CV

A software tester who believes that quality should be baked in, not sprinkled on, and an advocate of asking the right questions at the right time to manage risk, save money, and cut time to delivery. A flexible SDET and Test Architect experienced with various programming languages and testing tools to achieve excellent results.

More details about my work at BJSS, including specific projects, are available here.

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET), BJSS (Bristol)

2017 – Now

BJSS is the UK’s leading privately held IT and business consultancy.

Testers at BJSS don’t just find bugs and raise defects, we ensure the continued delivery of predictable and robust software. We ask questions, promote testability, drive continuous improvement, and help nurture a mature testing culture across engagements.

Clients: Executive Agency, Global Airline, Statutory Corporation, Betting and Gaming Company, Building Materials Company, Building Society, Financial Services Comparison Provider, Non-Departmental Public Body, Government Agency

Tester, Sparkol (Bristol)

2016 – 2017

Sparkol’s mission is to empower people to engage their audience. They make software that anyone, at any skill level, can use to create interesting and engaging presentations.

As the sole tester I was central to Sparkol’s testing strategy, mucking in from day one with anything we wanted to create and squashing bugs before they could appear.

An abbreviated list of my responsibilities includes: peer reviewing, pair programming, automation in testing, exploratory testing, test management of external crowd testing vendors, and organising bug bashes.

Tester then Test Lead, Hargreaves Lansdown (Bristol)

2013 – 2016

Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the UK’s biggest financial services companies and aims to give the best service, the best value, and the best information to investors.

Test Lead for the company’s external/internal mobile applications. I mainly focused on popularising “shift-left testing” during one of the company’s pioneer agile projects.

Data Enty Operator / Tester, Direct Line (Bristol)

2010 – 2013

Direct Line is an insurance company within the UK.

Originally a Data Entry Operator, I occasionally took the role of Tester for software designed to replace my role. A career change shortly followed.

Tech

I use whatever technology best solves the problem at hand, not a golden hammer or whatever’s new and shiny. I base my approach on reliable, tried-and-true software development principles and patterns.

That l said, I have implemented so-called “full stack” automation in testing using languages like C#, Python, Ruby, Java, and TypeScript, along with countless supporting libraries.

Personal

I’m a garden-variety nerd who enjoys comic books, video games, and tinkering with technology. My favorite testing blogs are Ministry of Testing and Senor Performo and my favorite testing books are How Google Tests Software and Fifty Quick Ideas to Improve your Tests, unless we’re talking fiction in which case I’m a big fan of the Discworld series (especially Thief of Time and Thud!).