Meet a Test Lead: Delfina

In Meet a Tester, we feature QA experts from our network who share their love for quality (and Testlio!) Delfina is a bio-engineer and Test Lead from Argentina.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Today I consider myself both an engineer and mountaineer. When I’m not up in the mountains, I’m down in the valley working on my computer. I’m very lucky to live in Bariloche, Argentina, one of the most beautiful places on earth that allows me to combine my two worlds. The mountains are my backyard! It’s very easy for me to work at home in the morning and climb some steep trails in the afternoon or ski fresh powder after a snowstorm.

What is your educational background?

I studied bio-engineering in Argentina and specialized in signal and image processing. In the last year I drifted towards software testing, teaching myself. At the same time, I’m also studying to be a mountain guide.

How did you end up as a Test Lead at Testlio?

In my previous jobs I developed algorithms for technological products and worked with the companies’ testers. Even though I didn’t specialize in testing, it was an area very familiar to me.

When I started studying to be a mountain guide I quit my previous job, as I couldn’t handle a full time job while studying. This is when I started freelancing as a tester on various platforms, learning about testing, and getting to know the testing network. Eventually I found a job opening at Testlio for a Test Lead role and jumped right in. Even though I felt I lacked experience, I was eager to continue tuning my skills. When working with software before, I was constantly finding and correcting bugs of my own algorithms. With that experience and my whole engineering background I felt confident I could dive into the testing world.

What are your testing specialties?

Being quite new, I’m still not specialized in any specific area yet. While at Testlio I’ve begun developing regression, exploratory and localization testing skills. Eventually, I would like to learn some automation testing.

Why do you give a damn about testing?

Creating a digital product requires a lot of time and energy. One small bug has the potential to break the code and jeopardize all that effort. Testing can save a product, prevent future problems, and make the product as close to perfect as possible. 

How do you balance testing and personal life?

This is one of my biggest challenges. The mountains require a lot of effort and time. So does testing. I like to create some small routines and habits that allow me to be efficient and effective each day. I usually divide my day in several blocks. 

Each block has a specific objective which I should achieve. I try to concentrate on one task at a time and give 100% of my attention to that task. It might seem obvious, but nowadays it’s quite easy to get distracted with all the over-stimulus that we have with our phones and computers. While working I pause notifications from unnecessary apps, and get back to them once I finish.

What’s an interesting fact about yourself?

My mountaineering journey shaped my personality and affected every other aspect of my life. One might think that being a mountaineer has nothing to do with my engineering and testing side. However, the mountains constantly defy me in such a way that they help me build competences that are applicable to all these other areas, including testing work.

From all the years in the mountains I learnt skills such as:

• Resiliency: in order to confront the harsh weather and hard conditions.
• Attention to detail: a skill required to read the terrain and the weather clues as well as to plan an expedition.
• Methodology: security aspects require strong methods in order to manage risk.
• Flexibility: one always encounters surprises and unexpected situations that oblige us to be flexible in our planification and to improvise new paths.
• Creativity: as resources are limited, one must learn to create solutions with the available materials and conditions.
• Companionship: even though I might sometimes go alone to the mountains, the best experiences are the ones that I shared with my friends. Having to figure out hard decisions in the mountains with my climbing partners, gave me my most valuable friendships.

What are some of your favorite apps?

• Slack: I use it only for work and not for personal messaging. When I’m not working, I just pause notifications and close the app. This helps to keep that work-life balance.
• Notion: beautiful note taking app both for work and personal life. 
• Google spreadsheets: for absolutely everything.
• Strava: I like to track all my workouts with it.
• Gaia and Google Earth: to plan mountain itineraries and projects.
• Windy: most of my plans depend on the weather, so I keep a close eye on it. 
• Headspace: for meditation and breathing practices.

How would you convince a friend to join Testlio?

Testing and working as a Test Lead is fun and I’m continuously learning. However, what I treasure the most about Testlio is the people and how they reflect the company values. From the first interview onwards I always felt such positive human vibes. I’m constantly encountering new challenges and there’s always someone on the other side of the screen trying to help me and making the process smoother. I can tell that I’m working with people that are definitely kind and who give a damn. Plus it is so much fun to meet so many people from different corners of the world.