ETSI - 11th UCAAT - User Conference on Advanced Automated Testing

About

UCAAT 2025 will be hosted by CERTH, the Center for Research & Technology - Hellas, in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 1-3 April 2025.

Overview

The annual ETSI User Conference on Advanced Automated Testing (UCAAT) is the most important point in the calendar of ETSI’s Technical Committee Methods for Testing and Specification (TC MTS).

ETSI's UCAAT conference, now in its eleventh edition, is dedicated to all aspects of automated testing, including model-based testing, cloud and mobile testing, security testing, agile test methodologies, test management, and standardized test specification, by focusing on the practical challenges that are often faced in industry and standardization as dictated by relevant policies and regulations.

UCAAT 2025: Automated Testing in a Digital Transformation World

As the world goes digital, rapidly evolving technology, policy, and regulation landscapes drive transformation across all industries. To stay competitive, facilitate swift market delivery, and meet escalating customer demands, organizations should prioritize customer-centric digital transformation while leveraging technologies such as AI, Big Data, IoT, and robotic operations and ensuring compliance with relevant policies and regulations.

The need for seamless, robust, and user-centered digital solutions highlights the critical role of automated testing in shaping future digital business operations or public services and improving customer and citizen satisfaction respectively. It is essential to ensure that systems operate reliably and are sufficiently scalable, secure and easily configurable to meet specific user requirements, which places additional demands on suitable testing methods, tools, and processes. Usability testing is essential in this context, as it ensures that the product is intuitive to use, ultimately leading to higher user satisfaction and reduced maintenance costs.

Additionally, ensuring cybersecurity becomes critical, considering the digital nature of services and products offered through digital transformation and the ever-increasing number of users relying on these services. Customers demand trustworthy and resilient systems, whose properties can only be guaranteed through vigorous security testing, quality assurance, and cyber resilience assessment that align well with policies and regulations such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act.

Similarly, the uptake of technologies related to big data and Artificial Intelligence poses additional challenges to digital solutions and products. The probabilistic nature of AI makes it particularly hard to use this technology in a safety-critical context. New testing techniques are therefore urgently needed. On a regulatory basis, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act plays a crucial role.

Another significant element, especially for digital public services, but not limited to them, is interoperability testing of digital systems even across borders, which has recently come into play with the enforcement of the Interoperable Europe Act, envisioning mandatory interoperability assessments for all public sector bodies. This will guarantee improved user experiences within and beyond the country of residence.

UCAAT 2025 will delve into the crucial role of automated testing in driving successful digital transformation. It will explore innovative solutions and best practices that empower organizations to thrive in an increasingly digital world while ensuring that user-centric and personalized approaches are central to testing strategies.

Target audience

The event is of particular interest for:

Test engineers, designers or test automation experts
Engineers working in test specification, automation, DevOps and RPA
Software developers or architects
Project leaders or managers in digital transformation
Test tool or service providers
Test and quality assurance analysts
Academics and researchers in testing

Programme Committee

The independent Programme Committee includes representatives from the testing industry, users, academia, and standardization bodies across different domains and different regions nominated by the appointed Programme Committee Chair.
The Programme Committee determines the call for presentations and evaluates the received presentations, posters, and tutorial proposals to select the best ones for the conference programme.

Programme Committee Chair:

Marija Jankovic, CERTH, Greece

Programme Committee Members:

Nenad Anicic, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Daniel Ardelean, Nokia, Romania
Sergio Borghese, Kalliope S.r.l., Italy
Michele Carignani, Autostrade per l’Italia, Italy
Rémi Caudwell, Sogeti, France
Theodore Chaikalis, Mysten Labs, Greece
Alexandros Chatzigeorgiou, University of Macedonia, Greece
Alexis Despeyroux, Testing Solutions and Services, France
Sascha Hackel, Fraunhofer Fokus, Germany
Dimosthenis Ioannidis, CERTH, Greece
Raquel Jimenez, MTP
Martti Käärik, Elvior, Estonia
Philip Makedonski, University of Göttingen, Germany
Sebastian Müller, ETSI, France
Maria-Olga Raimondo, Onelity, Greece
Stephan Schulz, Giesecke + Devrient, Germany
Pedrag Skokovic, Quality House, Serbia
Szilard Szell, Eficode Oy, Finland
Dirk Tepelmann, Gematik, Germany
Jan Tretmans TNO NL
Sofia Tsekeridou, Netcompany - Intrasoft, Greece
Andreas Ulrich, Siemens, Germany
Kyriaki Vadeska, GRTB/WeTest.Athens, Greece
Laurent Velez, ETSI, France

