John Taber

Santa Clara, CA
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Objectives

Obtain a position as a Senior or Lead Software Quality Assurance Engineer where 16 years of hardware and software testing experience can be utilized to increase product quality and company profitability.

• Directed a group of four QA engineers and a technical writer in a fast paced startup environment with constantly changing priorities. Duties included yearly performance reviews, mentoring, project resource management, complex scheduling, and day-to-day operational decisions.
• Constructed and executed detailed test plans for the cutting edge Above All Software suite of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) products. The products under test provide deep and flexible connectivity between enterprise class applications.
• Developed an in depth understanding of composite services and how they can be used to solve real business problems.
• Gained exposure to Microsoft .NET 1/2 and IIS 5/6 as these are underlying technologies used in the product.
• Acquired a working knowledge of Siebel Enterprise 7.5/7.7/7.8, SAP, and SalesForce.Com enterprise applications.
• Created, maintained, and inspected automation test code. Above All Software uses TestComplete from AutomatedQA for UI test automation construction and execution. Automation code is written in JavaScript.
• Worked directly with the professional services organization to provide support for high profile customer issues.
• Improved the QA process by developing a bug logging process, test plan templates, and status tracking spreadsheets. This included administering and monitoring the corporate bug tracking system.

• Created detailed test plans, conducted testing, and finished test cycles for several Agile software suites. Worked closely with developers to produce the highest quality solution through the entire product life cycle.
• Worked as the QA representative on several project teams. Responsibilities included scheduling, training, and planning coordination for several QA engineers both inside and outside of the United States.
• The Agile Software modules that were tested included several high-end Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 and Sun Solaris enterprise applications that were used in transporting data to and from the Agile database. During the testing of these modules intricate test databases were constructed to make future tests easier and more complete. These modules included those with client/server architectures to those constructed with Java for web deployment.
• Gained considerable knowledge in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Product Data Management (PDM), Product Sourcing (PS), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), and data transfer best practices.
• Developed skills with several revisions of Oracle and Microsoft SQL*Server databases. Attended Oracle SQL training. Learned several application server platforms including BEA Systems WebLogic and Oracle Application Server. Extensively used Microsoft IIS web servers. Gained experience with the Cognos cube based reporting suite which included two weeks of in depth training. Attended training on Embarcadero’s DT Studio ETL tools and performed integration testing using them with the Agile suite. Gained experience testing portal applications using IBM WebSphere Portal Server.
• Worked closely with customer support and field engineers to resolve escalated issues in the field.
• Performed training for internal phone support and field engineers. This training included detailed documentation and all presentation material.
• Enhanced the quality procedures and processes used to deliver software products at Agile. This included detailed work on several internal process improvement teams. Major improvements were made on test case and test plan templates, bug tracking procedures, and metrics.

• Developed test plans, performed testing, and completed test reports on new and sustaining products as they were developed and released from research and development (R&D). Worked closely with R&D to eliminate problems before the product was released to manufacturing and the customer base.
• Products tested included high reliability SCSI based RAID storage devices of all types on various servers under a variety of operating systems. Equipment ranged from low-level RAID host bus adapters to high-end redundant hardware controllers. Testing included monitoring software, controller firmware, and hardware evaluations.
• Participated in a team environment on several design projects and worked closely with third party OEM vendors.
• Experienced using various operating systems including Novell NetWare 3.1X/4.1X, Microsoft Windows 95/NT 3.5X/NT 4.0/NT Enterprise Edition (including full cluster support (MSCS)), and Sun Solaris 2.X.
• Worked with many high-end servers including those manufactured by Compaq, IBM, HP, Sun, Micron, and DEC.
• Performed detailed system analysis using SCSI bus analyzers. Attended a SCSI analysis course.
• Conducted technical training for internal field engineers on various product lines. Training included creation and presentation of coursework material.
• Managed system test engineering staff. Duties included day-to-day direction and long range planning.
• Worked on enhancing the system test engineering department including detailed work on a bug tracking database.

• Performed technical customer support for high-end diskette duplication equipment for the first year of employment. Supported equipment included UNIX operating mini-computers and sophisticated mechanical robotics.
• Provided quality assurance testing for new products released by the research and development teams. Products varied greatly in scope and function. Completed projects have been mechanical, software, and electrical in nature. The equipment was used in manufacturing environments where speed, accuracy, and reliability were paramount. Duties included complete test plan development, equipment management, and managerial responsibilities.
• Experienced with Microsoft Windows 3.X/NT 3.5X, and UNIX environments.
• Established company wide procedure for handling bug tracking before and after release to the customer base.
• Developed and conducted advanced technical training for internal customer support engineers, field engineers, and key customer accounts. Training courses were given in several foreign countries including Japan, Singapore, England, and Ireland.

• Received training and assisted in commercial electrical installations.
• Maintained proper inventory levels of electrical components in support of scheduled projects.

Education and Certifications

• Coursework focused on computer design, computer applications, programming, and microcomputer design.
• IEEE Member (4 years)
• The Society of Adventure Gaming Associates (SAGA) - Secretary (3 years)

American Society for Quality (ASQ)

• Requires 8 years of service as a software engineer to become eligible for certification.
• Certification process involves taking a challenging software quality exam.<
• “Senior Member” designation requires approval from a local ASQ advancement committee.
• Renewal requires continued study in the quality field.

Software Quality Engineering (SQE)
Member (11/97 to present)

• SQE discusses best practices used by software quality professionals.
• Hosts speakers and writers in the quality field.