Automation Center of Excellence

I organized and directed a Center of Excellence for test automation, which provided governance, services and support for functional test automation projects across all US development centers. I managed a core team of experts who developed and deployed effective test automation solutions.

Test Automation Frameworks

As a 'hands-on' technical manager, I designed, developed and maintained keyword, data-driven, and hybrid automation frameworks, some for use with HP (Mercury) testing tools: WinRunner, QuickTest Pro / UFT (including BPT), and Quality Center.

Standards and Best Practices

I established, documented and enforced standards for test automation. Initially, I evaluated existing assets, resources, and practices, and then I applied an industry standard methodology to determine the effectiveness of an organization's automation effort. Finally, I managed the efforts of the automation solution development team to ensure that they remained effective within the prescribed guidelines.

Cross-Team Collaboration

I utilized all available channels of communication to share testing assets, knowledge, and solutions across multiple projects and locations. For example, I created a corporate SharePoint site as a common information portal for manual testers and automation scripters. I also organized interactive demos of automation solutions.

Staffing and Training

In addition to hiring expert resources for my own teams, I have provided input to the hiring managers of other teams and at other locations, for full-time, contract, and offshore employees. I assume the role of mentor for new hires.

First Midwest Bank       Chicago and Joliet, IL
QA Manager / Analyst III      May 2020 to Present
As the manager of the QA team, I am responsible for engaging with project teams in all lines of business, introducing quality processes into their software development and integration workflows, and assigning QA resources to projects as needed. As a hands-on manager, I continue to create test cases and write automation scripts.

• Introduced all software quality processes, procedures, and solutions used by First Midwest Bank
• Built an internal team of Quality Assurance and test automation experts
• Designed and developed UI test automation frameworks using WebDriverIO with mocha for production monitoring
• Adopted Tricentis TestProject as a standard test automation platform for future projects
• Focused on introducing Agile methodology for increasing velocity
• Enabled requirements analysis and test case creation standards for improved coverage
• Established metrics for quality tracking and process improvement utilizing Tricentis qTest Manager

QsrSoft       Oak Brook, IL
QA Manager      November 2015 to May 2020
In this role, I was responsible for introducing all quality processes, procedures, and solutions to QsrSoft's Cash and Inventory software product development efforts. Technology was Javascript with AWS cloud APIs. As a hands-on manager, I created test cases and wrote automation scripts.

• Built an internal team of QA and automation experts, with scripts maintained by contract staff
• Designed and developed a UI test automation framework using Selenium WebDriver and Java
• Designed and developed UI test automation frameworks using WebDriverIO with mocha
• Focused on introducing CI/CD and DevOps processes for increasing velocity
• Enabled Jenkins integration for test execution as a verification step in the build process
• Introduced requirements analysis and test case creation standards for improved coverage
• Established metrics for quality tracking and process improvement

SQS-USA (formerly Galmont Consulting, LLC)      Chicago, IL
QA Practice Director, Testing and Automation       Feb 2015 to November 2015
This was a senior technology leadership role as a client facing manager working on projects for implementing QA testing best practices in several verticals. Tools: HP UFT/QTP, ALM/Quality Center, Perfecto Mobile, Appcelerator, and Selenium WebDriver.
Key engagements included:

• Guidestone Insurance: trained business users in quality processes, including test case creation; enabled internal automation team to update existing QTP framework
• GMAC Financial: assisted internal test automation team with refactoring their existing QTP automation framework, using SQS onshore resources to write VBScript tests
• United Airlines: interviewed internal development and quality assurance staff (60+ people) and formulated a recommendation for increasing their application development velocity
• Gulfstream Aerospace: instantiated a mobile app testing framework using Appcelerator

Epsilon (formerly Conversant Media)      Chicago, IL
Team Lead, Ad Server Enterprise QA & Test Automation      April 2014 to Feb 2015
I managed a team of seven test engineers who created and maintained regression suites built using two customized frameworks: one Java, and one Ruby (with Lucid). Key learnings included:

• Operating under a fully implemented Agile Scrum methodology, with aggressive releases
• Creating Java scripts in collaboration with developers to exercise the functionality of new features and uncover integration issues
• Came to appreciate the value of a widely distributed server environment and using "canaries" to monitor performance in the real world
• Developing a Java-based framework to run regression tests on core business components
• Using a CI/CD/DevOps model for deployment, with Atlassian Jira, Confluence, and Bamboo
• Ruby scripting for testing within a domain specific language framework (specs in Gherkin)

