Image courtesy of Christoph Pater
Back in 2011, the first “Software Craftsmanship and Testing (un)conference” took place in Germany. Since then, the community and the event has grown larger each year.
Markus Gärtner has written a nice blog post in 2014, which sums up some details why and how SoCraTes was established. He graciously allowed us to quote parts of it in the text that follows.
Andreas Leidig and Nicole Rauch started the whole thing way back in late 2010. They wanted to get a discussion going regarding a conference on Software Craftsmanship in Germany. We decided to meet up during XP Days Germany in 2010, and see what we could do. We quickly agreed on an Unconference format, two days, somewhere laid back. Some folks had organised the German Agile Coach Camp and Play4Agile in Rückersbach close to Frankfurt. We decided on that spot as well, and organised everything for 2011.
Early on, we figured that we would need outside support. That was when we started to reach out to other craftspeople, like Micah Martin, Adewale Oshineye, Sandro Mancuso, and many, many more. We had around 10-20 participants from outside Germany with us at the first SoCraTes. All the tales they shared with us on how they were running things in London, Israel, Finland, you-name-it engaged us. It felt good to be around so many like-minded folks, and receive outside inspiration.
The first SoCraTes - Software Craftsmanship and Testing (un)conference - was a success. We had some track sessions back then, and a full day of Open Space. During the Open Space I joined a session that took a look on how to spread the community. With all the energy in the place, we put ourselves on a virtual map of Germany. That was when I noticed, oh, there are a bunch of other folks around me that come from a similar location as I do. That was also when we decided that we needed to keep that spirit going. We talked to folks in our neighborhood, and found soon some company for local user groups to keep on spreading the word.
One year later, we came back for SoCraTes 2012. Since the first conference we had established 10 user groups all over Germany on Software Craftsmanship, all organised under the banner of Softwerkskammer. There was one in Hamburg, one in Karlsruhe, one in Munich, one in Nürnberg, one in Berlin, one in Frankfurt, one in Dortmund, one in Düsseldorf, and one shared around Münster, Osnabrück, and Bielefeld. We created a timeline of events of what had happened in the various local communities since our first get-together.
We were amazed about the various events, code retreats, user group meetings, and so on.
We still adhered to reserve space for foreign inspirations at that time. We had 10-20 people from outside Germany with us. However, Rückersbach had just 70 beds overall available. With ten local user groups potentially joining our Unconference, we faced a serious problem. From each location just around 5 people would be able to join. So, with such a large community, we already excluded many potential attendees.
The format of the conference had shifted though. We had abandoned previously-set track sessions all-together. Instead we focused on two full days of Open Space. That provided the freedom necessary. In the end, we decided to run the conference again in Rückersbach, but have it organised by a different group of people. We explicitly decided to pass over the organising responsibility to one of the local groups from year to year.
In 2013, the limited amount of beds became a problem.
Notwithstanding the size, Rückersbach had an advantage: it was close to Frankfurt airport (about a one hour ride by car). That made it easy for people from other countries to attend, since Frankfurt is the largest airport in Germany. It would be hard to find such a spot with more beds in such a good position.
We discussed again what to do about it, and asked the organisers to seek a location that may scale up to 200 participants.
This year we switched to a new location. The choice fell on Soltau, a small town conveniently located about an hour's drive away from Hamburg. The hotel gives off a family vibe and has enough rooms and outside locations to enable leisure sessions outdoors. It can easily support 200 participants and so provides room for growth.
2014 turned out to be a great year. We had grown significantly, to 150 participants. People loved the new location and in general seemed to have a good time. There were two days of Open Space followed by a day of workshops.
The new location set up an intimate feel for the whole event: cozy outside sessions, plenty of opportunities for group discussions of varying sizes and a nice bar area enabling quality evening time. Discussions tended to last deep into the night or even until sunrise. On the way back to our normal lives everybody seemed to promise to meet again at the same place next year.
This was the second year in Soltau. If possible, the location felt even more inviting this year - it was familiar by now. We had 160 participants, a maximum given the conference dates. We faced an unexpected situation - the schedule for open space was over 80% full on both days. The energy and desire to contribute was heartwarming and inspiring to observe.
