PLATO Panel Talks

PLATO Panel Talks is taking on Software Testing, AI and Machine Learning with our host, Mike Hrycyk, sitting down with Sean Wilson (Senior Director, Engineering, WindRiver) and Nathaniel Couture (VP Quality Engineering at Xtract One Technologies Inc.). How does AI impact the future of the testing profession? The panellists discuss the pressing question by exploring the benefits and challenges of incorporating AI into testing processes, how AI may change the nature of testing, and the ethical considerations and risks associated with AI in software development.

In this episode of PLATO Panel Talks, guest host Heather Stapleton (Director of the Apprenticeship Program) is taking over to dive into the crucial topic of allyship within the tech industry. We're also joined by panellists Raena Steeves, Keisha Nguyen, and Joel Vautour, as they chat about what it means to be an ally, why it's so crucial for women in tech, and navigating the complexities of offering effective support. Plus, keep an eye out for our "Allyship Spotlights" that shine a light on PLATO employees' personal experiences and perspectives on allyship, offering valuable insights. Altogether there's a lot to learn from everyone's insights!

In this episode of PLATO Panel Talks, our host, Mike Hrycyk is diving into the importance of learning and growth in IT, particularly in software testing. He is joined by two panellists driving learning opportunities at PLATO Kevin Swaine, (Director - Delivery, Atlantic) and Amrit Bhattacharya, (Director - Delivery, Prairies). Together, they discuss the role of individuals and organizations in fostering growth, the balance between technical and leadership skills, and the importance of continuous learning. The panellists also provide their top three growth topics in testing today for individuals looking for development opportunities.

This month, PLATO Panel Talks is bringing together its panel of experts to help us better understand Enterprise Testing. Our host, Mike Hrycyk, and guest panellists, Jason Lee (Lead of Quality Engineering Practice for Deloitte Canada) and Kamal Ahuja (VP of Service Delivery, AB for PLATO) share their experiences to help answer, "what makes Enterprise Testing different from other testing projects?" They also provide a lens into the various elements of Enterprise Testing and how a Software Tester who is interested in bringing quality to major transformations can do so through Enterprise Testing.

PLATO Panel Talks is back for 2023, and our host Mike Hrycyk is sitting down with two returning panellists and experts in Test Automation, Jonathan Duncan, Chief Delivery Officer at PLATO Tech and Sean Wilson, Senior Director of Engineering at Wind River, to ask “is Test Automation a silver bullet?” While the panel may debate whether Automation is a silver bullet for your testing needs, they also share how they set automation up for success on a project and the essential role that Test Automation plays in software testing today and in the future.

We are excited to be back this week with part 2 of PLATO Panel Talks: Introducing the PLATO Training Program. In this episode, our host Mike is chatting with two of our PLATO graduates – Michael Jamieson (Sault Ste. Marie) and Nicholas Grant (Vancouver). The graduates are now full-time members of the PLATO team and are joining us for a conversation about their experience throughout the software tester training program and internship. We are so excited to have them on our podcast to share their journey to the course started, the experience of the program, and where they see their careers heading in the future.

The PLATO Training program, which started in 2015 and has now taught and employed more than 250 Indigenous software testers, will be the topic of today's special two-part panel talk. Open to members of the First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities, the program provides participants with the education and expertise necessary to begin a career in tech and become full-time software testers.

John Howes, PLATO Training Manager, and Dani Gulliver, a PLATO Instructor, join our host, Mike Hrycyk, for a deep dive into the program from the perspective of those teaching and managing it. In addition to addressing questions regarding eligibility requirements, program fees, and operational details, they also share how teaching and working with students shapes their perspective on what makes a great tester. 

In this episode of PLATO Panel Talks, our host, Mike Hrycyk, is sitting down for a one-on-one conversation with our Director of Service Delivery in Ontario, Abhishek Gupta. In the last year, Abhishek has put together a training certification for PLATO on the fundamentals of accessibility testing. Since then all PLATO employees working on accessibility testing projects have taken the certification to great success. Tune in to hear about how and why Abhishek went about creating this certification and learn how accessibility is helping our team members grow as software testers.

