hello!
we would like to organize our first TestBash in Paris, do you have tips or resources to prepare it?
we have no experience in it but we really think it would be great to begin such a format in France, where there is very few testing conferences. Something tiny would be cool for the first event, 1 day course + 1 day conferences/workshops maybe.
for example, what is the starting point? find sponsors? find a date and a place? find speakers?
2 Likes
Hi Nicolas 
Have you spoken to @friendlytester or @rosie about this yet? The first step in organising a TestBash is to get in touch with them 
There’s a whole document they have and a Trello board of guidance within Ministry of Testing which is really helpful! I wrote a blog about Organising a TinyTestBash for Ministry of Testing too.
Hope this helps,
Heather
4 Likes
Great blog post Heather - I think Wales needs a TestBash!
1 Like
thank you Heather for the answer and the link.
I had a discussion on Slack with Richard Bradshaw, he told me that MoT is not focused for now on creating new TestBashes, so maybe it will be possible but in 2019.
he said that we should focus on growing our MoT community in Paris, which is a good first target indeed.
So, maybe we will reactivate the topic in one year…
2 Likes
Hi @nitche , you could always (if you havent already) start up a test meetup using something like meetup.com to build up a little community or even run your own event - non TestBash?
I organise a dev meetup as well as a yearly dev conference (SwanseaCon.co.uk) by myself so have a bit of experience in this area. I would be happy to provide any help or happy to just have a chat if you have any questions in setting something up. You’d be amazed what you can do with zero cash to start and a bit of drive
3 Likes
Nicholas,
“maybe we will reactivate the topic in one year” - use that year to get to other test conferences and meetups to get some idea of the sort of events you would want at your TestBash Paris/test conference. Talk to your likely attendees to see what they might want. Think about what events/features you might have that would make a Paris test conference different to other similar events. And think about which speakers have particularly impressed you and whether they’d be available for your projected dates.
Years of attending a range of different conferences and events have also brought home to me the importance of the organisational aspects of any conference. Consider your venue - is it easy to get to? Is it accessible? Do you have any wider aims for your event, in terms of encouraging people who would not normally come to conferences to come? Do you want to especially encourage diversity? If you are providing food, can you cater for different dietary needs? Do you want to encourage gender equality? If so, will the conference offer a safe space for all attendees, not only in terms of the conference events but also in terms of the venue and its location?
Viv is right about being able to achieve a lot with very few resources, but some sponsorship may well provide helpful funds. Money talks! A year gives you the opportunity to talk to potential sponsors and bring them onside. If you already have meetups, invite them along to see what you do. Think a bit outside the box - our local meetup team are sponsored by a recruitment agency who want to understand the skills sets that testers have.
One of the things that is useful to have money to spend on is design and marketing. TestBash is, in part, successful because it has good branding; in turn, good branding doesn’t happen just by accident. Unless you know someone who is a good graphic designer, poor presentation can undermine all the hard work you put in.
3 Likes
Hi @nitche,
Have you talked with Stéphane Colson or Francois le Notre from Lyon? They’ve been cultivating a community of testers in Lyon for some years already. As I understood they’ve also got good contacts in the MixIT conference. On top of that, they both are really helpful and enthusiastic guys. Definitely reach out if you haven’t already.
The French will most likely go about meetups, communities and conferences differently than they do in the UK of Belgium. So they might have some pointers for you.
It’s not easy to grow a community and I probably wouldn’t advise on organising a TestBash without having a good basis to start from. Although… Paris is pretty big and beautiful. It’d be a very nice location to get to.
Good luck! If you get to organising one: sign me up! 
1 Like
French testing community is tiny, so, yes, we are already connected with @nitche and @desby.stephanie
There’s definitely room for a testbash (tiny or not) in France.
Thanks for the ping @berenvd we’ll see what we can do with MoT Paris in the coming months/years…
Thank you all for your feedback, it is very useful.
@robertday going to testing conferences is not possible at the moment, because they are all outside France. I went last year to Agile Testing Days and it was an amazing experience.
But yes, we will try to grow our local community first and look at what are their needs.
and if any one of you want to come to Paris to make a presentation at our meetup (ping @berenvd), you will be very welcome!
1 Like