BCS SIGiST Summer Conference 2026

Human-Centred Testing: People and Practices & the Future of the Profession

Date: Tuesday 7 July, 10:00am - 5:00pm, followed by a networking event.

Venue: BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, 25 Copthall Avenue, London, EC2R 7BP

This event will be held online and in-person. Register here!

Ticket Prices:

Remote - £15

In Person:

- BCS Member - £20
- Non-BCS Member - £30

Tickets are non–refundable.

Both conference streams will be streamed for remote ticket holders.

Everyone who attends the conference, including speakers, must support the SIGiST Code of Conduct

Conference Schedule

Time	Stream 1 - In person	Stream 2 - Hybrid
	Host: Mike Harris FBCS	Host: Andy Shaw
10:00	Joint Opening - Mike Harris FBCS
10:05	Jenna Charlton Topic: A Note From Your User	Cri Quentin Topic: Wired Differently: Testing Better
10:35	Break
10:45	Gomathi Ramlingam Topic: Who Tests the Agents?	Shajahan Pulikkal Topic: Agentic + Human-Centred Testing: Five Practical Ways We Scaled Quality Without Losing the Human Touch
11:15	Break
11:25	John Kurowski Topic: The Art of Getting It Wrong: How Organisations Learn and Grow	Michael Skolnik Topic: Inventing the Shipwreck: A technological risk framework for thinking about AI in software testing
11:55	Break
12:05	Udeme Jalekun Topic: From Support Tickets to Test Strategy: What Human Problems Teach Us About Quality	Gary Shannon Topic: Tech Comeback Lab: How I Help People Stand Out and Get Hired in Today’s Market
12:35	Close morning session
12:40	Lunch and networking
13:40	Host: Gomathi Ramalingam Welcome post Lunch: Mike Harris	Magda Rocha Topic: AI Writes. Humans Decide. Engineering Quality in an AI-Augmented Workflow
14:10	Break
14:40	Matteo de Giovanetti Topic: The Human Side of AI Testing: Why Your Best Automation Still Needs a Person Behind It	Louise Humpington Topic: Tested but to Whose Standard?
14:50	Break
15:00	Chris Ambler FBCS Topic: Elephants, Ethics, and Edge Cases: Why Psychology Is Now a Core Skill for AI Testers	Suman Bala and Melissa Fisher Topic: Bridging the gap: How Testers and Developers win together
15:30	Break
15:40	Qambar Raza Topic: The Human Side of AI Testing: Why Your Best Automation Still Needs a Person Behind It	Sangeetha Kodam Topic: From Silent Tester to Quality Advocate: How Communication Transformed My Testing Career
16:10	Break
16:20	Helen Whitaker Topic: Distance Doesn’t Mean Disconnection: Leading Distributed Testing Teams	Niyi Ibironke Topic: Rehumanising Quality: The QA Role as Orchestrator in AI-Accelerated Testing
16:50	Joint closing of the conference and thank yous! - Mike Harris FBCS
17:00	Networking event