Important Dates

Call for Presentation Deadline: 31 October 2024
Notification of Acceptation: 6 December 2024
Programme online: 13 December 2024
Presentation submission: 28 February 2025

Agenda

Call for Exhibitors

UCAAT 2025 is currently Calling for Exhibitors.

Should you wish to exhibit at UCAAT 2025, and introduce your organization, company, product or service to people interested in advanced automated testing,
complete and return the Exhibitor application form to events@etsi.org before 31 January 2025.

Exhibition Stands are free of charge and consist of:
• A 4sqm stand with 1 table, 2 chairs, 1 screen, electricity and internet connection
• Possibility to display company’s own exhibition material on the stand (pop up, banner...)

Exhibitors will be listed on the website, with Company logo linking to company website and 10 lines company profile

Should you need any further information, please contact events@etsi.org

Posters

Representativeness of Deep Learning Mutants in Simulating Real Faults
Presented by Zaheed Ahmed, University of Goettingen

This study aims to empirically evaluate the representativeness of mutants in simulating real faults using the defect4ML benchmark dataset, which contains 100 unique deep learning (DL) bugs. Despite the proposal of DL-specific mutation operators, there is limited empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness. We employ chains of mutations to recreate bugs, utilizing machine learning frameworks like Keras and TensorFlow to reproduce the buggy and fixed models, along with DL mutation testing tools such as DeepCrime and DeepMutation++ to generate the mutated models for the fixed versions. The study evaluates the strengths and limitations of existing DL-specific mutation operators, providing insights for future research and guiding practitioners in effectively using validated mutation operators. Ultimately, our findings will enhance automated AI testing methodologies and help mitigate risks associated with deploying faulty DL systems.

Shifting Left: How Early Testing Accelerates Delivery and Enhances Quality
Presented by Aleksandra Angelovska, IT Labs

Testing often occurs too late in the SDLC, leading to higher costs, delays, and defects in production. This presentation highlights the need to "shift left" by starting to test earlier in stages like design and development. "Shifting left" aligns with the rise of automated testing tools in CI/CD. Early testing, supported by automation, keeps pace with modern development, saving resources and improving software speed and reliability. The presentation utilizes an automated testing framework within continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, leveraging tools such as Playwright to implement early testing. Practices like TDD, BDD, and static code analysis are employed to integrate testing into design and coding. Additionally, cloud-based testing platforms and containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes are used to optimize and scale testing processes in collaborative environments.

Intelligent Application Security Testing: A Comprehensive Approach to Vulnerability Management
Presented by Ramon Barakat, Fraunhofer FOKUS

The poster will illustrate how the presented testing tool aiming for improving security practices in software development. The proposed solution offers automation and integration capabilities to streamline security testing processes, to ensure compliance with emerging regulations while enhancing overall software security. The solution streamlines workflows for security testing by enabling efficient testing of third-party code, proprietary code, and the development of effective security patches for identified vulnerabilities. The presented tool equips manufacturers with the necessary tools to navigate the complex landscape of cybersecurity requirements, ensuring compliance with regulations while promoting a robust security framework. The adoption of such innovative security testing methodologies is essential for organizations looking to strengthen their security measures and stay ahead in an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Importance of Data Sharing for the Validation of Interaction-based Emotion Recognition for User Experience Evaluation
Presented by Carina Bieber, University of Goettingen

