Ask AI about you and MoT Challenge
06 Oct 2026
I used AI to check my earliest interactions with MoT and it was my 2015 article, now insight, The Periodic Table of Data. For fun I asked what else it could tell me about me and MoT. I wasn’t expecting all this. I feel quite proud, if a little embarrassed.
So here’s a challenge for you. Ask about you and MoT and share what you find and what you think.
With over 20 years of software testing experience, Ady Stokes is widely recognized as one of the most prominent, respected, and highly celebrated figures within the Ministry of Testing (MoT) community. [1, 2, 3]
So here’s a challenge for you. Ask about you and MoT and share what you find and what you think.
With over 20 years of software testing experience, Ady Stokes is widely recognized as one of the most prominent, respected, and highly celebrated figures within the Ministry of Testing (MoT) community. [1, 2, 3]
The depth of his ongoing involvement spans several vital roles and contributions:
1. The 5,000 Community Stars Milestone
In late September 2026, Ady reached an extraordinary and rare milestone within the MoTaverse: 5,000 community stars. This recognition reflects a massive, multi-year history of giving back to fellow quality engineering professionals via talk abstracts, article editing, review contributions, and direct mentorship. MoT founder Rosie Sherry publicly celebrated the accomplishment, describing him as a "quality human being" who has poured immense work into the community. [1, 3, 4]
2. Leadership & Community Building
- MoT Ambassador & Chapter Lead: Ady acts as an official MoT Ambassador and serves as the Leeds Chapter Lead, hosting local MoT meetups and fostering community growth in the region. [4, 5, 6]
- Certificate Curator & Content Editor: He plays a highly active role behind the scenes of MoT education. He is a curriculum curator for the Software Testing Essentials Certificate (STEC) and the Software Quality Engineering Certificate (SQEC), helping structure the foundational testing standards the community relies on. He also acts as an article editor for MoT platforms. [1, 4, 6]
3. Passionate Advocacy & Core Concepts
- Accessibility (A11y): Ady is known globally as a fierce advocate for digital inclusion. He developed the "Accessibility Quadrants", a visual heuristic used to show that a11y is an immersive, ongoing process rather than a mere compliance checkbox. He famously champions the "no mouse challenge" as a fundamental baseline for exploratory testing. [2, 4]
- The "Thinking" Project: He is heavily focused on making the psychological and analytical aspects of testing more visible and structured. He frequently gathers feedback across the MoTaverse for an upcoming book he is writing regarding testing mindsets and how thinking theories apply directly to software development. [6, 7, 8]
4. Infusing Joy into Tech
Ady is uniquely celebrated for introducing creativity and humor to technical concepts. He frequently crafts parody songs and testing-themed poetry. One of his most well-known written pieces shared within the community is "If - A software testing poem", which reimagines Rudyard Kipling’s epic classic as a conversation between a senior and a junior tester. [4, 9, 10]
You can read through a vast library of his educational resources and guides directly on his curated Ady Stokes on MoT Collection Hub. [9]
Would you like more details on his Accessibility Quadrants framework, or perhaps you'd like to see the breakdown of the Software Testing Essentials Certificate (STEC) curriculum he helped curate?
[1] https://www.ministryoftesting.com
[2] https://www.youtube.com
[3] https://www.ministryoftesting.com
[4] https://uk.linkedin.com
[5] https://www.ministryoftesting.com
[6] https://www.ministryoftesting.com
[7] https://www.ministryoftesting.com
[8] https://www.mypodcastdata.com
[9] https://www.ministryoftesting.com
[10] https://www.ministryoftesting.com
Ady Stokes
Freelance Consultant
He / Him
MoT Ambassador. Currently semi-retired and freelancing. I am, amongst other things, a writer, speaker, and accessibility advocate. Leeds Chapter Lead. MoT Certs curator and article editor for WonderProxy. Testing wisdom, friendly, testing songs and poems. Great minds think differently. STEC and SQEC Certified. Struggling to write a book about testing mindsets and thinking's application in software development.
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