My role as a Test Automation Consultant at Seriös Group

I joined Seriös Group as a Test Automation Consultant in January 2022. I wasn’t looking for a new role at that time and out of the blue I was contacted by one of the Seriös directors who I had worked with in the past. When he told me about the company, their plans and the role they were looking to fill, I became interested.

The growth of Seriös Group in the short time since it was created, impressed me and continues to do so. It was an exciting opportunity to be part of something new from the start and I knew some people who already worked there, so it was an easy decision.

Before joining Seriös Group I worked as a Software Test Analyst, Test Automation Engineer, SDET and I’ve been testing software for about two decades!

Since joining the company I’ve worked on one major project. We are one of three companies who make up the project team. On the project, there’s no real distinction between those companies. We each bring our areas of expertise with the aim of meeting the client’s objectives for the project. When I imagined the role of consultant, I didn’t expect the level of teamwork which I’ve experienced.

I was responsible for proposing a testing strategy and appropriate automation tools and then putting them into practice. We’re using Cypress for UI automation and Mocha for automated API tests, all written in Typescript. These tests have been built into the CI/CD pipeline, acting as gatekeepers for pull requests. We’ll also use JMeter for performance testing. We have some Junior Consultants on the project so I’ve mentored them in Test Automation, in addition to the training courses they completed.

Seriös Group are keen for their employees to have training which enables them to be effective consultants. While waiting for the project to start I completed a refresher course in Cypress and I’m about to start some training on Playwright. Client’s requirements are all different so we try to offer a breadth of knowledge, which gives us the best opportunity to meet those requirements.

Having worked for companies in the past, at different stages on their journey towards test automation, I’ve seen how difficult it can be for them to take that first step. Developers often don’t want to spend a lot of their time writing automated tests and manual testers need time to learn how to write code. Part of my role is helping clients to bridge that gap. For me, making the move from manual to automated testing was a revelation. You still have to think about what to test and how to test it but it introduces a creative, problem solving element. i.e How to write code to carry out those tests, as efficiently as possible. Every day brings a new challenge and with it comes a sense of achievement when you solve the problem.

Seriös Group look after their employees. Once a month they take us out for drinks and there are events like crazy golf, escape rooms and we were recently shooting hoops with the Newcastle Eagles. We have regular pay reviews and they recognise the contribution you’ve made. We’re about to move to a modern new office. It is being set up to enable collaboration but will also allow for quiet areas where you can work without being disturbed. We have hybrid working arrangements and meet in the office when a face to face discussion is the best way to share ideas.

Working for Seriös Group has been a positive experience for me. There are always several projects being worked on, with clients across different sectors, so I expect the work to be varied. We collaborate internally as well as with our clients so the best ideas are shared and we build a shared understanding of what does and doesn’t work well.