Too many amazing things happend to note them all down, so instead here is a short song that shows the SoCraTes spirit. The only thing left to say is: see you next year in Soltau.
The first year in which we could have the Soltau location exclusively. This pushed the atmosphere to a new level of intimacy. We have been almost 240 people attending. This also maxes out the hotel - but we no longer want to grow: It is about as big as we want it to be.
The second time we had the Soltau location exclusively, and we put in extra effort to make the event as welcoming and inclusive as possible, to the largest amount of people we could think of.
Most of the many new ideas we put in motion, such as having gender-neutral bathrooms, were direct results from an intense workshop we ran at the 2016 conference, ensuring that the conference attendees remain at the root of what happens every year.
Resulting from two equally amazing 2017 sessions on how we see ourselves as a community, the conference also changed its name: We, along with a large number of local communities from all over Europe, dropped the awkward "manship", to make it obvious that our focus is and remains on the craft itself, and that we welcome everyone, from everywhere, regardless of gender.
The feedback we received after the 2017 conference, not only from those people belonging to marginalized groups, encouraged us that our community is as healthy as ever, and frankly the most warm-hearted and open environment we can dream of.
In 2018, we had Juke as our facilitator for the first time. They stepped in on a short notice and did a great job to pave the road for an amazing SoCraTes Conference.
While some of the concerence requlars publicly announced that they would like to be conference buddies, nobody took up the offer. Instead we received feedback, that the conference is very welcoming and everyone seems to naturally include new attendees and introverted people.
In 2019, it was once again Juke who guided us through the smooth waters of Open Space Technology.
The conference was amazing as always, with highlights including a very popular session on nail polish (with lots of male-presenting participants enjoying colorful keyboard hands), and an evening of ensemble-programming a unit test framework in C64 Basic.
In 2020, everything was different. Instead of a joyful tenth anniversary, we had to cancel the conference, like so many others did. It was a sad year for all of us.
Still very much in the grasp of the pandemic, we decided to make SoCraTes 2021 a virtual event. Using SpatialChat, we were able to create a dynamic and creative atmosphere that allowed for well-rehearsed presentations, as well as spontaneous fun and happy accidents. Almost 100 people attended and made the weekend a worthwhile experience that in positivity and spirit came close to the real thing - a much needed infusion of geek fun in dark times.
After having to cancel our beloved conference in 2020 due to COVID-19 complications, and a virtual conference in 2021, we were happy to have a full-fledged SoCraTes at our usual location in Soltau again.
The biggest change over the last editions was the Foundations Day: A one-day event, preceding the main conference, where distinguished community members tought newcomers and interested folks some of the basic aspects of software crafting and testing.
In response to the positive feedback from the previous year's successful "Foundation Day" and the community's expressed desire for a deeper dive into specific topics, this year we introduced "Training Day". The Training Day was tailored for both newcomers and experienced professionals, offering a blend of beginner and expert sessions to provide a comprehensive learning experience in the realm of software crafting.
Additionally, to make the conference more inclusive and accommodating for attendees with families, child care services were introduced this year.
Full schedule of offered sessions can be found here
Child care was first introduced in 2023 and received positive feedback which is why we were very happy to be able to offer it again this year. The number of children and teenagers visiting SoCraTes 2024 was probably at an all time high, although we can't say for sure as we do not track these details in any statistics. Needless to say, we look forward to being able to offer this popular service again in 2025.
Additionaly, this year also marked the introduction of our financial aid program, a community-driven effort designed to make SoCraTes more accessible. Participants in need could request a reduction in the conference fee, while others had the opportunity to contribute to this fund. The generosity of our community meant that everyone who needed assistance could participate, embodying the inclusive spirit of SoCraTes.
2024 was also the first time that we found ourselves forced to introduce upfront payment in order to be able to cover the hotel cost and make this event become reality. We are very happy and tremendously grateful to all you lovely people who paid early and allowed us to run a memorable event and create the inclusive environment that we all enjoyed so much. But that's enough self-praise, see for yourself what some of our wonderful attendees posted about the event (see below).
Also, the full schedule of offered sessions can still be found here.