data consistency and security.

3. Security and Compliance

Ensuring security and compliance in cloud-based environments is critical, especially when dealing with sensitive data. Testing processes must adhere to stringent security and compliance requirements.

Solution

  • Security Testing Tools: Integrate security testing tools (e.g., OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite) into the CI/CD pipeline to identify and address vulnerabilities early.
  • Compliance Automation: Use compliance automation tools to ensure that testing processes adhere to regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).

4. Performance Testing

Performance testing in cloud-based environments can be challenging due to the dynamic nature of cloud resources. Variability in resource allocation can affect performance test results.

Solution

  • Synthetic Load Testing: Use synthetic load testing tools to simulate real-world traffic and measure performance under different conditions.
  • Resource Monitoring: Implement resource monitoring tools to track and analyze the performance of cloud resources during testing.

5. Tool Integration

Integrating various testing tools within a cloud-based development environment can be complex. Ensuring seamless communication between tools is essential for effective testing.

Solution

  • CI/CD Integration: Use CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD) to automate the integration of testing tools and processes.
  • API-First Approach: Adopt an API-first approach to ensure that testing tools can easily integrate and communicate with each other.

Solutions for Effective Testing in Cloud-Based Development

Read More »

My Session on HerKey Community platform

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

I had the pleasure of hosting a session on the HerKey Community Platform today, where we explored “The Power of Tech Communities.” It was inspiring to see so many enthusiastic participants join in for an open and engaging discussion.

Communities are more than just groups with shared interests—they thrive on the collective passion, willingness to share, and dedication to support one another. During the session, we delved into how tech communities can be powerful catalysts for career and personal growth. We also discussed the significance of Product Communities and how organizations can unlock the full potential of their user communities by empowering them with the right platforms for growth.

It was particularly rewarding to hear participants share their own experiences on how tech communities have positively impacted their careers and learning journeys. I’m grateful for the insights and energy everyone brought to the conversation.

I’m looking forward to hosting more sessions like this on the HerKey platform, and continuing to explore how we can harness the power of communities to drive success.

Cheers,

Nishi

My Experience Speaking at DevOpsCon, Berlin (June 2024)

Nishi Grover Garg1 Comment

Just back from the big trip! And catching a moment to jot down my experiences in Berlin!
I was invited by DevOpsCon to present at the Berlin event in June 2024, which turned out to be a fantastic event!

Apart from the hurried visa process and the last minute preparations, the travel went smoothly. Being my first ever event in Europe, I was elated and honored to have the opportunity to speak at this massive event!

The organizing team had invited us to a welcome dinner on the initial day of the conference, which was a great way to meet other speakers and make some connections! Our conversations turned evening to night and we connected over work, career, challenges, travel and much more!

The day of the event arrived with lots of excitement & nerves. It sure was a grand setup and well managed by the tireless team from Devmio.

My session was titled “Keeping the Wheels of Continuous Testing in Motion“, and saw attendees from various countries and a variety of tech contexts! The session went well and had some great engagement from the attendees in form of questions and discussions and some nice feedback at the end.

Here is me meeting up with fellow speakers, catching the keynotes and networking with the delegates. Had some great conversations with my friends Simon Pearce, Martin Dulak, Nikhil Barthwal, and my fellow other female speaker at the event Almudena Vivanco !

It is insightful to hear from such varied personalities and humbling to be a part of such a world-class lineup of speakers! I am proud to be the only speaker to be invited from India, and one of 2 female speakers at the event!

Overall, this was a great experience. It not only gave me a chance to meet such wonderful people all under one roof, but also provided me the opportunity to travel to another amazing city- Berlin!

Thanking the event team Mirjam Kuhlmann, Robin Schoen and the entire DevOpsCon team!

This event will always hold a special place in my heart.

Cheers,

Nishi

I am speaking at DevOpsCon, Berlin

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

I am elated to share another speaking invitation that I am super excited and honored to receive! I will be speaking at DevOpsCon, Berlin – which will be a grand event hosted by S&S Media from June 17 – 20, 2024, at the Maritim ProArte Hotel. The event will include 4 full days of learning about the latest industry innovations with Power Workshops, Sessions and Keynotes with 40+ speakers from around the globe!

I am honored to be a part of such an esteemed speaker line up!

The event has learnings spread over many tracks such as –

The program is full of engaging topics and intriguing talks and keynotes. My talk is titled

“Keep the Wheels of Continuous Testing in Motion” – Here are the details of the session:

Description: “Continuous testing is the way toward continuous delivery. Software teams must strive for continuous improvement of their continuous testing strategy. Continuous delivery is necessary for agile development, and that cannot happen without having continuity in testing practicestoo. In a DevOps environment, teams can reduce their release times from months or years to weeks or days (or even hours!). By adopting the correct practices and embracing the spirit of continuous learning and improvement, we can help our testers to become agile champions. In this talk we will explore some tips to improve your continuous testing framework and help your DevOps succeed including: ensuring test automation is the best fit, leveraging automation benefits in all aspects, selecting the right tools, and creating the optimal pipeline.”

