Agile is supposed to be collaborative—but for many testers, being “in the sprint” still feels like being at the edge of the conversation. Tasks arrive late. Quality is a checkbox. And when things go wrong, testers are expected to clean it up, not shape it early.

This talk is a real-world look at the ways testers can become essential, embedded members of Agile teams, and what happens when they aren’t. I’ll share the tensions I’ve seen between roles, rituals, and expectations—and how small changes in process and mindset helped shift things.

We’ll talk about:

Why testers often feel left out of planning (and what to do about it)

The sprint anti-patterns that quietly waste everyone’s time

How to build trust and influence without having “final say”

This talk is for anyone who’s ever wondered if Agile could really work for testers—and wants practical, grounded ways to make it better for the whole team.