CAST 2025 Workshops / Tutorials - Day 3
8:00 AM - 8:55 AM - Breakfast (Main Town Hall)
8:55 - 9AM AM: Begin Morning Workshops / Tutorials
9:00 - 12:30 AM: Morning Tutorials (3.5 Hours)
Workshop 1: Full Day
Mastering Tool Assisted Testing – A Hands on Tutorial for Testers
Tutorial Type: Experiential - Automation
Instructors
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Paul Holland |
Kim Filiatrault |
Tutorial Overview
In this comprehensive tutorial, participants will embark on a journey to master Tool Assisted Testing (TAT), an approach that combines exploratory testing and automation to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the tester. The tutorial begins with an overview of TAT, addressing common challenges in traditional testing such as time consuming, repetitive processes and excessive automation. The session includes hands-on exercises to build experience and gather working examples that will be immediately applicable at work for most attendees.
To apply the concepts of TAT, the tutorial will teach the basics of WebUI automation, including XPath usage, CSS selectors, and identifying troublesome elements. Through practical exercises, participants will automate filling in a basic form and understand the interaction between the tool and the System Under Test. The session also introduces the “Execute Manual Step” keyword. This keyword can stop the automated script and allow human interaction and assessment, bridging the gap between manual testing and fully automated scripts.
Participants will then advance into the strategic aspects of TAT, learning to effectively combine the strengths of human testers and automation tools. They will formulate criteria for deciding what to automate and apply these strategies in another hands-on exercise. This approach should help participants quickly integrate TAT into their daily workflows and tests.
The tutorial concludes with a reflection session, where participants will review key concepts and share insights on applying TAT once they return to work. This part will reinforce learning goals and address impediments that might hinder the adoption of TAT.
Join us for this engaging and practical tutorial to elevate your testing skills and embrace a more thoughtful approach to using automation in testing.
Workshop 2: Half Day
Applying Ethical Methodologies to Quality & Testing Disciplines
Tutorial Type: Experimental - AI
Workshop 3: Half Day
Testing AI Systems & Testing w/ AI
Tutorial Type: Experiential - AI
Instructor
Hung Nguyen
Tutorial Overview
Hung Q. Nguyen brings nearly four decades of software testing, engineering, and test automation expertise to the emerging field of AI quality assurance. As Founder and former-CEO of LogiGear Corporation, he has navigated the company in building test automation technologies and products, adapting traditional QA methodologies through multiple waves of transformation, and most recently, the AI transformation to meet the unique challenges of AI systems.
With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Hung's career spans roles at technology giants including Electronic Arts, Palm Computing, and 3Com before founding LogiGear in 1994. Under his leadership, LogiGear evolved from a testing services company into a global enterprise, with delivery centers across the globe including the US HQ, the UK, Japan and Vietnam, delivering innovative QA solutions across traditional and AI software environments. Notably, he brought software testing, test automation and AI quality engineering to Vietnam, building what became the largest independent software testing company in the country.
Hung is widely known for authoring the industry-defining bestseller "Testing Computer Software" (Wiley), along with "Testing Applications on the Web" (1st and 2nd editions, Wiley) and "Global Software Test Automation" (HappyAbout). His latest focus combines this traditional testing expertise with cutting-edge approaches to AI quality assurance. A frequent keynote speaker at industry events and contributor to industry publications, Hung consistently advances the field through knowledge sharing and innovation.
Throughout his career, Hung has developed innovative testing methodologies and tools. As an expert in Action Based Testing practice, Hung co-authored and designed TestArchitect (www.testarchitect.com), a test automation acceleration platform focused on optimizing testing efficiency through practical automation solutions that emphasize scalability, speed, coverage, and cost advantages through global resource utilization.
His leadership philosophy centers on build-to-last entrepreneurship, innovation-driven and lean practices, comprehensive software development, and user-driven quality. Hung brings strong experience in UX design, software testing, test automation technologies, and product and business management.
As a passionate educator, Hung has designed testing curricula for LogiGear University, UC Berkeley Extension, UC Santa Cruz Extension, and numerous international institutions in both the US and Vietnam. He co-founded and is a lifetime member of the Association for Software Testing (AST) where he served as founding president, and he established the Vietnam International Software Testing and Automation Conference (VISTACON). Hung continues to advocate for rigorous, systematic approaches to ensuring AI quality.
Hung has been serving on the Board of Advisors for Hue University in Vietnam, where he leverages his industry expertise to contribute to societal, economic, and educational growth within the country. This role extends his commitment to advancing technology education globally. Beyond his professional pursuits, Hung is an avid jazz musician.
