Jul 5, 2021
Tech Talks with Eran Kinsbruner
Taking insights into QA technologies like AI and ML while digging into the performance testing procedures
When the world of QA is expanding so rapidly, it is extremely important for us at BugRaptors to interact with industry experts from time to time. This not only helps us to gain insights into various testing techniques but helps us foster connections that are made to lead QA and testing agendas of the future.
As per our expert, Kanika Vatsyayan, Vice President – Delivery & Operations, BugRaptors, Quality Assurance is the process to find and mitigate errors in a constant fashion, making it a crucial part of SDLC. Moreover, when goals are made around the idea of meeting compliance requirements, regulatory standards, and process specifications, it becomes even more important to work on Quality Assurance.Since these days, most software or application development projects are based on an agile scenario with a short sprint of scope, taking a gamble by skipping QA could divert you from safely planned and executed accomplishments. To understand the entire agenda of QA better and give you more valuable insights on how QA is transforming and how it could cultivate more value with cost-efficient solutions, today, we bring you another round of expert interviews.
This time, we interviewed Eran Kinsbruner, who is presently working as a DevOps Chief Evangelist, A Best-selling Author, and Senior Director of Product Marketing at Perforce Software, a brand indulged in creating enterprise-scale development tools.
Without taking much time, let us quickly jump on the conversation between Kanika Vatsyayan and Eran Kinsburner and find out our expert’s take on some of the most important questions trending across the QA Industry. Let’s begin.
Kanika Vatsyayan: How did you start your journey?
Eran Kinsbruner: My first role was as a QA engineer for a multi-disciplinary technology back in 1999. I was in charge of creating manual and automated test scenarios in C. At these times, Tools like WinRunner and Quality Center were the leading ones for the entire E2E testing activities.
From that position where I got the basics of software testing, I took a new role at Sun Microsystems in the J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) product which started the mobile transformation in 2001. I was there for seven years shaping the tools and SDKs for mobile java developers and testers. At that time at Sun, I and my teams which were spread globally, filled several patents and drove a lot of innovation. The next roles after Sun were with NeuStar, General Electric, Texas Instruments, and later Perfecto and Perforce. In all of my career, including today, I focus on best practices in software testing, test automation in DevOps, and high-quality apps.
Kanika Vatsyayan: Have you been working on any new books?
Eran Kinsbruner: I am currently not working on a new book after releasing three books in ~4 years’ time. I am getting both requests and a personal desire to consider a new book – I will update the community once this plan matures
Kanika Vatsyayan: How do you keep yourself updated with the current technology?
Eran Kinsbruner: The digital landscape is one of the most innovative and dynamic, and to stay up to date, I read a lot, attend (not only presents ) webinars, scan through social media and leading websites, and keeping close touch with my clients who are adopting the newest technologies as well.
Whenever I run into new trends, I try as soon as possible to write about them and ensure that my followers are also aware of them.
Kanika Vatsyayan: How can AI and ML boost Quality assurance?
Eran Kinsbruner: AI and ML can support many tedious and inefficient activities within the SDLC. From automated code reviews, observability and noise filtering, low/no-code development of apps and tests, code and test impact analysis, and much more. The main role of AI and ML is to support the developers and testers and not replace them. Without better efficiency and automation, the development cycles will not be as stable and productive. With that in mind, the current landscape is still in its initial maturity curve, and teams should properly analyze the technologies prior to adopting them.
Kanika Vatsyayan: How to incorporate performance tests in Continuous Testing/Continuous Delivery pipelines?
Eran Kinsbruner: Performance tests as well other non-functional tests, must be considered an equal citizen similarly to functional and regression testing. Shifting them left begins with several approaches: Automating the tests and integrating them into the CI, maintaining them, setting KPIs for the test results as part of the DoD (definition of done) for each software iteration, and making sure that the testers and developers are aligned with regards to the priority of a performance defect (or accessibility and other non-functional tests). Especially within digital, performance and user experience (UX) are as important to the end-user as functionality, and as such – testing must cover these aspects within each software release.
Kanika Vatsyayan: Are you looking to work on your tech skills for your next career move?
Eran Kinsbruner: I am always sharpening my skills and learning each week something new that allows me to stay updated, make an impact on my teams and the entire community. Without continuous learning and skills improvements (through reading, attending events, practicing, etc.), the skills, In many cases, will become obsolete. My advice is to set individual learning targets as part of the weekly routine and allocate some time (1-3 hours a week or so) to learn new things.
Kanika Vatsyayan: The best way to get in touch with you?
Eran Kinsbruner: I am available on most social media, so people can reach me accordingly:
- Twitter: @ek121268
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eran-kinsbruner-4b47a81/
- My continuous testing blog : https://continuoustesting.dev/
- My Medium blog site: https://ek121268.medium.com/
