Video transcript
0:04 Hi, it is a great pleasure for me to introduce you Tomek.
0:07 Hi, Tom.
0:08 Tell us about your role.
0:10 I work with Selleo as a QA engineer and it's much broader role than it seems because it's not about it's not only about software testing but the extensive care for the general quality of the product.
0:24 It involves reviewing technical and business requirements received from the client which allows us to discover any potential issues or inaccuracies in the very first stages of the software development life cycle.
0:37 It also involves manual testing at different levels and of different types.
0:42 It's also about writing and managing test cases and that when the project budgets and the time allows it, then we also automate those test cases using selected automation frameworks like Cypress or Playwright.
0:57 Ok, nice.
0:58 Do you think your role requires a great attention to the details?
1:01 Oh, yeah, definitely.
1:02 And I would also say that a certain sixth sense or QA intuition, so to speak is also helpful.
1:09 I would even say that a talent for breaking things down would be super helpful in this role.
1:15 I think I've had such a talent that since I was a child, be it for breaking household items or toys.
1:21 So in a QA role, which sometimes is also about breaking things down and causing errors at all costs, I do really well.
1:28 I would never say that talent for breaking things down will be helpful in IT.
1:33 Yeah, me neither.
1:34 But thankfully to me that's the case.
1:37 And now I would like to ask you about the portfolio because we all know that it's easy to prepare portfolio for developers or for designers.
1:45 But what about QA?
1:46 Well, it all depends on the projects that you were involved in, in the past.
1:51 Let's say you were automating tests for your friend who was developing his own application or a website.
1:58 In that case, you can show your code the same way the developers do.
2:02 But if you are a junior QA who's just starting their career, you may not have this.
2:08 So in that case, I would recommend including sample bug reports, test plans, test cases or test scenarios in your portfolio.
2:16 That way you can give your potential employer an idea about your skill set, your capabilities of as a QA.
2:24 So do you think it's easy to start very early?
2:26 Like people in high school, for example, can start working on their portfolio?
2:30 Yeah, definitely.
2:32 And I'm being obvious right now, but the sooner you start working on your skill set and on your skills necessary for the role, the sooner you gain the experience that's required for this role and the sooner you can actually start working in the IT. Do you think it's true that it gives people great opportunities to grow?
2:53 Yeah, definitely.
2:54 IT is such a wide area that if you have sufficiently strong desire to learn, you can find your place within it.
3:01 You can be a tester, you can be a QA, you can be a designer or business analyst.
3:06 You can even be a front and back or even full stack developer.
3:09 So the truth is that anyone can find a role that suits them.
3:14 And what is the most rewarding thing about your job at the moment?
3:19 I personally like finding these so-called edge cases that make the whole software product go wide.
3:26 If I can take actions on the website that make it crash, I get a lot of fun and satisfaction from it mainly because I discover an issue that would be otherwise discovered by an end user or a customer.
3:39 So I contribute to the general quality of the product.
3:43 Other than that, I really like taking part in different events, big conferences or meet ups both as participant and a speaker.
3:53 Let's get back to what we've been talking about on the backstage.
3:56 Warsaw IT days like topic you've been talking about was very interesting.
4:00 And can you tell us a little bit more about it.
4:03 Yeah, I at Warsaw IT days I gave a presentation on basics of accessibility testing of mobile apps and websites.
4:11 I explained how to design software so that it's accessible and adapted to the needs of people with various disabilities.
4:20 We can expect that this vast topic will gain more popularity in the nearest future because of two European Union directives that go into force which require a private sector, a software products of private sector to be adapted to the needs of people with disabilities to be accessible.
4:39 OK.
4:40 That is very good that we are going this way.
4:42 And my next question is how big influence those QA have for the final shape of the product?
4:48 Well, it's worth noting that the QA should be involved in project at the product design stage.
4:54 If they spot any inaccuracies in the feature prototype, they can intervene and let the client know that there is something that requires change.
5:04 That way we can spot any issues very early and it's easier and also cheaper to fix them.
5:11 Other than that, we are also involved in testing at various stages of the project.
5:16 So at any of the stages, we can spot any issues, let the client know that we need to fix something and that way we gain confidence that the final product is free of those defects.
5:30 Tom, now, different kind of question, do you prefer individual work or team work.
5:35 In my case, I pick teamwork every time because I can find a lot of bugs, a lot of issues, but I cannot fix them myself.
5:42 I need a team of open-minded and experienced developers to do that for the client.
5:47 Other than that, I can also ask developers for help.
5:50 When I'm not sure how a certain feature is supposed to work and we lack product documentation.
5:56 I can also ask them for help when I'm blocked.
5:59 when I'm automating these tests. And what is the most difficult part of being a software tester?
6:05 I think it's hard to pick a single thing.
6:08 It all depends on the company's culture and communication with the client, etc.
6:13 I think in my case, the most challenging thing was working on a product without product documentation and automating test cases because it requires a certain level of technical skill which I didn't have when I joined Selleo.
6:30 So the beginnings were very challenging, but thankfully at Selleo, we are surrounded by experienced developers who like to share their knowledge.
6:40 So there's no point in being blocked for half a day.
6:44 It's worth mentioning that you need to get your stuff together as soon as possible and ask for help because these people like to share their knowledge and that way you can observe another approach and learn from it and grow.
6:59 OK?
7:00 That's great.
7:00 Let's remember that from this conversation.
7:02 Thank you very much Tomek.
7:04 Thanks.
7:04 A lot.
7:04 See you later.
