At the core of our thesis is that innovation happens when people come together to share ideas. Our commitment is to create a space to enable both you and our software testing industry to thrive. As part of this, we need to get smarter with contributions from the community.
MoT’s Continuous Call for Contributions (CCC) is a step in this direction.
The what and why behind Continuous Call for Contributions
A lot is going on at Ministry of Testing. Conference wise we run TestBash. Monthly gatherings with The Testing Planet. Publishing of articles and Testing Trends. We’re forever evolving and tweaking what we do, yet the way to submit to contribute has been inefficient, both for you and us.
We know we can do better and in a way that recognises the many interactions and moving parts at MoT.
We get that it’s hard to keep up with everything. We also believe it is not your job to understand all the moving parts. That is our job. As a result, a big part of CCC is for us to do the work of matching your ideas to how we believe we feel it has the best impact for the community.
In the past, TestBash conference talks were often rejected not because they were bad ideas, but more for a multitude of other reasons. It could be duplication of content, the topic not being quite right for this one event, or perhaps we felt it would be better off delivered in a different type of format. It doesn’t feel right to discard perfectly good ideas.
With the Continuous Call for Contributions, our goal is to simplify the submission process. There is one simple form where you can multi-select what you are open to being considered for. As a team at MoT, we will then review submissions, give feedback or send invites on a regular cadence.
We understand that many people will default to wanting to do talks at TestBash, but we also believe that there can be opportunities to contribute in smaller ways to build up your confidence. The advantage of smaller contributions is that they will help us establish a relationship with you to help us spot the sparks that you have to offer further down the line.
For example, a 99-second talk, an article or a conversation could be a great way to contribute and develop your ideas into a more refined talk on the big TestBash stage. An existing relationship with TeamMoT also makes it much easier for us to make a decision on TestBash talk acceptances.
How to submit to Continuous Call for Contributions?
- Go to our Contribute page and submit.
- There is no closing date!
- The contribution details can be refined after submission, communicating the core idea is more important than a perfectly written submission.
- You will be able to view the status of your submission in MyMoT.
- We will put out regular reminders for themes or specific events we may be looking for
- Submissions may “sit” in a waiting position for a period of time to give us time to review and find the perfect matching opportunity
- We encourage you to submit for what excites you, your submissions may well influence future themes that we choose.
- No experience is necessary. New and diverse voices are very much welcome (and needed)
The CCC is an iterative process, we’re a small team trying to do big things quickly, please do send us feedback, ideas and bugs!
Thanks for reading and we hope to see your contribution soon!
