BDEN Meetup #4 – Hands-On with Helm

On October 21st, the Belgian Developer Experience Network (BDEN) community came together once again. This time at FlowFactor’s office in Kontich for an evening that traded slide decks for keyboards.

After covering everything from AI and Java to Platform Engineering and DevSecOps in previous meetups, this edition took a different turn: a hands-on workshop all about testing and validating Helm charts.

Workshop: Helm Chart Unit & Integration Testing

Instructor: Glenn Janssens (DevOps Engineer @ FlowFactor)

Instead of passively listening, participants rolled up their sleeves and got to work under the guidance of Glenn Janssens, who led an interactive session on building reliable, testable Helm charts.

The workshop covered both unit and integration testing approaches, focusing on how to catch issues early and keep Helm deployments stable. Glenn demonstrated practical tools and patterns for improving feedback loops and shared tips for integrating tests into CI/CD pipelines.

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Workshop: Helm Chart JSON Schema Validation

Instructor: Jeroen Vermeylen (DevOps Engineer @ FlowFactor)

In addition to testing, Jeroen also covered JSON Schema validation for Helm charts. Participants learned how to define and enforce structure in their Helm values files, ensuring that deployments are not only functional but also compliant with organizational standards.

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Food, Networking & Flow

After the workshop, everyone gathered for food, drinks, and conversations 🍕🍻. From discussing Helm best practices to swapping CI/CD horror stories, the evening wrapped up in true BDEN fashion. With knowledge shared, connections made, and plenty of laughs.

It was great to see both familiar faces and new ones joining the community, proving once again that BDEN is as much about people as it is about tech.

Looking Ahead

A huge thank you to Glenn for the engaging session and to everyone who participated and brought their curiosity and good vibes. 🙌

We’re already cooking up ideas for the next BDEN meetup, so make sure to follow our Meetup page to stay in the loop.

See you next time, and until then, keep testing those charts! 🚀

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