Difference between revisions of "Curriculum Vitae - Vincent Dirks"

Revision as of 22:17, 5 May 2024

Intro Vincent Dirks - Software Quality Engineer

As a versatile Software Quality Engineer, I aim to understand the nuances of the product, team dynamics, technological landscapes, and organizational structures so that I can adapt and contribute effectively. I specialize in adapting to diverse contexts, and look beyond traditional testing methodologies to consider the design of the whole quality ecosystem necessary for delivering quality software solutions efficiently.

Skills

Testing

Context Driven Testing API Testing Testing Native Mobile Apps Testing Web Apps Testing Firmware/Embedded systems Testability Concepts	Observability Concepts Exploratory Testing (Session & Thread Based) Visual Modelling Metrics Driven Development (A/B Testing) Accessibility Testing

Programming and Automation

Javascript	Java	Other
Node.js Express.js React.js Jest Cypress.io Webdriver.io	Cucumber (BDD) Tidal Wave UI automation library Selenium REST Assured JUnit, TestNG LeJOS (Lego mindstorm) Robotics	Appium XCUITest C#: Specflow (BDD) SQL GraphQL C++: Arduino, ESP32
Tools
Splunk (log aggregation & analysis) Postman, Newman Github/Bitbucket Jenkins, Azure Devops, TFS, Google Cloud Platform Bash & Powershell scripting SoapUI & ReadyAPI

General

Platform Engineering Staff Mentoring & Induction Agile Squad Master Manufacturing Resource Planning - Logistics Manager Physics - Weather Radar Systems, Lasers, Fibre-optics Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Work Experience

I am taking a break from work to give myself some time for self-care after some difficult periods over the last couple of years.

Water Services Reform, Dept of Internal Affairs (NZ Govt) - Senior Test Automation Engineer (Nov-2023 - Jan-2024)

Contracting through TTC Global. Part of the Test Automation team for the Three Waters Project, developing a UI Automation suite in Java using the Tidal. wave Selenium automation library

Westpac NZ - Senior Automation Quality Engineer (Apr-2021 - Nov-2023)

Served as a Roving Automation Quality Engineer, bridging testing and automation gaps across multiple teams. Tested and automated mobile apps (Appium & XCUITest), a D365 web UI (Java, Selenium, POM's), and various APIs (Java, REST Assured). Also undertook a secondment as a platform engineer supporting Splunk, and later developed a ReactJS web app for viewing the test environments and interconnections.

FirstAML - Test Analyst (Oct-2020 - Mar-2021)

Served as a quality coach for a startup company developing a ReactJS Web App for the AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism) industry.

Weather Radar NZ limited - Weather Radar Systems Engineer (Jun-2020 - Oct-2020)

Contracting 4 days/week. Helping modify legacy weather radars with some embedded Arduino micro controllers. Designing new electronics, PCB's, maintaining power waveguide systems, and performing signal analysis.

Grappler- Agile Quality Analyst (Jun-2020 - Oct-2020)

Contracting 1 day/week. Developed a Postman collection to test the API and implemented a node in Google Cloud Platform to execute the collection using Newman, and a simple Web UI (Node.js, Express.js) to trigger test runs and display HTML test reports. The Web UI implemented access restrictions for whitelisted IPs and authenticated users.

Fiserv Auckland - Intermediate Software Test Engineer (Jan-2017 - Apr-2020)

Native Mobile App functional and accessibility testing. API testing and automation. Using Postman/Newman, Specflow with C#, Javascript(Postman/Node.js/Express.js), Splunk for dashboards, TFS & Powershell for System deployment automation. Created a Postman Testrunner Framework for automated API integration checks and environment health monitoring.

Engel Consulting - Contracting (Sep 2016 - Dec 2016)

Trade Me - Senior Software Test Analyst (Dec-2014 - Aug-2016)

Part of a small squad at Trade Me, I conducted context-driven exploratory testing for software changes to the iconic website. My responsibilities included testing DBs, UIs, APIs, and mobile apps, leading deployments, conducting test planning and peer reviews, utilizing BDD and visual test tools. I gained experience with implementing agile methods, Splunk, ReadyAPI, XMind, Jira, and Confluence. I also enjoyed onboarding new staff and contributing to the test and agile guilds.