Here is the Registration Page for the event – Get your tickets now!

See ya there!

Nishi

Giving Mentorship is a service, to them, & to yourself – ‘Global Mentorship Program 2023-24’

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
― Plutarch

And that is how we took the mentorship experience that I was a pert of recently.
I was a part of AgilityToday‘s Global Mentorship Program 2023-24 organized by #WomenInAgileAndTech which concluded last week. It was a great experience, sharing my knowledge but also learning from so many others in unique ways.
I have been associated with the organizing community AgileVirgin in the past too and have always liked the zeal they put into everything they conduct. So, I decided to take up the role of a mentor in this program.

I was matched with a mentee by the program, which then kicked off a 4 week journey into the program.
It is always great to meet curious young minds like my mentee Nikita Priyadarshini, who is full of zeal, ideas, questions and enthusiasm!

We had some amazing conversations, chatted about her career aspirations, what she wanted to learn and then charted out a plan for our sessions.

The weeks flew by and we made great progress in every session. Nikita always had great questions, ideas, and results on every topic we talked about. I made sure to share some good resources, reads, book recommendations, online courses and articles to help further her learning.

Here is a gist of what we covered in our mentorship program- as summed up nicely by Nikita into a mindmap!

Thus concluded our Mentorship Program , and we had a closing call with the organizing team where we had a chance to meet other mentor-mentee pairs as well!

We have decided to continue to association, and I would love keep in touch with Nikita to see her growth and help her along the way.
Hoping to make an impact and leave a lasting mark on her budding career!

Grateful for the opportunity, and looking forward to many more coming my way in 2024!

Course Launch – “Agile Quality Quest: Mastering Testing in Agile”

Nishi Grover Garg9 Comments

The efforts spent over the past few months have materialized today with the launch of my course on the The Test Tribe platform! 🍀

I have carefully curated the contents for the latest practices in the industry, planned the flow of the course for basic to advanced learners and sprinkled practical examples, scenarios and anecdotes from my experience. 📋

We also have a #knowledgecheck at the end and you can earn a #certificate in Agile Testing at the end of the course. 🥉

If you are interested in learning about #agile #testing or planning to enhance your knowledge in these areas, checkout the course page for details. https://www.thetesttribe.com/courses/testing-in-agile/

As an Introductory Offer — Get a 25% Discount on the purchase if you apply my Discount Code:

NISHI25

(Limited Period Offer)

What a start for 2024!

Onwards and Upwards from here! 🚀

I am speaking at DevOpsCon Singapore 2023

Nishi Grover GargLeave a comment

I am super excited to announce that I will be a part of the esteemed lineup of speakers at this mega event DevOpsCon Singapore this year! DevOpsCon is a much coveted event in the industry and I am thrilled about this incredible opportunity.

This conference is not just about technology; it’s a meeting of minds, an exchange of ideas, and an opportunity to connect with the leaders and innovators in the DevOps community. I’m honored to be a part of this event and to contribute to the dialogue surrounding the future of our industry.
I will speak on Testing in the fast paced software delivery climate and some changes in mindset as well as culture required to achieve the smooth flow of continuous delivery.

It feels great to be a part of such an amazing speaker lineup, consisting of some great speakers from around the globe!

📆 Event Details

📍 DevOpsCon Singapore

🗓️ 11-14th Dec 2023

🔗 Check out the Program: [https://devopscon.io/singapore/program-singapore/]

What am I speaking about?

In the dynamic realm of software development, the race to market is ever-present, leaving no stage untouched, including software testing. Testers find themselves seeking priorities, collaboration, and transparency from external sources while reimagining processes, streamlining lightweight documentation, and carving their unique path in the testing world. Let’s come together to explore how we can plan, strategize, and conduct software testing that aligns with the fast pace of software delivery while upholding the quality standards demanded by the market.

In this invigorating talk, I will discuss ways to optimize software testing to match the rapid tempo of software delivery. By identifying antipatterns to avoid and key priorities in terms of processes, communication, collaboration, and automation, we will navigate the challenges of testing under the pressure of speed to market. Expect to discover strategies for adapting software test planning and strategy, reevaluating test prioritization, optimizing test processes, and creating lightweight documentation. Additionally, we’ll emphasize the crucial role of cross-functional communication and collaboration in Agile software delivery.

Here are the details of my talk on the Conference Website:

https://devopscon.io/continuous-delivery-automation/testing-for-speed-to-market/

This event is going be action-packed with 4 full days of sessions, workshops, networking and so much more! Check out the details on the website!

See ya there!

Cheers,

Nishi