Over a decade of experience as a QA Analyst has taught me a lot about manual testing, automated testing, performance and integration testing. It has also taught me twice over that there is no such thing as a totally secure job, especially now during a pandemic when your only clients are airlines and travel companies.

It is time to lever my experience and provide QA services to clients as a contractor. Serra QA was incorporated in June 2020 and my first client will be eConsult, a software company providing services to the medical industry.

Based in Brighton, 15below are a world leader in travel communications providing millions of notifications each day to travellers around the globe. The customers are some of the biggest airlines in the world with companies such as British Airways, Swiss, Singapore, Etihad and Ryanair relying on 15below’s automated pre-flight, scheduling, disruption and ticketing solutions.

As part of the QA team I was responsible for a huge range of testing disciplines from big data performance at one end of the scale down to template presentation accuracy at the other using both manual and automated tools and methodologies. The role demanded versatility and flexibility alongside deep technical knowledge and understanding.

The Digital Property Group’s websites Findaproperty.com and PrimeLocation.com were together the biggest UK property advertising group at the time. The small QA team were responsible for testing features on the websites as well as functional and non-functional testing of the property data feeds from over 50 data providers updating over six hundred thousand properties each day. My time in this team taught me the fundamentals of multidisciplinary testing and the importance of both accuracy and precision.

The Digital Property Group 2003-09 Software technical support to estate agents using the company's bespoke property management software. The role also covered the provision of internal technical support, server support and user account management.

Seeboard Energy 2002-03 A customer support role covering the revenue collection of missing payments from faulty electricity key meters. The role required a mix of data analysis and customer focussed negotiation and diplomacy

GE Capital IT Solutions 2000-02 The role of Technical Vetter, responsible for remote hardware fault analysis and parts logistics to enable on-site repairs within tight SLAs.

Computer Experts 1998-00 Worldwide software support for a leading Millennium bug solution.

Future Micros 1996-08 PC hardware component sales, advice, builds and repairs.