I just returned from Tokyo, where I keynoted at JaSST, the Japan Symposium on Software Testing. 10 years ago, when they started the conference, maybe it was just about testing, but now it’s evolved to be about quality in the organization.
Some highlights from my trip:
- Everyone (and everything) I met appeared quite orderly. Everything had a place and everything was in its place. I saw this at the lost-luggage counter, in the hotel, and at the conference.
- I was pleasantly surprised that the subway ticket machines had an “English” button so I could buy my ticket and know what I was doing. The maps were in English as well as Japanese, so I could know in advance what my trip would be and which stop to get off at. I had a little trouble with which track, but that’s probably because I was jet-lagged.
- I was pleasantly surprised to see evidence that the simultaneous interpretation for my keynote worked fairly well. I could tell because people laughed when they were supposed to :-)
- For the tutorial, I did not allow enough time for the consecutive interpretation or for the questions about agile, so I needed another 20 minutes, which I did not have :-(
- I was a little concerned that when the panel prepared for the questions, I thought we might be boring. Nope, we were thought-provoking and funny.
- My Japanese hosts were amazingly solicitous and helpful for my entire experience: to/from the airport, to/from the conference, to/from sessions at the conference
I had a blast. I hope I have an opportunity to return to Japan. Now, all I have to do is get enough sleep so I’m awake during the day…