Workshop 4: Half Day
Add Some Accessibility to Your Day
Tutorial Type: Experiential - Accessibility / Automation
12:00- 1:20 PM: Lunch
1:30 - 5 PM: Afternoon Workshops (3.5 Hours)
Workshop 1: Full Day
Mastering Tool Assisted Testing – A Hands on Tutorial for Testers (Session 2)
Tutorial Type: Experiential - Automation
Instructors
|
|
Paul Holland |
Kim Filiatrault |
Tutorial Overview
In this comprehensive tutorial, participants will embark on a journey to master Tool Assisted Testing (TAT), an approach that combines exploratory testing and automation to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the tester. The tutorial begins with an overview of TAT, addressing common challenges in traditional testing such as time consuming, repetitive processes and excessive automation. The session includes hands-on exercises to build experience and gather working examples that will be immediately applicable at work for most attendees.
To apply the concepts of TAT, the tutorial will teach the basics of WebUI automation, including XPath usage, CSS selectors, and identifying troublesome elements. Through practical exercises, participants will automate filling in a basic form and understand the interaction between the tool and the System Under Test. The session also introduces the “Execute Manual Step” keyword. This keyword can stop the automated script and allow human interaction and assessment, bridging the gap between manual testing and fully automated scripts.
Participants will then advance into the strategic aspects of TAT, learning to effectively combine the strengths of human testers and automation tools. They will formulate criteria for deciding what to automate and apply these strategies in another hands-on exercise. This approach should help participants quickly integrate TAT into their daily workflows and tests.
The tutorial concludes with a reflection session, where participants will review key concepts and share insights on applying TAT once they return to work. This part will reinforce learning goals and address impediments that might hinder the adoption of TAT.
Join us for this engaging and practical tutorial to elevate your testing skills and embrace a more thoughtful approach to using automation in testing.
Workshop 5: Half Day
Improv(e) Your Testing!
Tutorial Type: Experiential - Testing Strategy / Critical Thinking
Instructor
Damian Synadinos
Tutorial Overview
Improvisational comedy—sometimes called improv—is a form of theater in which the performance is created in the moment. Successful improv involves learning and using a variety of skills and techniques which allow performers to quickly adapt to a constantly changing environment and new information. Now reread the previous sentence, but replace the word improv with testing.
In many ways, improv is a great analogy for testing. As both an experienced improviser and tester, Damian Synadinos presents some of the many similarities between improv and testing. Each improv tip and trick is thoroughly described and demonstrated with help from the audience. Damian then explains and shows how the very same idea can be applied in a testing context. Using creative metaphors and critical analysis, old ideas about testing are reframed in novel and notable ways.
Whether novice or experienced, you are sure to laugh, learn, and leave with ways to help improv(e) your testing!
Workshop 6: Half Day
Talking About Coverage: Breadth, Depth, and Prioritization
Tutorial Type: Experiential - Testing Strategy
Instructors
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Eric Proegler |
Stephanie Dukes |
Tutorial Overview
In this workshop, we will discuss different approaches for modeling test coverage across a product, and then practice techniques in mapping coverage for a real product. We will then use these models to plan test coverage, responding to different types of projects and inputs to exercise our models and understanding.
We will learn together to talk about and plan test coverage that considers context and addresses immediate risks to a project. We’ll consider our choices about coverage as tradeoffs, balancing business drivers, technical risks, time, existing test automation, change, and tacit experience.
The time you have to test is always limited, which means you can’t test (and cover) everything. Tough choices have to be made. In this workshop, can you spend your coverage budget profitably, balancing regression, exploration, and investments in documentation and automation? We’ll consider choices like this to help us think about how we can prioritize our time and effort.
Learning Objectives: Practical ways to model and depict coverage Terminology and practice for discussing coverage and tradeoffs around coverage Coverage as a budget - how can a limited resource be spent wisely?
Key Takeaways
- New tools for discussing risk with your stakeholders
- Examples of inputs you might use to design test coverage
- Experience in and vocabulary for talking about coverage tradeoffs
- Facilitated discussion about coverage and the ideas unearthed during the workshop
Workshop 7: Half Day
Implementing Test Automation Framework w/ Java
Tutorial Type: Experiential - Test Automation w/ Java
Instructor
Tutorial Overview
In the realm of software development, the challenge of maintaining high-quality standards while meeting tight deadlines is ever-present. GenAI enabling developers to produce code and potentially even more defects in shorter time clearly calls for more rapid test automation development. One of the most complex and time consuming activities is designing and building an effective test automation framework.
Péter will provide some theoretical background, then the attendees will implement a UI test automation framework in Java. One of the key aspects covered in this tutorial is proper architecture design, following test automation specific approaches that are also outlined in the latest ISTQB Test Automation Engineering syllabus, such as the Tri-Layer Testing Architecture, Page Object Pattern or the Flow Model Pattern. The other key aspect is learning through simple exercises, with a step-by-step approach. Moreover, Péter will demonstrate some tips and tricks on how to leverage GenAI in decreasing time spent on repetitive framework development and test case automation tasks.
Through these hands-on exercises, attendees will learn to easily and quickly craft a scalable, maintainable, and efficient test automation framework, leveraging the power of Java and GenAI.