In the era of big data and AI, we have the resources to provide website users with easy-to-use, efficient, error-free, and satisfying experiences through automated usability tests. Automated usability tests allow companies to evaluate user interactions at scale, significantly reducing the time and resources needed for traditional testing methods and making them more accessible to a broader range of companies. One way to enable automated usability tests for websites is by collecting user interactions for emotion recognition. However, current research on AI to automate user experience evaluation by detecting emotions based on keyboard, mouse, and touch interaction is not reproducible as most researchers do not publish the data they used for the experiments along with the results. Therefore, we focus on validating interaction-based emotion recognition approaches for usability testing. We will elaborate a verifiable method for automatically testing a website's usability and user experience, considering only the user interactions created while using the website. Furthermore, we want to provide a tool suite for an automated approach to testing a website's usability and user experience, considering only the user interactions created while using the website. We want to offer a continuous feedback loop by integrating automated usability tests into the development cycle. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement and enables teams to iterate quickly based on real-time user feedback. Our approach can be applied by any organization that utilizes a website. Overall, automated usability testing represents a critical advancement in the field, aligning with the industry's need for efficiency, effectiveness, and enhanced user satisfaction.

API-First Testing: Mocking and Dependencies
Presented by Violeta Damjanovic-Behrendt, GreenTwin GmbH

API-First Testing is a software engineering paradigm that emphasizes designing and testing APIs as the cornerstone of application development, even before frontend or backend components are implemented. This approach enables teams to address logic, dependencies, and integration requirements upfront, paving the way for seamless backend processes. This presentation outlines the API-First Testing approach for services being designed within the ResC4EU (Resilient Supply Chains for Europe) project. Here, two engineering teams collaborate to bridge access between commercial data on the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of composite materials and the B2B cloud platform. This connection will allow seamless integration of critical environmental data, supporting data-driven, sustainable decisions. This presentation aligns with the theme, "Challenges and Solutions in API Testing: Addressing Performance, Resilience, Scalability, Interoperability, and Security," offering insights into overcoming key obstacles through a structured API-first approach.

Integrating AI in API Automation: A New Era of Efficiency
Presented by Blagica Dujovska, IT Labs

Traditional API automation struggles with scalability, data complexity, and accuracy. By integrating AI, we introduce smarter automation with AI-driven test generation, predictive maintenance, and anomaly detection, improving efficiency and speed. This presentation explores AI-enhanced API testing, automating complex tasks to reduce manual effort and boost precision. Aligned with industry needs, it demonstrates how AI can revolutionize API automation for greater scalability and continuous testing.

Elevating Operational Automation to Support Multimodal Freight Transport
Presented by Ilias Gkotsis, Inlecom Innovation

The European freight Transport and Logistics (T&L) industry is undergoing an enormous shift into a new era, fueled by digitalization and technological innovations, presenting prospects for new business models and zero-emission freight transport. Technology innovations have been implemented separately across various transportation modes and sectors, often without incorporating a Human-in-Loop design approach. This approach results in gaps and disconnections in operations. Therefore, a comprehensive strategy guiding the integration of automation technologies is crucial. It necessitates efforts towards standardization, collaboration, and policy coordination to ensure seamless operation and interaction across different systems and sectors. To address this challenge, AUTOSUP supports the smooth advancement of automation levels in multimodal hubs, which are crucial components of logistics networks. The Physical Internet (PI) is the perfect paradigm towards seamless multimodal automatic freight transport by interconnecting diverse and independent logistic networks into a common open logistics network. Nodes, i.e. the Hubs and Terminals of a multimodal logistics network, are one of the most complex parts of the PI concept as their role and functionality determine the efficiency and environmental impact of the whole PI network. In this direction, AUTOSUP identifies the strain points, improves the links between nodes and hubs and runs alternative simulation scenarios towards identifying the parameters that optimise the operations of the network considering technological, operational, regulatory and governance aspects. This is achieved through the development of Digital Twin models of automated Supply Chains, integrated in an open, ready-to-use data-driven Decision Support System.

Automated Network Security Testing in IoT Environments
Presented by Aleksandar Jokismović, University of Belgrade

Vast expansion of IoT in everyday use in smart homes, cities and industrial applications, arouses a question about their security. Interconnected devices usually locally communicate with unsafe protocols, leading to data breaches or open unsecure ports. Network security testing can be hard, time consuming and requires manual work. Most of the used exploits are known and documented for more than a year and can be easily prevented. Industrial application of automated security testing can be applied in smart factories, infrastructure management and logistics. Automated testing allows for regular, thorough, and standardized tests that do not interrupt daily operations. Industries can proactively address vulnerabilities, reducing the risk of data breaches, espionage, or operational disruption. This approach can enhance reliability of IoT-based industrial systems and save time and resources. Thus, automated security testing ensures robust, secure IoT deployment across industries.

