Write the Test First - Robert Prüst on Pester, PSConf, and Learning in Public

Andrew sits down with Robert Prüst, a Netherlands-based Microsoft MVP, to geek out about Pester, AI-assisted coding, and the power of showing your work in the PowerShell community. Robert breaks down how Pester works as a testing framework (unit testing, integration testing, and mocking) and explains why testing is the key to trusting AI-generated code. They also dig into a Visual Studio Code extension Robert built for Azure DevOps, the conference culture around PSConf EU, and why community involvement matters as much as technical skill. The conversation wraps with some honest takes on imposter syndrome, learning in public, and the value of just getting started.

Key Takeaways:

• Pester isn't just for unit testing your functions -- it scales all the way up to testing live infrastructure, validating Azure environments, and serving as the backbone of security tools like Maester. The more you invest in it, the more useful it gets.
• AI-generated code needs a safety net, and Pester is exactly that. Testing gives sysadmins a way to verify what the code is actually doing, which is especially critical when you didn't write it yourself.
• Imposter syndrome is almost universal in this community, and the people who feel it most are often the ones learning the most. Getting into community spaces -- online or in person -- is one of the fastest ways to grow.

Guest Bio:
Robert Prüst is a Microsoft MVP and MCT based in the Netherlands, focused on PowerShell, Azure automation, and DevOps. He has around 24 years of professional IT experience and has been working with PowerShell since roughly 2012. Robert is a regular speaker at PSConf EU, blogs at powershellpr0mpt.com, and is active on GitHub under the handle powershellpr0mpt. He runs a custom Azure Engineer bootcamp course and contributes to open source projects including the AMBA and EPAC frameworks.

Resource Links:

•  Pester documentation: https://pester.dev
•  Maester: https://maester.dev
•  PSKoans: https://github.com/vexx32/PSKoans
•  PSConfEU: https://psconf.eu
•  PDQ Discord: https://discord.gg/pdq
• Connect with Andrew: https://andrewpla.tech/links
• Robert’s blog: https://powershellpr0mpt.com
• Robert on GitHub: https://github.com/powershellpr0mpt
• Robert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rprust/
• The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7Z2Pk0y2Xss