Pre-2014 Roles

Logistics Manager, Caregiver, Software Engineer, Development & Support Engineer, Production Scheduler, Physics Tutor

Related wiki pages

References

TTC, Westpac , Fiserv , Trade Me Motors

Volunteering

Ministry of Testing, Eastern Suburbs AFC, Glendowie Boating Club, MOTAT, Eastern Suburbs Montessori Primary School

Professional Development

Conferences, workshops, meetups etc.

Education

University of Auckland: ME(Elec)

Presentations, Posts, and blogs

What I'm reading, watching, listening, learning, and trying out in 2024

Test Community Events

Registered to go to the NZTestingConf 2024 in Wellington to listen to
- Shay Naiki, QA Manager @ Alphero: Creating a collaborative culture in the testing world: lessons from life in a digital agency
- Nevetha Mani, Product Human @ Hectre: Off the beaten path: rethinking quality in the startup world
- Emma Procter & Jonathan Shirley, @ PikPok: Finding the fun: researching and playtesting games at PikPok
- Patricio Miner, Content Creator @ Free Range Testers: ETL: the testing niche you've never thought of
- Toby Martin, QA Practice Lead @ Pushpay: Stop automating, start investigating: a guide to slowing down to speed up
- Ryan Bevens, QA Community Manager @ Potentia: Diary of a reluctant recruiter: your value as a tester

== Watch this space for conference notes ==

Interesting Reads

A Context Driven Approach to Automation in Testing By James Bach and Michael Bolton

Quote: "dynamically evaluating context and selecting, designing, or adjusting our actions to solve the problems that we encounter."

Round Earth Test Strategy by James Bach

Interesting alternative to the "Test Automation Pyramid".

Quote: There are testing problems to consider at every level, "Quality above requires quality below".

My Observability Project

Express.js basic hello world and my node.js-in-the-cloud repo
Kubernetes vs. Docker by Josh Campbell at Atlassian

I want to learn the difference between these technologies to see how it might apply to my Observability Project