Machine Passport: AI for Explainable and Sustainable Industry
Presented by Georgia Kougka, ITI-CERTH

The AIDEAS Machine Passport leverages AI to optimize the industrial machinery lifecycle, enhancing resilience, data continuity, and sustainability. Traditional maintenance and interoperability gaps are addressed by unifying performance, quality, and maintenance data, enabling tailored automated testing and real-time monitoring. The achievements of AIDEAS is vital for the European Industry in order to maintain high competitiveness while the agility is enhanced, the waste is reduced and the machine lifespan is maximized.

Automated Security Testing for Web Applications: A Scalable Approach with Python and Docker
Presented by Jaksa Milanovic, Quality Assurance

The problem I am addressing is automating security testing is to detect vulnerabilities in web applications, which is crucial as cyber threats increase. This project applies automated testing to the OWASP Juice Shop app, an industry-standard training tool for developers. By leveraging Python’s asynchronous programming and Docker, the solution is designed to scale, making it relevant for industrial applications that require efficient and secure testing. It relates to the Call for Proposals by introducing an innovative, automated approach to detect security flaws in web applications, ensuring scalability and integration into modern CI/CD pipelines.

CI/CD: Best Practices for QA Automation
Presented by Simona Nikolova, IT Labs

In today's fast-paced digital world, integrating QA automation into Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines is key to delivering high-quality software quickly. This presentation covers best practices for embedding automated testing in CI/CD, including shift-left testing, test prioritization, and balancing automation with manual tests. By implementing these strategies, organizations can accelerate release cycles, improve product reliability, and meet both customer expectations and regulatory requirements.

Automated Functional Testing on Embedded Systems
Presented by Stavros Dimos Parousis, GWF

Automating end-to-end testing of IoT embedded devices is challenging due to diverse interfaces and communication issues. Manual testing is common but time-consuming and error-prone. This presentation showcases our framework for automating the testing process, integrating industrial CI/CD tools for shift-left/shift-right testing. We applied this method to an industrial IoT water meter, validating it under real-world conditions by injecting various water flow rates and temperatures. Our framework supports various interfaces like LoRa, wM-Bus, NFC, and LCD using OpenCV, enhancing efficiency and scalability with simultaneous testing of multiple devices via pytest on Azure self-hosted agents. This approach modernizes development and testing of embedded firmware, reducing testing time and improving reliability. Early integration in the development cycle, thorough documentation for regulatory compliance, and effective collaboration between development and QA teams are crucial. Other organizations can adopt this framework to enhance their testing processes, reduce time-to-market, and improve product quality.

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Automated Testing
Presented by Valery Penev, ADASTRA

In "Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Automated Testing," we adopt a detective's approach to uncovering the complexities of modern test automation. By drawing parallels with Sherlock Holmes’ investigative techniques, we explore challenges in automated testing, including inefficiencies, AI integration, and optimizing testing processes. Attendees will gain a fresh perspective on tackling QA "mysteries" using a mix of creativity and a detective’s mindset, making automated testing more transparent and fun.

An Approach to Testing Complex Distributed Systems
Presented by Marko Petrović, Faculty of Organizational Sciences

The solution was developed to support the implementation of a broader system for large scale knowledge assessment used for conducting several types of official exams within the educational system of the Republic of Serbia (e.g. mandatory state exam at the end of primary school, faculty entrance exam, etc.). Given the nature and complexity of the system (stemming from the variety of encompassed processes and volume of data that needs to be managed), it was necessary to establish an appropriate strategy for end-to-end testing and QA. The main issue we strived to address was how to comprehensively determine the potential implications of introducing, or modifying, functionalities. We developed a simulation platform that allows us to rapidly and thoroughly test the impact of any source code modification on the behaviour and performance of the whole system, and thus ensure that the system evolves and continues functioning faultlessly, while yielding equal or, preferably, better performances

Test Automation Revolution in Amadeus
Presented by Naum Spaseski, Amadeus

Amadeus has a complex environment with various technologies ranging from industry standard to business-specific ones. With developing common internal Robot Framework libraries, we managed to share functional keywords hiding technology complexity to our Quality Assurance Engineers. By simplifying the way they write their test cases, we are migrating our legacy test suites from proprietary to open-source tools. Also, as all technologies are under a single modern automation framework, they are easy to integrate in our Continuous Delivery pipelines and cloud ready.

