Fay, our Senior Talent Partner, talks to Jag, our Lead QA Engineer about his time at Capital on Tap. They chat about the change in the QA function over time, exciting projects to look forward to and their favourite thing about working at CoT; the people (I mean they are pretty great). Read on to find out more!
What were you doing before you joined Capital on Tap and how did you come about joining us?
I worked as the Head of QA at a software consultancy company which was a great experience. I gained insights into multiple domains however the work was very project based; although interesting, I preferred to shift towards a more product focused role. I had always been interested in the Fintech space and began my search for fast growing start-ups. I saw the role of CoT and got in touch with Fay. She walked me through the company’s growth plan as well as the current challenges being faced from a QA standpoint, it sounded exciting, so I hopped along for the ride.
What exciting projects have you been a part of during your time here and how has the QA function changed since you joined?
I’ve had the privilege of working on a wider range of products within CoT, the most exciting was the rollout of the mobile applications across Android and iOS platforms – it added new challenges to our testing efforts. Over the last two years, QA as a function has shifted from testing all features with limited knowledge on functionality a day before release to being involved at the design stage of feature development which improves quality upfront. We now help facilitate, guide and support testing, enabling the organisation as a whole to be responsible for quality.
What do you enjoy most about working at Capital on Tap?
The people. Capital on Tap is full of very talented individuals who love what they do and are great fun to work with. Everyone is always ready to lend a helping hand, even in the current pandemic the people and the company culture is still as positive as ever!
I also really enjoy the fact that CoT has so many areas of functionality, which gives me the opportunity to learn something new every day.
What have you found the most challenging?
We’re working in a fast-changing environment, we’re constantly releasing new features to support our customers - it can sometimes be difficult to keep up. I’m very fortunate to be a part of an awesome team that helps me to be adaptive and agile.
What does a typical day look like for you at Capital on Tap?
The mornings usually consist of stand-ups across the various missions’ teams, discussing what we’re currently working on and what’s next. We also discuss any blockers to the work. Depending on where we are in a release, we test the functional specs of features and assist in providing fast feedback. After stand-ups, I usually pick up stories from our current sprint across the different mission teams, walk through the logic with developers/business stakeholders and help provide fast feedback.
What are you excited about for 2021 at CoT?
We have a very exciting technical roadmap for 2021, which will enable us to scale up faster – this will no doubt introduce new challenges around testing which I look forward to solving with the team.
The team is also working on getting as many tests automated as we can for regression testing, giving us time to focus on testing more complex features and scenarios.
What else have you got involved with at Capital on Tap?
During South Asian Heritage Month CoT held a wide range of activities from cooking classes to panel discussions about being of South Asian heritage and growing up in the UK. During this month I held a TED-style talk on ‘Insights into Punjab: Past & Present’ - it was great to share some more about my culture with those that attended.
Currently, I help facilitate virtual games night sessions for the team, our current games of choice - Settlers of Catan, Scribble, Among us. We’re open to suggestions.
Tell us more about yourself - what do you like doing in your spare time?
I spend most of my spare time running after my two year old daughter. I also enjoy staying active, regularly go to the gym and practice martial arts. I try my best to give back to the community by volunteering at food banks and raising funds for various local charities. Recently, I’ve signed up to become a STEM ambassador which is a new opportunity I look forward to.