HCSC Blue Cross Blue Shield IL       Chicago, IL
Supervisor, Enterprise Testing & BA Services       September 2010 to April 2014
I supervised a team of 20 local and remote QA resources located in Chicago/Naperville, IL, and Richardson, TX. This included both full-time and contract staff. This began as a contract role through TEKSystems, and my technical success led to an offer of full-time employment by BCBS.
My accomplishments included:

• Refactored and maintained a customized automation framework written in VBScript
• Executed HP QuickTest Pro regression scripts for mobile, web, mainframe, and Unix applications
• Created reusable custom function libraries utilizing HP Quality Center APIs to fully integrate our framework with the extensive reporting capabilities of HP QC
• Developed soapUI scripts to fully automate webservices tests
• Integrated functional QTP scripts with parallel LoadRunner VuGen performance test automation

TriZetto Healthcare Management       Naperville, IL
Manager, QA Automation COE      April 2008 to June 2009
I organized an Automation Center of Excellence for functional testing which set standards and determined best practices for 5 geographically separate development centers.
Leadership experience included:

• I directed a local team of automation experts in developing and deploying enterprise level test automation solutions.
• I established an Automation Council for advocacy and governance over standards implementation.
• I created a shared information portal for manual testers and automation scripters.

Technical experience included:

• Wrote and maintained HP QTP test scripts using VBScript
• Developed additional tests using HP Business Process Testing - essentially these were QTP VBScripts with required libraries and objects maintained in Quality Center repositories
• Set up local virtual machines with tool instances to expand capabilities of test execution

JPMorgan Chase & Co.       Chicago, IL
Senior QA Automation Analyst       August 2009 to September 2010
I was responsible for all functional test automation initiatives in a major commercial credit card processing application release.
I managed onshore and offshore teams who built Business Process Tests (BPT) using HP QTP and Quality Center. I also served as a QA Test Lead.

SunGard Financial Data       Lombard, IL
QA Test Automation Product Manager       April 2006 to April 2008
I enhanced and maintained a keyword-driven framework using HP QuickTest Pro and TestDirector/Quality Center which simplified test case input using Excel spreadsheets.
This single solution had multiple uses for mainframe, java, and web-based test execution, maintained by distributed teams.

ShopLocal, LLC       Chicago, IL
Senior SQA Test Automation Team Leader       January 2006 to April 2006
I was responsible for test framework design, implementation and training using QuickTest Pro and Quality Center. I developed an SQL automation solution for automated query-based tests. Some C#.

Utopia Solutions, Inc.       Naperville, IL
Practice Lead for Functional Test Automation       April 2004 to January 2006
As a consultant for several major clients (e.g., Kraft Foods, CDW, AllScripts), I built and deployed test automation frameworks, trained staff, and documented solutions for hand-off to internal QA teams.
I implemented test lab virtualization using VMWare products.

CNA Insurance       Chicago, IL
IT Quality Assurance Senior Specialist       April 2003 to April 2004
I created WinRunner scripts in TSL, provided LoadRunner test planning and execution, and evaluated a QuickTest Pro upgrade for various web-based application test scenarios.
I revised the test script automation architecture to improve maintainability and increase test coverage.

IBM Global Services       Chicago, IL
IT Specialist/Architect; Technical Team Lead       April 1998 to April 2003
I performed system test and support of Lucent's Oracle-based Global Product Database and legacy interfaces. I introduced automated testing techniques to the Lucent QA team, developing a keyword-driven framework for Mercury WinRunner.
This type of framework became an industry standard.

TEKsystems (Maxim Group) Consulting       Chicago, IL
Team Lead for System Test and Support       November 1996 to April 1998
This was a contract-to-hire position for IBM at Lucent, with responsibilities described above. My exceptional performance in this role led to my full-time employment by IBM.

The Walgreen Company (Data Center)       Mt Prospect, IL
Store Support / Coverage Analyst       October 1995 to November 1996
I performed system evaluation and support for transition of 2,000+ retail stores to the Intercom Plus satellite network, an n-tier client-server solution. Unix, Novell, Oracle. Satellite networks.