MoTacon 2026 — reflections from someone who learned from MoTacon 2025

# Quick context MoTacon is a two-day community conference focused on software quality and related topics. The author attended MoTacon 2025 for the first time, also taking part in a Live Workshop Queue (LWQ) workshop the day before. They describe what worked, what didn't, and how those experiences shaped their approach to MoTacon 2026.

# What happened at MoTacon 2025 The author went in without a formal plan. They wanted to attend multiple workshops, support fellow community members with talks, and meet many people they'd connected with through the community show TWiQ. The combination of preparing for workshops, constantly choosing between sessions, and active networking left them mentally drained.

# Lessons that shaped the 2026 approach The author distilled the key lesson as simple: preparation matters. Their 2026 plan changes in three concrete ways:

• Prioritize sessions and workshops in advance so time and energy are allocated deliberately.
• Choose specific people and talks to support rather than trying to attend everything.
• Carve out time to process notes during the conference so learning can be translated into action afterwards.

Being invited back as an Ambassador and a volunteer also changes the experience. Those roles provide structure and a different kind of engagement, which the author expects will reduce the sense of always being on the go.

MoTacon 2026 is scheduled for October 1. The conference programming is described as focused on Quality Engineering, AI, Leadership, Product, Accessibility, and Security. The Ministry of Testing also highlights a related offering: the MoT Software Testing Essentials Certificate for people looking to build testing fundamentals and risk analysis skills.

# Practical tips for future attendees (based on the author's experience)

• Make a short pre-conference plan: pick 2–3 must-attend sessions and 1–2 secondary options.
• Block processing time: schedule 30–60 minutes each day to go over notes and capture actions you can take back to work.
• Balance networking and sessions: set a limit for social commitments so you have energy for learning.
• Support peers selectively: identify a handful of talks or people to back in advance so your presence is meaningful rather than scattershot.

# Why this matters for teams