Speakers Bios

Zorica Bogdanović, Ph.D., is a professor at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Organizational Sciences. She teaches courses in e-business technologies and software development at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Her current professional and research interests include e-business, digital transformation, cloud computing, and DevOps. The findings of her research have been published in numerous renowned international journals and conference proceedings. She has supervised eight successfully defended Ph.D. dissertations. Zorica is a member of the IEEE, serving as the secretary of the IEEE Computer Chapter CO 16 and the vice-chair of the IEEE Computer MGA Region 8, Area 1. She also chairs the IEEE Computer Chapter CO 16 seminar and has chaired the summer school “E-Business Technologies” at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences since 2014 and the IoT Center since 2016. She has served on the technical program committees (TPC) of several international conferences and is a member of the coordinating committee and an editor of the proceedings for the IcMarkTech conference. She has been a guest editor for two special issues of Facta Universitatis, Series: Electronics and Energetics, “Internet of Things” (2016) and “Blockchain Technologies and Applications” (2024). Furthermore, she has reviewed articles for numerous high-impact journals and conferences, such as IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, Future Generation Computer Systems, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Journal of Computing in Higher Education, Computer Applications in Engineering Education, and many others. Contact information: University of Belgrade - Faculty of Organizational Sciences Jove Ilica 154, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia, E-mail: zorica.bogdanovic@fon.bg.ac.rs, Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pBCkc7sAAAAJ&hl=sr

Sergio Borghese graduated in Electronic Engineering at University of Pisa (Italy). He worked as a software developer in several companies ranging from user applications to device drivers. He joined NetResults S.r.l. (now Kalliope S.r.l.) in 2011 as the product manager and technical leader of Company's testing platform.

Emmanuel Charleson Dapaah, comes from Ghana and is a PhD student at the University of Göttingen. He as a passion for research and his research interest is in the area of software testing & debugging, machine learning, IOT and vehicular networking.

Bassel Dib is a final-year bachelor's student specializing in neuroinformatics at the University of Goettingen. His academic focus revolves around artificial intelligence and software testing. Bassel has a strong interest in software test automation, a field he actively explores by leading the test automation efforts at Schumann GmbH, a local company where he contributes as a Quality Assurance Engineer.

Dr. Thomas Fehlmann is a senior expert in software metrics and testing, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt for lean and agile software development and promoter of customer-oriented product design and testing. He spent most of his professional life as a quality manager for software organizations. As such, he has led a few companies to global market dominance using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Six Sigma for Software. He has run the Euro Project Office since 1999 and is internationally recognized as QFD expert and as software metrics expert. Since 2016, Thomas has been an academic member of the Athens Institute for Education and Research. Thomas is a frequent presenter at conferences on topics including Six Sigma, QFD, software quality, software testing, requirements engineering, software metrics and Explainable Artificial Intelligence.

Boris Gunes began his career as a software developer in 2007, but his passion quickly shifted towards test automation after 3 years and subsequently DevOps starting in 2015. His core objective is to streamline and accelerate software development by automating every stage of the process. Boris is a strong advocate for open-source tools and technologies. Over the past seven years, he has provided consultancy services in test automation for both established corporations and startups. He is also an active speaker at various meetups and conferences, sharing his expertise on testing through presentations, blog posts, and curated testing resources.

Milovan Jovicic is a product design consultant with 25 years of experience in shipping digital products for companies such as Apple, Amazon, UNICEF and Rakuten. His area of expertise include user experience design, human-computer interaction, product design and computer ergonomics. From earning a degree in software development to working as a full-stack developer and eventually transitioning to product design, he learned how to navigate and optimize every phase of the product development process.\ \ As a strong believer that knowledge should be openly shared, he founded the biggest Product and UX Meetup community on Balkans - Practical UX with more than 2000 members. There he shares knowledge from product design and engages other members of the group to contribute, through regular meetup events and planned lectures.

