IT Days 2023 - Behind the curtains

Anamaria Moga is a QA engineer working towards growth and accumulating extended knowledge in the field of web testing.

With a career swap built on curiosity, perseverance, and interest in technology, she is currently part of the eggs unimedia testing team. Ana contributes to creating and developing top-notch websites for the automotive industry, using Adobe Experience Manager (AEM).

Her passion and thirst for learning are the two driving forces that fuel her day-to-day activity.

Quality is king, and she is always striving to expand her testing horizons and to become a full-fledged quality expert.

At the IT Days conference, she shared her knowledge about QA Accessibility testing in the AI era.

That being said, we gladly announce that 2023 IT Days conference proved to be a wonderful experience, enriching when it came to AI topics, and perfect for new learning opportunities. Among the highlights of the two-day event, the participation of our colleague.

Ana, as a conference speaker was the most impactful point on our agenda.

Below is a brief interview on the whole experience, and a bit of behind-the-curtain insights from a presenter’s perspective:

Anamaria Moga: Everything was what I expected, and more. I anticipated lots of activities, little free time, and much hustle and bustle. However, I did not expect to enjoy all the presentations so much, given the limited knowledge I had about AI and its capabilities. The venue was also nice, spacious enough to accommodate all the participants and the stands yet cozy enough to make you feel connected with the crowd.

Anamaria Moga: The main topic was UtopIA and this was an area I had little contact or expertise in. However, I tried to be open-minded and chose to take part in presentations that would expand my horizons – because, whether we like it or not – AI is slowly becoming a part of our ‘online footprint’.

Anamaria Moga: I enjoyed all the presentations I took part in. They covered different domains of activity (like Agile, marketing, HR, or development). Every one of them had something unique that picked my interest. However, I believe that my favorite presentation belonged to a UX/UI professional, who took us through the journey of creating the official app for the conference, by using AI-operated tools. Apart from the spectacular visuals, his speech was engaging, and he made me curious about all the tools he used. This was the most put-together and appealing presentation for me.

Anamaria Moga: The topic was Accessibility and how AI can make or break web accessibility. The beginning covered some general details about web accessibility, digital inclusivity, and how these notions are regulated at a global scale, via WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Going further, I presented some of my preferred tools for testing WCAG compliance and then went on to pinpoint possible areas of concern. As AI is potentially becoming an ally in development (some professionals even use ChatGPT to write blocks of code), we need to offer special attention to adhering to accessibility guidelines when the ‘machine brain’ is involved.

Anamaria Moga: I was a bit nervous regarding possible feedback, however, I feel that the audience was receptive and invested in my speech. Maybe for some of them, this was a new topic, but there were obviously participants that have experience with accessibility, and they likely wanted to listen to another perspective. There were also some questions at the end, which I hopefully answered in a satisfactory manner. Overall, though, I got some pretty good input afterward.

Anamaria Moga: I would say that all in all, everything was more than enjoyable, and the event left me with some solid positive vibes.

I would surely recommend it to others, in the future!