My Experience With HOTS For Smart QA

In this year [2025] apart from attending the meetups, I joined two programs. One is HyBIST and the other is HOTS.  These two programs helped me to pause and rethink on certain topics, my practices and approaching. 

• HyBIST -- Hypothesis-Based Immersive Session Testing
• HOTS for Smart QA -- Higher Order Thinking Skills

In this blog post, I'm sharing my experience with HOTS.  

I start by expressing my gratitude to Thiruvengadam Ashok and Keshava Murthy.  The efforts and time these two are investing to consistently update and build the HOTS has to be recognized and appreciated.

I was part of HOTS 5.  It is the fifth edition of this program with 30 topics.  We had around 40 hours of discussions.  This edition had 18 sessions.

Pic: On the last day of HOTS 5 Cohort Session

HOTS, Engineering and Thinking

In my opinion, HOTS is not just confined to software test engineers though the program title is HOTS for Smart QA.

• It is to anyone in the discipline of Software Engineering.  
• A software test engineer will have an edge as one can find at least one more test engineer in HOTS.

HOTS is a program where one is put to varying thinking orders and dimensions from different perspectives. 

• The topics and discussion in HOTS starts from the why the need of a software to what it takes to consistently deliver value from deployed software.

In a way, it is a kind of rewriting one's own experience and lessons learned from others experience.  

• On rewriting it, how will one go ahead to engineer the solution in her or his work -- is a gist of HOTS outcome.  

When one gets this gist, one will realize, the software engineering is not just coupled to programming, testing, DevOps and business.  

• Instead, it is social engineering which involves the awareness and skills of different disciplines.  
• I learn, it takes years of practice to become aware of this.
• By being part of the HOTS discussion, it opens up one to this awareness in the early days of one's career.

Programming, testing, product engineering, orchestration and business's service delivery is not just technology and code.  It is a  social engineering which demands skills beyond programming and testing is echoed implicitly after each cohort sessions.  

Hosts and HOTS

Ashok and Keshav are giving their time for HOTS outside of their work-life and family life.

• It is not easy, to do this, as a routine for the scheduled program as HOTS.  
• These two cannot bunk a class in HOTS.  
• Hope you get the picture of how committed this program is!

The hosts are punctual to the classes.  

• Keshav shares the information and any updates on time in the messaging group, so that, the attendees are aware of the topics and can prepare for it.  
• Ashok ensures to remind the attendees about the upcoming class on the previous day of the class.  

Apart from this, these two take care of administrative tasks to run the classes smoothly.  

• I did not have any trouble or problem during the online classes and in accessing the resources of HOTS.

The hosts are available and will respond in the messaging group for the queries posted.  

• I have seen, the hosts picking up the questions which were posted in the messaging group and discussing it in the class.  
• The hosts do not ignore; they make sure we get the clarity and interpretations with perspectives on the questions.

I have seen the attendees gently not agreeing to certain perspective in the discussions.  

• And, the hosts welcome it and appreciate it.  
• I did not see anyone being judged or labeled in the HOTS.  
• All are treated and considered equal.  
• We are given the opportunities to share, and we are asked to pick the opportunity to share our thoughts.  
• So well and effectively the HOTS classes are moderated and regulated by the two hosts.

On top of this, the experiences of Ashok and Keshav in the industry, engineering, software testing and engineering, and life bring vivid richness to the HOTS.

