Alex Marchenko is an IT professional with more than 9 years of experience of working in the industry. He has acted in different fields of IT, but software testing has been one of the main points of his interest. He agreed to have a virtual talk about his experience and some of professional likes and dislikes.
I got to know you have over 9 years of experience in software testing. What are the major changes that have occurred in this field during the 9 years?
First of all, I'm only for 6 years in QA. 9 years in IT, but I worked as a software engineer before.
The major change is that performance testing itself has become more popular. 6 years ago only large companies like banks were interested in performance testing. Now even small companies and start-ups understand the importance of being fast and reliable. Also, as a reflection of market demand, a couple of new tools for performance and load testing appeared within these years. And the last change I'd like to mention is shifting to web-technologies. 6 years ago the performance testing was concentrated on the database side, now it's more end-user side oriented.
What testing tools do you prefer to use and why
It depends on the task. There's no silver bullet, each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses. LoadRunner, however, is still the industry standard, and if it's possible, I prefer to use it. It's flexible, powerful, supports most of the technologies and has good integration ability with other HP products like QualityCenter.
Why have you started doing software testing? What do you like about this type of work and do you find any disadvantages in it?
I started my QA career because I was not satisfied with my possible future as software developer. Software development is becoming a more standardized process than it used to be before. 90% of tasks of a modern developer are to find the appropriate template or the library and then use it. It's not an intellectual job. I decided that I want to switch to a job that requires more analytical skills but is still close to software development.
The one I do now requires an ability to quickly change the focus and learn new things - products, technologies, etc. It keeps you in the tone. That's what I like. And the disadvantage is that a lot of people underestimate the importance of QA. Sometimes you only need to do your job and sometimes also to waste your time to prove that what you’ve done brings real benefits. But it's not a problem of the industry, it's a problem of certain people. Did I mention that software development is something that doesn’t require a brain? Okay, I'm kidding :)
What was the first serious task in software developing or testing?
My first serious task in software testing took place in 2004, it was a project for Sberbank, the largest nation-owned bank in Russia. I participated in load testing of a back-end banking application. It was very interesting and challenging project and I learned a lot from collaboration with engineers from Intel and HP companies as well as experts from Russian company I-teco.
What do you demand from those who work for you? What qualities do you value in people?
From people who works with me I demand the willing and the ability to learn, the loyalty to the job and the thoroughness. The last is most important for any quality assurance engineer. And about learning new things - remember, that I've talk about performance testing. It requires you to change your focus every time.
Why have you chosen eTest IT to work for?
Because this company gave me the opportunity to enter the Chicago IT market.
What’s the distinctive feature of your cooperation with eTest IT?
There are no such features, because I’ve already worked with companies like eTest IT. There are a couple of features that distinct the IT market of the USA from the European one (particularly Russian), but it's not about eTest IT. So, it's pretty the same, and I can say that it's good. If you can't say something special, it usually means that everything is okay.
By Marichka Lotozka
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