Interview: Testing Conversations – Alper – Head of QA

Intro

Welcome to our new blog series that delves into the world of software testing/QA by sitting down with some of the most prominent and respected figures in the industry.

And with well over a decade of experience with software testing and a position as Head of QA at Adjust in Manchester, what better way to start than with our friend Alper. 

Being responsible for helping teams around the whole company improve their quality practices by creating relevant test strategies, hiring great talent and improving the collaboration by a QA Guild, we managed to grab a few minutes with him and pick up some of his top tips. 

How did you get into testing?

Weirdly, as a CS (computer science) graduate, I wasn’t too much into coding. I was looking for a role in software which would have a broader view on things and testing was a great fit. 

Later my programming skills from CS education proved to be very useful in testing though.

Advice for Testers new to the industry?

Believe in the importance of your role, always keep learning and keep in touch with the testing world in general.

I highly recommend having good programming skills with at least one programming language along with your exploratory testing skills.

What tech are you using at the moment?

My current role requires me to be tech agnostic, so I’m involved with Python, Ruby, Golang and JS based test automation tech stacks. 

I’m helping with the implementation of various test layers with various testing tools and frameworks.

Any predictions on future tech or where you can see it going?

Without getting too much into the tech world in general, I think the software testing world is on the rising side of a Sine Curve at the moment. After a dip in interest with a -yet another- supposed “death” of testing, I think serious companies have started to realize the value of good testing. 

I also think the rise of the “Quality Advocate” will continue as the teams will turn to quality experts who not just test, but also guide the team towards owning the quality as a whole. 

The best things testers can do is to learn a lot, be engaged with the whole process start to finish and be ever curious.

*ENDS*