My Hands-On Experience of HOTS

• I was not aware of the word 'cohort'.  I got to know it from the HOTS.
• Each session is a cohort; I have no second thought in it.
• The attendees in HOTS come from different
• Organizations, roles, backgrounds, understandings, practices, thought process, problem-solving approaches, perspectives, experiences and awareness.
• I prepared for each cohort sessions.
• I read, analyzed and interpreted the topics and its details.
• I made my points and noted the questions to share.
• This gave me a space to interpret each peers thoughts and their points.
• I had my take back from each peers irrespective of their experiences and roles.
• I had take backs from each sessions. 
• I don't remember a session where I sat idle.  
• I was engaged completely in each sessions.
• Each sessions have put me into reflection, retrospective, regression, relaxing, critical and lateral analysis modes.
• I did not bunk any cohort sessions.  I made sure, I attended each sessions.
• When I was late by 15 minutes to a couple of sessions, I made sure to know what was discussed.
• It is that fresh each sessions are and the perspectives from it!
• There is no right or wrong in any thing shared -- this was told by hosts to all of us.
• It is how we are placed in the context makes it close or not close to what looks the solution or acceptable reasoning.
• We peers correlated and connected the different perspectives and learned from it.
• The disagreeing to anyone's thought happens professionally and it will be acknowledged.
• I observed, the disagreeing or agreeing was to the thought and not to a person. This is important to notice here!
• Each attendees welcomed the perspectives and awareness of other peers in the cohort.
• When I worked on the nudges and reflection questions,
• It helped me to recall my works.
• That way, it helped me to eliminate what I had to and start with a different mindset for today's needs.
• I could go deep into each of these exercises and think critically, or, figure out what I can do differently to solve the same problem.
• I also made use of HOTS 5 to exercise and improvise my communication skills.
• It helped me a lot here!
• These below fundamental skills of all disciplines were exercised in each sessions.
• Questioning, Interpreting, Hypothesis, Reasoning, Logical Analysis, Pattern Recognition, Communication and Presentation.
• Every area of Software Engineering was touched and discussed.
• For example, 
• How critical is the time analysis and drawing the analogy of Big O notations in software engineering.
• There is no randomness thought it has the word Random
• There is a definite defined and accepted boundaries in the said random.
• An example of Random Forest algorithm and how it works.
• And more such topics
• The hosts did not rush to complete the topics of the week.
• Instead, the hosts ensured, there was a value oriented discussion on each topic.
• At times, the cohort discussed just one topic for 2 hours.
• It was not an easy emotion for me on the last day of HOTS 5.
• I miss the Tuesday discussions which started sharp at 8:30 PM IST.
• My key take back from the HOTS 5 are,
• The perspectives each peer shared in how they attempted to understand the problem before solving it.
• The representation of tests in the layers to ease the communication.

I thank with gratitude to Ashok, Keshav and all other peers of HOTS 5.  Your time, presence and interpretation has helped me a lot!  I'm building upon it.

References:

1. https://smartqa.community/
2. https://smartqa.community/hots/
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashokstag
4. https://linkedin.com/in/keshava-murthy-k-n-a623034

STeP-IN Summit 2025 and My Experience

 

I start this blog post by expressing my gratitude.  My gratitude to STeP-IN and Vinay Baid.  I attended STeP-IN's 22nd International Conference on Software Testing, on 19th September 2025. 

This blog post is about my experience with STeP-IN Summit 2025.

I'm not paid or asked to write this.  I'm writing to document my experience and observations with STeP-IN Summit 2025.

The Conferences and Me

STeP-IN Summit 2008 is my first testing conference.

Since then, I'm seeing how the conferences around Software Testing & Engineering is shaping and continuing.  Together with the conferences and STeP-IN Summit, I'm shaping and continuing to grow.

For me, the conference[s] look as a timeline and the tree.

• It reflects the past, present and talks about tomorrow.
• In that, STeP-IN Summit shows the landscape of thoughts and drifts around the software testing practice for the last two decades.

I see the series of changes, transformations and trajectories in Software Testing as an industry.  I see the changes in conferences as well.

One of the conferences which is consistently attempting to capture it and get its gist to the test engineers is STeP-IN Summit.  Further, it emphasis on the practice of software testing.

Conference and Take Back

What do you take back from the conference?

Whatever you took back is what you tried to see.

If you want to experience and know the conference and your craft, you should walk in between the attendees in the conference, listen to them, and talk to them.

• You will know what's happening -- inside and outside.
• Inside and outside of what is said in the conference.
• Inside and outside of the one who is attending the conference.
• Inside and outside of you!

If you go to conference and meetup just to listen to the speakers and panel, may be you will not know about your craft, industry and what's happening.  

It is the attendees who carry the torch light. Talk to them.  Know what they are doing, why and how.  Network!

The speakers, panel, vendors booth and sponsors they attempt to show the drift, by calling it theme sometimes.  Is the drift being spoken is the actual drift? This is, uncertain.  Talk to the attendees.

To see the drift with current state, you need to find the torch light.

Find your torch light in your upcoming conferences and meetups.  Catch the drift and surf the waves.

I and STeP-IN Summit 2025

I thank the organizers and Vinay Baid for inviting me to STeP-IN Summit 2025.

