Software Testing and Automation.

Solution Engineer - Core Shared Systems (May 2018 to May 2021)Regrading of job structures in Debenhams now designated Solution Engineer.Responsibilities• Maintaining and upgrading legacy systems working with a backlog of system improvements.• Service Infrastructure – Project work. New skill in Oracle OSB 11g development, to handle message transformation between our primary Data System (AS400) and our Warehouse Management System (Red Prairie/JDA). Use of SQL Developer to track messages through SI audit trails as proof of processing.• Nastel MQ Explorer – create message queues for handling messages passed from one system to another, pre and post SI/OSB. Duplication of messages (using topics and subscriptions) to send process through to two destinations.• With the company currently in administration I am being retained to decommission the infrastructure.

Was initially in Integration Group but later transferred to ATEM (Application Testing and Environment Management) as my skill set was required to establish/bolster this department.Responsibilities:Integration Group: SOPs for Server builds. Specify message transformation mappings for a WMS project.In ATEM Group: Certificate work. Resolution of legacy TLS 1.0 to TLS 1.2 certificates to link dated applications to the network F5 for calls to external links. Created Database of ALL certificates in Middleware to manage certificate expiry issues.DR project: Find, identify and manage replacement of IP addresses in code/property files with DNS names.New knowledge: RedHat Linux, CentOS Linux, AppDynamics monitoring and Java issues.

Restructuring of Application Services department meant an opportunity arose to take on another role.

- Linux Admin tasks - Supporting the Linux servers (100+) on a day-to-day basis, file system monitoring.- Building Linux Enterprise Servers both SuSE and Oracle.- Bash scripting skills (good level).- Installing and configuring BEA (later Oracle) WebLogic to support applications such as Sterling Commerce Order Management, Oracle SOA suite (mostly OSB) and other lesser known applications. This includes Development, Test, Training, Performance and Production systems.- Deployment of new code, troubleshooting the applications, examining logs for errors, thread dumps and raising Incidents for bug tracking.- CA Wily Introscope monitoring tool. Support and building of monitoring screens with email alerts. IBM License Metric Tool, installed, configured and maintained for a period before handing over to supporting team.- Daily use of CA Wily Service Desk for the tracking of Incidents, Issues and Change Control.

Summary:After reorganisation, the Systems Quality Assurance Group operated from within the Usability group. The Usability group was a new group brought about by reorganisation of the engineering department to provide a more successful customer focussed support. The Usability group consists of Systems Quality Assurance, Requirements Engineers, Applications Scientists, User Assistance and Expert Testers.I was responsible for leading a team of 5 SQA Testers and up to 3 placement students over a number of projects. The role also allowed the use of my expert skills and knowledge to provide a hands-on approach in projects to assist in driving quality products through to market.- Managing allocation and workloads for staff.- Review results and testing progress and approve project documentation.- Provide expert testing on projects.- Manage the testing of Sustaining Engineering Projects (SEP). This involved writing test plans and final test reports, as well as testing the bug fix releases and writing release notes.- Organisation and management of Rapid Remedies for customers that were in need of urgent fixes.- Organise and run bug review meetings and final bug reviews prior to product release for major product releases.- Electronic software product release to manufacturing. Including allocation of part numbers for software components and building software kits via a Product Data Management system.- Maintain departmental procedures, coupled with the software department. This process involved weekly global meetings for configuration management and to drive quality improvement.- Manage and solve both customer and service organisation queries that cannot be solved at the first level. If necessary escalate the queries to Sustaining Engineering Projects.- Employee related - Perform employee progress and development reviews (LOR - Leadership and Organisational Review) including pay reviews.

Summary Management of the Systems Quality Assurance (SQA) department, consisting 9 permanent staff, placement students and contract employees. The Systems Quality Assurance group incorporated routine SQA and the Engineering Quality Compliance group.- Ensuring products were developed to company process (PACE – Product And Cycle-time Excellence)- Managing resources allocation to software and hardware projects for New Product Introductions (NPI) and Sustaining Engineering Projects (SEP).- Leadership and Organisational Reviews for staff development and training conducted bi-annually and supplemented by regular 1:1 progress & development discussions.- Staff annual pay reviews.- Recruitment and interviewing of staff.- Representation of SQA activities within the R&D management Team.- Configuration management on a global basis to drive continuous improvement of departmental procedures.- Hands on work in main projects and sustaining engineering projects where my experience was necessary to ensure the quality of the product.- Continued with some of the main responsibilities from the previous role.