Martti Käärik is the Technical Director at Elvior, an Estonia-based company specializing in software development and testing solutions. With over 20 years of experience in developing test automation tools, Martti is one of the lead developers behind the Test Description Language (TDL) and the TDL Open-source Project. Bringing TDL news to UCAAT on behalf of ETSI MTS.

Thomas Knothe holds a diploma for Computer Science in Mechanical Engineering and an Engineering Doctoral Degree at TU Berlin. He joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Production System and Design Technology as student in 1994. Today he is the department head of Business Process and Factory Management. His major applied R&D topic is business and technical interoperability in the frame of enterprise development and management. He invented and implemented concepts and solutions for modular Shopfloor IT, modular production systems as well as for self-organized planning and control. He managed international industrial and funded research projects in automotive, aerospace, defense and mechatronic equipment sectors in Europe, China, Russia, South Africa and US. Regarding Digital Product Passport, together with his colleague Patrick Gering, he is responsible for the Technical Guidance in the Frame of the Battery Pass Project (thebatterypass.eu). Thomas is involved in standardization since more than 20 years, mainly in ISO TC 184 Automation systems and integration. Since December 2023 he acts as the Chair of CEN CLC JTC 24 DPP Framework and System, elaborating the harmonized technical standards for the European DPP. Thomas is a lecturer at TU Berlin and honorary professor at University of Applied Science TH Wildau.

Mr. Thanasis Kotsiopoulos received the diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh). He is a PhD candicate on Electrical and Computer Engineering in University of Western Macedonia (UoWM) and a Software Engineer in the Information Technologies Institute of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) in Thessaloniki. His research focuses in one hand on the areas of anomaly detection, production optimization and predictive maintenance in Industrial Internet of Things and in the other on applying Artificial Intelligence for mobile applications.

Roman Kraus is a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS. His work is primarily dedicated to security testing of software systems with a focus on the development of fuzzing techniques.

Ana Madrid is Data Scientist and Artificial Intelligence specialist at MTP, focused on European Business Development in Digital Transformation and International R&D projects.

Jaime Morales holds an engineering degree from Carlos III University, along with a master's in Cybersecurity from the same institution and an MBA. He is also beginning his doctoral studies with a thesis focusing on AI and Cybersecurity. He has over 8 years of experience in both end-client companies and consulting, where he has led various projects, including application development for the public sector with a 100% focus on security, Blockchain-based applications (serving as the technical lead for projects in sectors such as banking and insurance), and managing banking projects where he oversaw a team to ensure that all potential developments and changes were thoroughly tested before going into production. He has also directed a security department overseeing larger verticals such as GRC, security audits, DevSecOps, and more. Additionally, he collaborates as an instructor, teaching students primarily in subjects related to Cybersecurity (Hacking Techniques, Cryptography, Security in Microservices, etc.) and Blockchain (Fundamentals of Blockchain, Ethereum, Blockchain Network Deployments, etc.).

Christian Musilek, a coding enthusiast with 17 years of experience, has spent much of his career working on backend projects, specializing in Java, Kotlin, and Spring, for companies in Austria and Germany. Known for his meticulous approach to testing, Christian emphasizes the importance of well-structured unit and integration tests. His expertise expanded into frontend test automation after implementing a Selenium-based test framework for a client.

József Pánczél is an architect and test automation lead at SAP, as well as a lean and agile coach. He found his passion in test automation more than 10 years ago, and since then, he has trained a swarm of engineers in this domain, focused on technologies used at SAP. In the past 5 years, he's led the Test Automation Tools, Processes and Infra team for a cloud solution, SAP Integrated Business Planning. His most recent project is an analysis of correlation and connection between quality strategy, corporate strategy and test automation. When not automating, chances are that you'll find József on two or four wheels or his sauna he built with his own hands.