This was my in-person software testing conference after 6 years.

I started at 6:30 AM to conference.

• I reached on time and collected my tag.
• The conference's reception was well organized.
• I moved to the conference hall; I see, it is full. I stood at the back.
• The conference's lamp lightened up and got a kick start!

I met my seniors in the conference.  They spotted me and gave a few minutes of their time to me.  I'm happy and grateful.  I see, people value for what you are and what you share.

I listened to talks and panel discussion.

Also, I was moving in between the people outside the hall and in the hall.

• I introduced myself and conversed on multiple subjects.
• I went to each booths outside the hall and learned what they are offering.
• I looked for TestAutothon participants and conversed about the problem statements, and how did they approach their solution to it.

Talks and Distance

After the conference, I took BMTC bus [Bengaluru city's public transport] back to home. It is a long way to home.  These talks replayed in my mind as I traveled the distance to home.

1.  Rahul Verma's Man, Machine & Mischief: How I Co-Wrote a Testing Satire with GenAI

• I see, this talk is a journey shared.

• The journey which shares about self, writing, learning, perspectives, technology, GenAI, co-authoring, book, raising the bar each time, not giving up, design, book publishing, emotions, and testing.  There should be more to it; I could see these.
• What I recalled from this talk is,
• His journey of writing book - The Last Book On Testing.
• How he used the GenAI, while learning how to use it better each time.
• Challenging the ChatGPT models and its responses.
• Not just functional. Beyond functional responses.
• Taking the help of ChatGPT models to co-author.
• Testing the responses and fine tuning the prompts by expressing the personalities.
• Not just the persona; it is personalities.
• He engineered the prompts.
• How he identified the gaps in this tech and learning how to use the GenAI.
• This talk helped me to learn the hindsight behind the book "The Last Book On Testing"
• Per my understanding, Rahul has tested and testing the idea of GenAI.
• In this practice, he has experimented with ChatGPT models to understand the internals and externals of GenAI ecosystem.
• He experimented using ChatGPT models to co-author his book
• Wow!

Meeting Rahul in-person after years is happiness!

Though, I did not converse about testing, automation, engineering, and GenAI, I spoke to him.

I'm happy and surprised to reflect that we both can talk non-tech and non-testing.  But, we understand and know testing is elemental and has its presence in each systems not just the software systems.

2.  Raveendra Chakrakodi's Staying Ahead of GenAI Humanoids

You do not forget some people to whom you listened and spoke in conferences and meetups.  JP is one such person to me.  Now, Raveendra is another such person.

• I will remember this talk of Raveendra Chakrakodi for years.
• It was a 15 minutes talk which reached almost everyone I hope.
• It requires courage to do such talks and share with the audience.
• The audience could connect and feel the connection to this talk.
• He said, he manifested to do this talk day before the conference.
• And it happened!
• The another talk that I remember for years is from Jayapradeep Jiothis [JP].
• This is also a talk in a STeP-IN Summit 2019.
• The audience got up from chair and gave their claps to JP's.
• I will remember this talk of JP for all time.
• These two talks are not completely tech.
• But, these talks are around the life of the people in the software engineering.
• I recalled,
• Jayapradeep's talk as I traveled back to home.
• And, I conversed with the thoughts shared by Raveendra.

3.  Rajarajeswari Rangasamy's Autonomous Testing: The Next Frontier in Quality Engineering

• What struck to me and probably to all others is her body language and voice modeling, when she started.
• I recalled,
• Her body language, short punches, eye contact, and stage presence
• And, Wagile :)
• Waterfall + Agile

When I come across her upcoming talks, I will listen to it.

4.  Ramit Manohar Kaul's Metaphors and Audience Engineering

Ramit co-hosted the summit.  

He conversed with audience.  I have hosted the conferences and meetups.  So I say confidently, he conversed with audience.  He made it look so easy while it is not.

I want to call his hosting as -- Audience Engineering and not Audience Engaging.  As a host, he just did not converse; he shared insights.  This cannot be experienced in all conferences and meetups.

He gave the metaphors to the audience.

