Hippo proudly sponsored the inaugural MoT London Chapter meetup (formerly known as the Ministry of Testing London meetup). Hosted at Ramen Space in East London, this sold-out event brought together a passionate group of professionals dedicated to software and quality. It was fantastic to see the return of in-person events, with attendees traveling considerable distances to participate in an evening filled with puzzles, prizes, and engaging discussions.
I’ve pulled together some of my reflections and takeaways from the event below. All event photography was beautifully captured by Ollie Denton Photography.
The energy of 99-second talks
A major highlight of the evening was the 99-second talks format, which encourages attendees to step onto the stage and share their thoughts. This open-floor concept allowed any audience member to raise their hand and speak on a topic of their choice before being abruptly interrupted by an air horn!
The diverse range of topics included:
- Experiences developing software for the London 2012 Olympics.
- Critiques of whiteboard coding exercises during technical interviews.
- Discussions surrounding AI-related subjects.
Stop testing “login pages”
The first formal presentation, delivered by Viola, a developer and Cypress ambassador, provided a hands-on overview of testing login pages. Rather than suggesting we stop testing login pages entirely, the talk emphasised the importance of looking beyond the standard “happy path”.
The core takeaway was the necessity of focusing on user pain points within the login journey and putting yourself in the user’s shoes when they attempt to access an application’s “front door”. Key edge cases discussed included:
- Navigating the frequency and friction of password reset flows.
- Addressing challenges when users cannot access two-factor authentication when logging in.
From quality assurance to engineering confidence
Jagrit from BBC Studios delivered an excellent session on the evolution of the quality engineering space. Drawing from real-world examples, he discussed how the industry has shifted from traditional testing to comprehensive quality engineering, and how the BBC has adopted this role. Jagrit highlighted his team’s journey of “shifting left” to embed quality practices directly into the wider engineering function.
Having taken a similar approach with my own teams, I agreed with much of his perspective. A significant takeaway from this session was the realisation that the foundational skills required for quality software remain largely unchanged, even with the introduction of new tools like AI. In fact, the current landscape shares many similarities with the era when test automation first gained widespread adoption.
Community, networking, and Hippo’s vision
As the event sponsor, Hippo had the opportunity to present a brief overview of our organisation. I presented on our focus regarding user-centred testing delivery and shared some of the interesting projects we are currently working on.
Engaging with the community is consistently the most rewarding aspect of these meetups. A personal highlight was meeting a gentleman in person for the first time whom I had mentored remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was wonderful to see him thriving, and it was amusing that he recognised me even without my “Covid hair or beard”.
Looking ahead
Overall, the meetup was a resounding success, providing valuable learnings for the organising committee to apply to future events. The MoT London Chapter is continuously seeking out new host offices and aspiring speakers to present at Chapter events. If you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to one of the organisers.
Hippo was thrilled to support this gathering, and we hope to host another event later in the year.
Our engineering team is growing this year. If you are interested in an engineering role, please check out our careers page.