PQA Panel is back, and our host Mike Hrycyk is sitting down with two PQA's Automation Testing Team members, Shobana Muhilan and Jordan Coughlan, to dive into using locators in automation testing. Together all three panellists share how through time and experience, they have come to find real satisfaction in the challenge and creativity of making and finding locators in automation testing.

The more information we have, the better decisions we can make. That's as true in testing as it is in life, and on this episode of PQA Panel Talks, we are talking about the way teaming teams capture that information: metrics. Join host Mike Hrycyk, along with Sean Wilson of Ubisoft and PQA's Jonathan Duncan, as they break down everything from KPIs and KRIs to which metrics really matter for the team and which ones your stakeholders will be looking to help make business decisions.

To help PQA Panel Talks kick off the new year, our host Mike Hrycyk sat down with friends of the pod Director of Quality Engineering at Slalom Build, Dr. Christin Wiedemann and Nathaniel Couture, QA Manager at Patriot One, to take a look at the future of testing in 2021. Together our panellists share their thoughts on which testing topics will be on everyone's minds this year, from AI and machine learning to edge computing and automation.

In recent years, the process and tools used for performance testing have evolved as organizations moved to the cloud. In this episode of PQA Panel Talks, our host Mike Hrycyk is joined by PLATO VP of Customer Success, Jonathan Duncan and PQA Senior Performance Tester Lakshmi Narasimhan. Together they discuss how the cloud has changed the way we test for performance, from making it faster to how automation has changed the game.

Where does QA fit in DevOps? This month on PQA Panel Talks, our host, Mike Hrycyk talks with experienced DevOps experts Jonathan Duncan and Terri McAllister about what quality and testing mean in DevOps and where it fits in. The three also have a short-lived debate about how to rename the concept of DevOps to make it inclusive of developers, testers, and everyone involved in a successful software development life cycle.

This month on PQA Panel Talks, we’re talking about testing from home! Our host Mike Hrycyk called up Patriot One Technologies Director of Platform Quality Nathaniel Couture and PQA's VP Customer Success Jonathan Duncan for a brainstorming session on the potential impacts to quality assurance while your teams are working from home.

The panel dives into how you can manage and mitigate the quality challenges that come from moving products and services online quickly in response to COVID-19. The panel also discusses how to be creative in keeping lines of communication with your team open and why you should be dedicating some extra time to questions and interpreting requirements.

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For our fourth episode of PQA Panel Talks, we asked test automation experts Jim Peers, former PQA team member and current Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at OXD, and PQA's QA Manager, John McLaughlin to join our host Mike Hrycyk. Together they reflect on their experiences working in test automation, revisit some of their automation war stories, and provide insight on the pitfalls projects can hit and how to avoid them.

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In honour of International Women’s Day, we want to share our discussion about what it means to be a woman in software testing in 2020. We asked Dr. Christin Wiedemann, President of Radical I/O and passionate diversity advocate, to join us as a guest moderator and lead a discussion about the software testing experiences of individuals who identify as women. We spoke about the state of testing for women now, and where we still need to go with PLATO Testing’s Shawnee Polchis-Lanteigne, Hootsuite’s Jesse Ye, and PQA Testing’s Danielle Gulliver.

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PQA Panel Talks is back with our second episode! This month we are bringing together PLATO Testing's Keisha Nguyen and Keith Joe, as well as, PQA Testing's Chris Wagner, to talk with Mike Hrycyk about their experiences working on their first content migration project. The panel also has an excellent discussion on the keys to success in content migration, and the software tester skills that made them the right team for the job. 

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For the first PQA Panel talks, we're talking with PQA testing experts Mike Hrykcyk, Allyson White, Nat Couture, & Brian Doyle. In this conversation with our experts learn about how we define Shift Left, Shift Right & how they can improve your testing practices.

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