Setting up Docker Desktop at home to run the Docker Splunk Image

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{ContactDetails}}
-{{PersonalIntroduction}}
+== Intro Vincent Dirks - Software Quality Engineer ==
-== Intro - I'm a Full Stack Agile Quality Analyst==
+As a versatile Software Quality Engineer, I aim to understand the nuances of the product, team dynamics, technological landscapes, and organizational structures so that I can adapt and contribute effectively. I specialize in adapting to diverse contexts, and look beyond traditional testing methodologies to consider the design of the whole quality ecosystem necessary for delivering quality software solutions efficiently.
-:'''I''' love testing and will use all resources & tools at my disposal to do it. Every delivery team has different constraints, skills, processes, bottlenecks, and opportunities for how they deliver product & process changes. I'll try to leverage the skills and resources already in the team, and add my own skills and experiences, maybe sprinkle on some ideas from the test, agile, and dev communities, as well as, some plain experimentation, to best test and deliver the changes. Each context is different and I love adjusting the development, test, and delivery processes to match them to the context at hand. I like [http://www.satisfice.com/articles/what_is_et.shtml '''exploratory testing'''], and I also have fun coding [http://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/856 '''automated checks''']. I do gravitate towards [http://context-driven-testing.com/ '''Context Driven Testing''' (CDT)], and (largely) agree with the thoughts and expressions from the leaders of the CDT community, such as [http://satisfice.com/ James Bach] and [http://www.developsense.com/ Michael Bolton]. I really like [http://agilemanifesto.org/ '''Agile'''], which for me is ''"[[autonomy with responsibility through trust]]"''.
-:'''I''' think the essence of software development is still about '''people''': It is '''Driven by people''', '''Made by people''', and '''Made for people'''. We all have ''emotions, passions, motivators, and more! We're all different, and we all have something unique to give. ''
-{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 50px; margin-right: 50px; text-align:center"
+== Skills ==
+=== Testing ===
+{| class="wikitable"
+|- style="vertical-align:top;"
+|
+* Context Driven Testing
+* API Testing
+* Testing Native Mobile Apps
+* Testing Web Apps
+* Testing Firmware/Embedded systems
+* Testability Concepts
+|
+* Observability Concepts
+* Exploratory Testing (Session & Thread Based)
+* Visual Modelling
+* Metrics Driven Development (A/B Testing)
+* Accessibility Testing
+|}
+=== Programming and Automation ===
+{| class="wikitable"
+|- style="vertical-align:top;"
+! style="text-align:left"| Javascript
+! style="text-align:left"| Java
+! style="text-align:left"| Other
 |-
-| '''I''' love to work with people that have a '''passion''' for what they do, and have '''fun''' doing it!  '''Testing '''is my '''professional''' passion, and I love working with people who '''respect''' and '''challenge''' me to be my best.
+|
+* Node.js
+* Express.js
+* React.js
+* Jest
+* Cypress.io
+* Webdriver.io
+|
+* Cucumber (BDD)
+* Tidal Wave UI automation library
+* Selenium
+* REST Assured
+* JUnit, TestNG
+* LeJOS (Lego mindstorm) Robotics
+|
+* Appium
+* XCUITest
+* C#: Specflow (BDD)
+* SQL
+* GraphQL
+* C++: Arduino, ESP32
+|-
+!colspan="3" style="text-align:left"| Tools
+|-
+|colspan="3"|
+* Splunk (log aggregation & analysis)
+* Postman, Newman
+* Github/Bitbucket
+* Jenkins, Azure Devops, TFS, Google Cloud Platform
+* Bash & Powershell scripting
+* SoapUI & ReadyAPI
+|}
+=== General ===
+{| class="wikitable"
+|- style="vertical-align:top;"
+|
+* Platform Engineering
+* Staff Mentoring & Induction
+* Agile Squad Master
+* Manufacturing Resource Planning - Logistics Manager
+* Physics - Weather Radar Systems, Lasers, Fibre-optics
+* Electrical & Electronic Engineering
 |}
-==Skills==
+== Work Experience ==
-===Testing===
+I am taking a break from work to give myself some time for self-care after some difficult periods over the last couple of years.
