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The Top 3 Barriers Women Face in Technology

The Top 3 Barriers Women Face in Technology ...and What Tech Companies Can do to Help. Although the numbers are increasing the numbers in other industries such as law or medicine, women are seriously underrepresented in the technology sector in Canada. In a recent Women in Communication and Technology (WCT) report, only 27% of women areContinue reading "The Top 3 Barriers Women Face in Technology"

Why Leaders Need to Know How to Lead

I recently attended StarCanada and had a conversation with a fellow colleague about leadership on agile teams. We both agreed that there were a lot of leaders that shouldn't be leading. "Why do you think that is?" I asked him. He was quite frank and said, "It's because their bosses are pointy-headed managers that don'tContinue reading "Why Leaders Need to Know How to Lead"

Knowing your team one “One-on-One” at a time

I genuinely feel good when someone else benefits from my life experiences. Things happen for a reason! In the same way, I feel good in my work when my team benefits from my knowledge and experience. Being in a leadership position enables me to share those experiences and help each team member grow. As “manager”,Continue reading "Knowing your team one “One-on-One” at a time"

QA Testing and the Continuous Delivery Model

Agile approaches to software development, along with continuous integration and delivery, has changed the speed of the software life cycle. More and more companies have adopted shorter sprint cycles and have been deploying to production as frequently as several times a day. The question that comes to my mind is what about quality? Does continuousContinue reading "QA Testing and the Continuous Delivery Model"

Exploratory Testing: Quality Assurance with an Agile Approach

A growing number of web and mobile technology projects are adopting an agile approach to development. One of the benefits of following the agile method of delivery is a faster time to market. When the push is on to deliver to the customer at a faster pace, the pressure is also on the QA teamContinue reading "Exploratory Testing: Quality Assurance with an Agile Approach"

Don’t Take it Personally, but…

It’s Friday afternoon--You’re in a planning meeting and you make a recommendation about a potential solution, which is immediately shot down by one of your colleagues. You thought it was a good suggestion and your demeanour probably reflects your disappointment. The meeting continues but you’re left with a feeling of frustration at not being heardContinue reading "Don’t Take it Personally, but…"

The Changing Role of the QA Analyst

Over 50 years ago, Bob Dylan sang “For the times they are a-changin’”. Technology is no exception. In our daily dose of online tech bytes, we read multiple declarations of technical innovation that promise to impact our lives now or in the future. You’ve no doubt experienced change first hand if you’ve made a careerContinue reading "The Changing Role of the QA Analyst"

Why Developing Soft Skills has Value for the Quality Assurance Analyst

Wikipedia describes soft skills as a term often associated with a person’s social graces, personality traits and interpersonal skills that characterize their relationships with others. Essentially, it’s having emotional intelligence. As a QA analyst, what are the benefits of developing these people skills if our primary interaction is with a screen? Communicate Effectively Getting ourContinue reading "Why Developing Soft Skills has Value for the Quality Assurance Analyst"