Tech Talks With George Hamblen

Digitalization is all about progressive development which means creating technology that has the power to transform the world. However, the rapidly changing dynamics of the digital world have pushed IT solution providers toward meeting the demand, leaving the quality aspect behind.  

Nevertheless, the need for delivering optimum user experience and producing sustainable products has made enthusiastic business leaders realize the importance of quality assurance. At BugRaptors, we have witnessed the exponential growth that quality assurance and software testing services have seen in the past few years.  

Whether it is maintaining the right balance between manual and automation testing, or adopting advanced practices like QAOps, things could only be brought to light with the effective exchange of information. Tech talks not only help us to gain insights on perspectives of seasoned testers but even allow us to discuss the wider aspects of quality assurance.  

This time, Vivek Rana, our QA expert, interacted with George Hamblen, a seasoned professional and Quality Engineering Manager at TD Bank with an experience of 26 years in the industry. Throughout his career, George has worn many hats which have made him a Consultant and Client Partner through his wisdom in Financial Services Background.  

He is also the Advisor to GenRocket, the world leader in synthetic test data. Advisor to Governeer, a leading name in the FinOps for the cloud. More importantly, he is an accomplished IT Executive with massive Software Quality Assurance experience in leading functional and automated testing efforts for multiple domestic and offshore projects. As an QA enthusiast, he has showcased repeated success in customer-facing product implementations for both web-based and shrink-wrap products.  

George is a recognized and renowned subject matter expert and author in the Quality Assurance field. He is an ITIL foundation certified for demonstrating service level improvements in production operations. As far as his specialties are concerned, George can lend a helping hand whenever you need assistance with Software Test Consulting, Test Assessments, Outsourced Testing, Digital Transformation, Synthetic Test Data, Software QA Management, or Manage Cloud Spend, etc.  

With all these insights into George expertise as a QA expert, let us quickly jump to the interview to explore George has described his experience as a software testing analyst while sharing his vivid viewpoint on test automation.  

Let’s begin! 

Vivek: When you first started as a software testing analyst, what’s something that was more challenging than you expected? 

George: When I started in testing, it wasn’t really recognized as a career. Testing was often looked at as entry level and a stepping stone to becoming a developer. Testing was also often an afterthought. So, one of challenges was fighting for respect from the developers. Respect had to be earned.  Luckily, I have my degree in computer science and was able to go toe to toe with my development counterparts. This made me successful. It gave me respect for what I needed to do my job effectively.  It wasn’t until the mid 1980’s companies started to offer career paths for testing.   

Vivek: What is the one common myth about your profession that you want to debunk? 

George: Test Everything!  I hear this one all the time. It’s simply impossible. I cringe when I hear this one. There are simply too many variables involved to think someone has tested it all.   If someone says I executed all the test cases, I feel better. 

Vivek: What next stage can we expect for automation? 

George: There have been a lot of innovations in the automation space. The ones I find most exciting are the ones involving artificial intelligence. That’s the area to watch.  

Vivek: What metrics to monitor to measure the effectiveness of test automation? 

George: I look for two: The first is Return on Investment (ROI) is the expense of doing the automation worth doing the effort at all?  I do not like to automate if there isn’t a break even or better payback.  The second is how much time am I saving? I like to automate critical areas which can reduce the maximum amount of time. I’d rather have one automated test case that can save days of manual testing, than a bunch of automation test cases that do not. 

Vivek: What gives you the motivation to keep going? 

George: I usually think of my parents. They sacrificed so much for me to get my education and get me where I am today. I feel like I let them down if I can’t snap out of it.   

Vivek: How do you get yourself out of work slumps? 

George: Nothing beats getting a new product out the door which does not have any major issues and is well received by the clients. 

Vivek: What is the best way to get in touch with you? 

George: On LinkedIn or email @ qathoughtleader1@gmail.com 

At BugRaptors, we constantly work to improve the digital landscape with access to industry expertise and knowledge that can aid testers, developers, and QA enthusiasts.    

Just in case you have any questions related to Quality Assurance or software testing services, feel free to reach our team through info@bugraptors.com