-'''A'''PI Testing, '''C'''ontext Driven Testing, '''R'''isk Based Testing, '''T'''ool Assisted '''E'''xploratory '''T'''esting, '''T'''est Planning, '''V'''isual Modelling, '''S'''ession and '''T'''hread Based Testing, '''G'''herkin, '''B'''ehaviour Driven Development, '''M'''etrics Driven Development, '''A'''B Testing, '''M'''obile Testing, '''M'''entoring & Induction, '''U'''AT, '''F'''irmware Testing.
-===Automation===
+=== [[Water Services Reform, Dept of Internal Affairs (NZ Govt) - Senior Test Automation Engineer]] (Nov-2023 - Jan-2024) ===
-[[Curriculum_Vitae_-_Vincent_Dirks#Senior_Automation_Test_Engineer_-_Westpac_.28Apr-2021_-_Nov-2023.29|''Westpac(2.5yr)'']]: '''R'''EST Assured ... XXX TBD <br/>[[Curriculum_Vitae_-_Vincent_Dirks#Test_Engineer_-_Fiserv_.28Jan_2017_-_Apr-2020.29|''Fiserv (3.3yr)'']]: '''P'''ostman & '''N'''ewman, '''J'''avaScript('''N'''ode.js, '''E'''xpress.js, '''P'''ug), '''T'''FS, '''P'''owershell, '''S'''pecFlow & '''C'''#, '''S'''oapUI, '''S'''QL.<br/>[[Curriculum_Vitae_-_Vincent_Dirks#Senior_Software_Test_Analyst_.E2.80.93_Trade_Me_.28Dec_2014_-_Aug_2016.29|''Trade Me (2yr)'']]: '''S'''oapUI/'''G'''roovy scripting, '''S'''QL, '''P'''rotractor, '''X'''PATH & CSS locators. <br/>[[Curriculum_Vitae_-_Vincent_Dirks#Software_Tester_.E2.80.93_LeasePlan_NZ_.28Apr_2013_-_Dec_2014.29|''LeasePlan (2yr)'']]: '''V'''BA/'''A'''ccess, '''S'''QL.
+: Contracting through [https://ttcglobal.com TTC Global]. Part of the Test Automation team for the Three Waters Project, developing a UI Automation suite in Java using the [https://wave.tidalcode.dev/ Tidal. wave] Selenium automation library
-===Programming===
+=== [[Westpac NZ - Senior Automation Quality Engineer]] (Apr-2021 - Nov-2023) ===
-'''J'''avascript ('''N'''ode.js, '''E'''xpress.js, '''P'''ug, '''C'''ypress.io, '''W'''ebdriver.io), '''J'''ava (Selenium, GWT, Robotics, JUnit), '''S'''QL, '''C'''#, '''P'''owershell, '''C''', '''C'''++
+: Served as a Roving Automation Quality Engineer, bridging testing and automation gaps across multiple teams. Tested and automated mobile apps (Appium & XCUITest), a D365 web UI (Java, Selenium, POM's), and various APIs (Java, REST Assured). Also undertook a secondment as a platform engineer supporting Splunk, and later developed a ReactJS web app for viewing the test environments and interconnections.
-===Other===
+=== [[FirstAML - Test Analyst]] (Oct-2020 - Mar-2021) ===
-'''S'''plunk, '''S'''quad master, '''C'''I/CD, '''D'''eploy lead, '''P'''roduct demo's, '''T'''raining, '''M'''anufacturing Resource Planning, '''L'''ogistics, '''E'''xternal Relationships,  Radars, Lasers, Fibre-optics, Physics, Robotics, Statistics
+: Served as a quality coach for a startup company developing a ReactJS Web App for the AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism) industry.
-{{Work Experience}}
-==Related wiki pages==
+=== [[Weather Radar NZ limited - Weather Radar Systems Engineer]] (Jun-2020 - Oct-2020) ===
-*[[References_-_Full_List|References]]
+: Contracting 4 days/week. Helping modify legacy weather radars with some embedded Arduino micro controllers. Designing new electronics, PCB's, maintaining power waveguide systems, and performing signal analysis.
-*[[Volunteering]]
-*[[Professional Development]]
+=== [[Grappler- Agile Quality Analyst]] (Jun-2020 - Oct-2020) ===
-*[[Education]]
+: Contracting 1 day/week. Developed a Postman collection to test the API and implemented a node in Google Cloud Platform to execute the collection using Newman, and a simple Web UI (Node.js, Express.js) to trigger test runs and display HTML test reports. The Web UI implemented access restrictions for whitelisted IPs and authenticated users.
-*[[Presentations and Posts]]
+=== [[Fiserv Auckland - Intermediate Software Test Engineer]] (Jan-2017 - Apr-2020) ===
+: Native Mobile App functional and accessibility testing. API testing and automation. Using Postman/Newman, Specflow with C#, Javascript(Postman/Node.js/Express.js), Splunk for dashboards, TFS & Powershell  for System deployment automation. Created a [[Postman Testrunner Framework]] for automated API integration checks and environment health monitoring.
+=== [[Engel Consulting - Contracting]] (Sep 2016 - Dec 2016) ===
+=== [[Trade Me - Senior Software Test Analyst]] (Dec-2014 - Aug-2016) ===