• The metaphors of daily life to relate with the tech stacks around the Transformers and GenAI ecosystems. 
• This was a bang, to me!
• I could easily recall and connect to these metaphors and visualize the ecosystem of Transformers and GenAI.
• I wish he gives a talk with the metaphors and it gets recorded, and will be on social media.  I have requested him for this. :)

He engineered the attention of the audience with his wits, humor, messages and insights.  I admire this personality of Ramit too.

I recalled those metaphors and our conversations.

I met Ramit after years.

• I see, we both see the journeys, time and transformation, and embraced each other.
• I feel good!

Conversation with Shrinivas Kulkarni

I met Shrini, my senior.  I got to know there is something called blog by reading his blog in 2007.

I could ask what all I had in my mind at that point in time.

• He shared and explained his perspectives and thoughts on career, roles, industry, layoffs, job, and life.
• I'm happy that I could talk about this with him.

I recalled the insights he shared and the examples he gave, especially the one of manager mindset and individual contributor or engineer mindset.  This example helped me to simply my thoughts around the job roles.

Found The Preface For Book - The Last Book On Testing

When Rahul announced he is authoring a book, I saw the book title having the word "testing".  I pinged him saying, I will be happy to review his book and it is a privilege and honor for me to do so.

Later, reading the teaser he posted for the book, I realized, I could not have reviewed it.  Today, I'm not equipped and skilled to do so.

When he published the book, I read the sample on Amazon Kindle.  I said to myself -- I'm not yet ready to read this book!  

But, how and when to be ready?  I had no answer nor clue to it.  Hence, I did not buy one.  I did not want to buy the book and keep it untouched.

The talk of Rahul in STeP-IN Summit 2025 helped me to see the book.  If I had not listened to this talk of him, I would have said myself -- I'm not yet ready to read this book!

Each book has a preface.  I see, this talk of him is an excellent preface to the book.

• An excellent preface to tell about,
• The book -- The Last Book On Testing,
• GenAI, ChatGPT models,
• Conversation with models, and
• Rahul Verma's experiment in book writing using ChatGPT models and the experiences.

I understand, if one do not listen to this talk, one might not get the author's intent and its pitch voice.  

Is that fair?

• When co-authoring a book together with an assistance of a software technology, it is necessity.
• Why?
• That's how you will see the inner side of the author and what did he do with the technology.  How? Why?

And, for someone who is peeling the layers of GenAI and Transformers in her or his practice,

• The narration of this book will be intriguing.
• Because, it is the reviewed and fine tuned versions of dialogues,
• Between, 
• The probing engineered prompts of the author, and, 
• The responses [to the prompts] from the Transformers and its attention.

I could see the dots now.  I saw, maybe a 1% of what Rahul saw and he is seeing.  

This is enough for me to find other dots and connect for reading the book.  Now, I have the context to read the satire -- The Last Book On Testing.  I'm ready!

I moved to the counter and bought one with a discount.  I wanted to pay for the book, buy, and read it.  That is one of the ways I can show my respect to the book's author.

But, Rahul had said, he will give me one copy of his book.  His humbleness!  Thanks, Rahul. :)

I collected it from him and he signed it for me.  Here, you see it.

Picture: The book that I got from Rahul Verma. :)

This, the one I bought, I got it signed it as well.  I will be gifting to a test engineer who deserves it.  I am yet to find one, now. 

Picture: The book that I bought and got it signed to gift.

In short, this talk of Rahul Verma is an excellent preface to the book and for his experiences of co-authoring together with GenAI technology.  

I wish, this talk's video recording will be published on the social media.

When I get the essence of the book and can consume its perspectives, I will share my experience as a blog post.

Ah! I forgot to say this.  As I listened to Rahul's talk, I got an idea on how to see this book, read this book, and reflect.  I shared the same with him.  And, he did say one of the reader and reviewer did that.

To summarize,

• Thanks STeP-IN and Vinay Baid.
• Gratitude!
• Thanks Rahul, Ramit, Shrini, Vipul
• Thanks to my seniors who gave me their few minutes and a pat.
• Thanks to attendees who gave me their time as I moved between them and conversed.
• Thanks Raveendra Chakrakodi for standing up and speaking your soul.
• I will be travelling distance with the dots I have collected [and collecting] in STeP-IN Summit 2025.
• I got a much needed preface to read the book -- The Last Book On Testing
• One request that I have for STeP-IN is to publish the videos of talks.
• This is a long standing request. :)