- Development and maintenance of local SQA departmental procedures and later global SQA procedures when the UK SQA group was merged with the USA SQA group.- Test Plans and Test Procedures, writing and executing for project assignments.- Test Automation (WinRunner) was introduced into the testing environment. This required learning of the tool, designing and development of appropriate departmental SOPs for its successful operation. The tool was then used for the first time on a new complex software package and used to write, execute and maintain test automation scripts. Reporting test results in Test Director (Mercury Interactive). Reporting and verifying bugs in a Lotus Notes based bug tracking system. Test Automation scripts stored in Visual Source Safe (Microsoft).- Raising and controlling engineering part numbers (PDM systems x2) for software releases, software kits and IQ/OQ documentation.- From the previous role I continued generating new, introducing, developing and maintaining IQ/OQ documentation for local site products.

Most of the responsibilities from the previous role were carried forward and in addition....- Major role in implementation of a global Installation Qualification and Operation Qualification (IQ/OQ) project. This involved a presentation in the USA of how we operated in UK/Europe and what the rules and regulatory requirements were for such documentation. The outcome was the design of a new template with an embedded macro to enable customer specific details to be included in each ordered document. A whole new global process was put in place for the issue and generation of customer specific IQ/OQs.- Involved in a planning group for the next generation IR spectroscopy software package. This included specifying, planning and verification of the implementation of compliance with the FDA Rule 21 CFR part 11 (for Electronic Records and Electronic Signatures), into a new product and retrospective design into an existing product.- Involvement in the design of Help files and customer manuals.- Writing of help documentation for test software used by Service Engineers in the field.

- Specify, plan, test and validate data collection and report presentation routines for new instrument validation software included in an update of Spectrum software (for infrared data collection and processing). This tied in with the development and introduction of a new and highly successful infrared spectrometer (Spectrum One).- Testing of instrument communications and data collection for a new spectrometer.- Maintenance of a spectroscopy software validation package when new process algorithms were added to the infrared software product.- Improvement, maintenance and implementation of IQ/OQ and IPV (PQ) documentation for customer consumption as part of their regulatory requirements. This became a major part of the role as the R&D department acquired ultraviolet, fluorescence and polarimetry products into their portfolio.

The role was initially a short contract position (5 months), to test and validate data processing algorithms in a new major release of an IR spectroscopy software product (Spectrum). The resulting algorithm definitions, test data and results were published for sale as the first process algorithm validation package on the market for IR spectroscopy software. The product retailed at a premium rate and was mainly directed at and for the benefit of the pharmaceutical market. This success led to testing and validation of other IR spectroscopy software and extension of the job contract until a permanent position became available in July 1996.

Joined the Technical Services Department. Achieved a MSc in Pharmaceutical Technology again through day release course.- Validation of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and manufacturing equipment, both internally and externally to the site including product transfer to other sites.- Reviewing individual products where all data from release and stability batches were compiled and reported. This involved some statistical analyses.- Investigating, solving and reporting process deviations.- Writing and updating batch manufacturing documentation.- Maintaining the chemical inventory under the COSHH regulations. Generation and issuing Material Safety data Sheets and COSHH assessments for batch documentation.- Maintained a chromatographic data handling system.

Promoted on merit and ability to the role of Quality Control Chemist. Professional qualifications (TEC, HTEC, GRSC) achieved through day release college.- Independently maintained the internal finished product analysis section.- Responsible for the running and upkeep of a tablet auto analyser system.- Product and analytical problem solving.- Cleaning Validation of manufacturing equipment.

Joined Syntex Pharmaceuticals as a Junior Laboratory Technician from school.- Raw material and intermediate product analysis.- Quality Control procedures