+: Part of a small squad at Trade Me, I conducted context-driven exploratory testing for software changes to the iconic website. My responsibilities included testing DBs, UIs, APIs, and mobile apps, leading deployments, conducting test planning and peer reviews, utilizing BDD and visual test tools. I gained experience with implementing agile methods, Splunk, ReadyAPI, XMind, Jira, and Confluence. I also enjoyed onboarding new staff and contributing to the test and agile guilds.
+=== [[Pre-2014 Roles]] ===
+: [[Pre-2014 Roles#Monitor Business Machines NZ Ltd - Logistics Manager (Aug-2005 - Aug-2009)|Logistics Manager]], [[Pre-2014 Roles#Primary Caregiver (Sep-2003 - Jul-2005)|Caregiver]], [[Pre-2014 Roles#Bioengineering Institute - Software Engineer (Sep 2002 - Aug 2003)|Software Engineer]], [[Pre-2014 Roles#Monitor Business Machines NZ Ltd - Development & Support Engineer (Aug 1997 - Nov 2001)|Development & Support Engineer]], [[Pre-2014 Roles#Carter Holt Harvey(Tissue Group) - Production Scheduler (1994 - 1996)|Production Scheduler]], [[Pre-2014 Roles#University of Auckland - Lab Coordinator & Physics Tutor (Sep-2003 - Jul-2005 part time)|Physics Tutor]]
+== Related wiki pages ==
+=== [[References_-_Full_List|References]] ===
+:[[References_-_Full_List#Dept. of Internal Affairs (TTC)| TTC]], [[References_-_Full_List#Westpac| Westpac ]], [[References_-_Full_List#Fiserv| Fiserv ]], [[References_-_Full_List#| Trade Me Motors]]
+=== [[Volunteering]] ===
+: [[Ministry of Testing - Auckland Branch|Ministry of Testing]], Eastern Suburbs AFC, Glendowie Boating Club, MOTAT, Eastern Suburbs Montessori Primary School
+=== [[Professional Development]] ===
+: Conferences, workshops, meetups etc.
+=== [[Education]] ===
+: University of Auckland: ME(Elec)
+=== [[Presentations, Posts, and blogs]] ===
+----
+----
 ==What I'm reading, watching, listening, learning, and trying out in 2024==
+=== Test Community Events ===
+* Registered to go to the [https://nztestingconf.nz/ NZTestingConf 2024] in Wellington to listen to
+** Shay Naiki, QA Manager @ Alphero: Creating a collaborative culture in the testing world: lessons from life in a digital agency
+** Nevetha Mani, Product Human @ Hectre: Off the beaten path: rethinking quality in the startup world
+** Emma Procter & Jonathan Shirley, @ PikPok: Finding the fun: researching and playtesting games at PikPok
+** Patricio Miner, Content Creator @ Free Range Testers: ETL: the testing niche you've never thought of
+** Toby Martin, QA Practice Lead @ Pushpay: Stop automating, start investigating: a guide to slowing down to speed up
+** Ryan Bevens, QA Community Manager @ Potentia: Diary of a reluctant recruiter: your value as a tester
+:''== Watch this space for conference notes ==''
 ===Interesting Reads===
-* [https://www.satisfice.com/download/a-context-driven-approach-to-automation-in-testing A Context Driven Approach to Automation in Testing] By James Bach and Michael Bolton
+* '''[https://www.satisfice.com/download/a-context-driven-approach-to-automation-in-testing A Context Driven Approach to Automation in Testing]''' By James Bach and Michael Bolton
-* [https://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/4947 Round Earth Test Strategy] by James Bach
+:Quote: ''"dynamically evaluating context and selecting, designing, or adjusting our actions to solve the problems that we encounter."''
-:Interesting alternative to the "test automation pyramid". There are testing problems to consider at every level, ''Quality above requires quality below''.
+* '''[https://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/4947 Round Earth Test Strategy]''' by James Bach
+:Interesting alternative to the ''"Test Automation Pyramid"''.
+:Quote: ''There are testing problems to consider at every level, "Quality above requires quality below".''
 ===My '''[[Observability Project]]'''===
@@ Line 46: / Line 147: @@
 * Setting up Docker Desktop at home to run the [https://github.com/Splunk/docker-Splunk Docker Splunk Image]
-<br>
+===[[Archive What I'm Reading, Watching, Listing, Learning, and Trying Out|Archive]]===
-'''[[Archive What I'm Reading, Watching, Listing, Learning, and Trying Out|Archive of pre-2024 entries]]'''
+:Old pre-2024 entries
+----
+----
-== <end> ==
+[[#Intro Vincent Dirks - Software Quality Engineer|Back to Top]], Send [http://dirksonline.net/cvwiki/index.php?title=Talk:Curriculum_Vitae_-_Vincent_Dirks <u>feedback</u>]
-Send [http://dirksonline.net/cvwiki/index.php?title=Talk:Curriculum_Vitae_-_Vincent_Dirks <u>feedback</u>]