Dimitrios Papadimas is an Application Security Engineer at Netcompany-Intrasoft, specializing in integrating security into CI/CD workflows and advancing automated security testing. With a background in DevOps and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he brings a versatile skill set to the intersection of security, development, and operations. He also holds certifications such as CompTIA Security+ and Certified DevSecOps Professional. His expertise lies in automating security processes, integrating testing into DevOps pipelines, and improving testing efficiency and coverage. Having worked on projects spanning secure software development, test case optimization, and benchmarking tools, he has a deep understanding of how to build scalable and effective testing frameworks. Outside of work, he continues to “work” with security by participating in Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions, constantly pushing himself to solve challenges and uncover vulnerabilities—because why stop at work when security can be fun too?

Dr. Gerhard Runze studied electrical engineering at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg where he completed his PhD. After several years as a developer, project manager and team leader in the telecommunications industry, he joined imbus AG in 2015 as a test manager, trainer and consultant for quality assurance of AI, embedded software and agile testing. He is co-author of the 'German Standardization Roadmap on Artificial Intelligence' and of the book 'Basiswissen KI-Testen' (german).

Baris Sarialioglu - IT professional with 20+ years of experience as Information Technologies Consultant, Software Engineer, Software Developer and Software Tester for many different organisations. Highly experienced in Software Development Life-Cycle, Software Project Management, Business Analysis, Agile Methodologies, Usability, User Experience (UX), Quality Assurance and Software Testing. Published a number of papers and books within the Software Testing profession and contributed to the field by regularly attending conferences as a speaker, panelist, lecturer, moderator and contributor. Currently, he is the managing partner of TesterYou, where he holds the responsibilities of delivering test consultancy, outsourced test management, and software testing training (including accredited ISTQB trainings).

Predrag Skoković has over 25 years of experience in the IT field, specializing in software testing and quality assurance. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Quality House, where the focus is on delivering exceptional software testing services. Previously, Predrag spent more than a decade as a Test Manager at Execom, leading international teams on projects, particularly in technical automation for safety-critical industries such as medical and petrochemical sectors. Along the way, he gained valuable experience in fintech, banking, e-commerce, and other domains. He is dedicated to advancing software testing practices and processes. Predrag excels in designing and implementing tailored solutions that optimize methodologies to meet the unique needs of each project or organization. Throughout his career, he has provided consultancy services to assess and refine testing strategies and frameworks, as well as mentoring and coaching teams to enhance their skills and achieve sustainable quality improvements. As an ISTQB and IREB-accredited trainer, Predrag actively contributes to the software testing community as a member of the South East European Testing Board (SEETB). He is also a frequent speaker at international conferences and a guest lecturer, sharing insights from his extensive professional journey.

Lennard Strohmeyer: Abitur at Gymnasium Alfeld, Neuroinformatics Bachelor of Science at Göttingen University, Visual Computing Master of Science at TU Darmstadt; worked as fullstack web developer alongside studies, now working as AI solutions engineer and fullstack web developer at Digital Learning GmbH.

Szilard Szell is DevOps Transformation Lead, and Quality Coach with a proven track record in DevOps Transformation Programs. He has experience as an assessor, trainer, facilitator, and coach in Test Automation, Testing Processes, and Agile way of working. As a SAFe 6.0 SPC he is running successful training and coaching sessions for larger companies. As a conference speaker, Szilard is ready to share his view and knowledge with Testing Fellows. To give back to the Testing Community, Szilard is active in ISTQB, and a member of HUSTEF, UCAAT, and in 2021 he was part of the Programme Committee of EuroSTAR.

Dr. Sofia Tsekeridou is a Senior Research and Innovation Manager – Expert at the Research and Innovation Development Dept. of Netcompany – Intrasoft. She holds an ECE Diploma and a PhD in Computer Science, both from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She has more than 25 years’ experience in project/technical management and research, development and innovation activities, primarily in the fields of multimodal data management, AI and security/cybersecurity. She has published many papers at international scientific journals and conferences and has contributed to TV Anytime, W3C, IEEE and ETSI standardization bodies. Dr. Tsekeridou is a senior member of IEEE and an expert member of the FCT-INFRA sub-group of EC DG HOME CERIS expert group, and holds a personnel security clearance at EU SECRET and NATO SECRET level.

Anastasia Tsita is a UI/UX Designer at the Information Technologies Institute of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) and holds an M.Sc. in Design of Interactive and Industrial Products and Systems. She primarily contributes as a designer to research-driven applications that incorporate cutting-edge technologies in domains such as smart living, energy, and IoT.

Boris Wrubel has over 15 years of experience in software testing, specializing in test automation within agile environments. His expertise spans major projects in banking, telecommunications, and the public sector. For a decade, Boris was part of the Industrial Software Research Group (INSO) at Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), where he also organized and lectured in the "Software Testing" course. He holds a degree in Business Informatics, with a focus on project and quality management from TU Wien, and has contributed to open-source test automation projects in recent years.

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• QA Processes
Our mission is to build a strong community in the city of Thessaloniki, aiming to exchange experiences, discuss the latest trends in software testing, and get to know each other. We strive to create an environment where professionals and enthusiasts in the field can share their knowledge, get inspired, and develop their skills. We believe in the power of community and want to promote the exchange of ideas and mutual assistance through presentations, workshops, and networking events. Whether you are an experienced professional or just have an interest in software testing and QA, you are welcome to become a member of our community and actively participate in our meetings.

Come share your knowledge, get trained, and connect with other professionals in the field of software testing and quality assurance, all in a friendly and supportive environment. Join us here.

Venue/Travel

LOCATION

The 11th UCAAT will take place in the CERTH Conference Center

WELCOME TO THESSALONIKI!

Thessaloniki is the Greek capital of Balkans, and the country’s gastronomic and cultural capital. It is one of the largest student centers in South-Eastern Europe while 15 of its monuments are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List... (learn more)

AIRPORT

Thessalonili Airport Makedonia

HOTEL RECOMMENDATIONS

You may view all hotels listed below on a dedicated map of Thessaloniki here

Hotels near CERTH

HOTEL NIKOPOLIS (5*)
reservations@hotel-nikopolis.com
tel.: +30 2310 401000
https://goo.gl/maps/d2CpnjPZhj92

HOTEL AVALON (4*)
info@avalonhotel.gr
tel.: +30 2310 462700 fax.: +30 2340 463898
https://goo.gl/maps/mtmQV6UBVNp

Hotels in the city center

ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL (5*)
infoskg@electrahotels.gr
tel.: +30 2310 294040 fax.: +30 2310 294001
https://goo.gl/maps/PocaLkotyS32

MAKEDONIA PALACE (5*)
info@makedoniapalace.gr
tel. +30 2310 897197
https://goo.gl/maps/KUbdq3ZQQUs

THE MET HOTEL (5*)
themethotel@chandris.gr
tel.: +30 2310 017000
https://goo.gl/maps/cXzyDy45HuG2

CITY HOTEL (4*)
info@cityhotel.gr
tel.: +30 2310 269421
https://goo.gl/maps/ikoCAixV29S2

HOTEL EGNATIA PALACE (4*)
reservation@egnatiapalace.gr
tel.: +30 2310 222900
https://goo.gl/maps/L2FQ6HHkzrQ2

ANATOLIA HOTEL (4*)
info@anatoliahotels.gr
tel.: +30 2310 522 422
https://goo.gl/maps/9MuSrDPK7fx

PARK HOTEL (3*)
info@parkhotel.com.gr
tel.: +30 2310 524121
https://goo.gl/maps/myzHX3C2XWk

HOTEL OLYMPIA (3*)
welcome@hotelolympia.gr
tel.: +30 2310 366 466
https://goo.gl/maps/KYWvLa1gkj72

The Mavili Urban Stay (3*)
T: +30 2310 53 00 63
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MH4iCZWigXQRfQNb6
For a special rate exclusive to UCAAT conference participants, please call the hotel directly and mention the code: "UCAAT"

Past UCAAT

UCAAT is an established series of annual events. Previous editions of the UCAAT have focused on different aspects of test automation following emerging trends through the years. Information about previous editions of the UCAAT, including the programmes and presentation slides, are available from the archived websites linked below. Browse through the archives and discover past experiences shared at UCAAT!

11th UCAAT - User Conference on Advanced Automated Testing

About

Overview

UCAAT 2025: Automated Testing in a Digital Transformation World

Programme Committee

Important Dates

Agenda

09:00 - 12:30 TUTORIALS, WORKSHOPS & TESTATHON

CONFERENCE DAY 1

CONFERENCE DAY 2

CONFERENCE DAY 3