February 25, 2019 // By Magenic
Saima Prabhu was recently promoted to general manager of Quality Engineering and DevOps at Magenic. Prabhu brings more than 22 years of industry experience spanning manufacturing, design, marketing, sales, development, quality assurance and business management, enabling her to bridge the gap between business and technology. We sat down with her to find out about her philosophies and what makes a good QE model.
- What first brought you to Magenic?
I had delivered my second baby, Isabelle, and was invited by a friend to a jewelry party where I met an ex-Magenicon who had me sold on the culture of Magenic. She passed on my name to a recruiter, who approached me for a casual chat. The rest is history. - How has the process of quality assurance evolved since you started with Magenic in 2007?
The core belief of providing value and being a partner to your client has been an integral part of Magenic and still remains the same. We can boast about having some of the most positive, helpful and smart quality engineers. The technology, thought leadership, processes, tools and techniques have changed drastically within our group and equipped us to provide our clients with the required quality engineering transformation needs. We have also carved some unique opportunities to establish the DevOps and quality engineering skills. - Had you been thinking about bringing your skills to America back when you were studying electronics at Vishwakarma Institute of Technology in India?
I have always tried to have a solid work ethic, drive to make my teams successful, willingness to take on any task, and continuously adapt to the technology needs. America presented me with opportunities to showcase my capabilities, and I have never been disappointed. - What sets Magenic apart in terms of its approach to quality assurance?
The endless drive to stay current, focus on research and training, healthy retrospection, and a value-based belief. - What’s the first thing you look for when assessing a client’s QA health?
A couple of things: company culture, QA maturity, executive leadership buy-in. Change is the only constant. If they aren’t ready to transform from the top, there is very little a consulting partner can do. Many companies have not focused or invested in their QA group. Given the need for speed and continuous deployments, companies are now forced to pay attention to their QA group. This is truly the best phase for quality engineering in my opinion. - You wrote a wonderful LinkedIn post about balancing work and family priorities using your CAP system (Categorize and Plan), in which you list how you divide your time. Do you still use CAP?
Yes. I believe that if one is able to categorize and plan whatever life throws at you, it will always make your journey in life more enjoyable. - Where do you see Magenic heading in the future in terms of QA expertise and opportunities?
Magenic QA has beautifully morphed into a group that is heavily focused on quality engineering, continuous testing, continuous integration, and cloud capabilities, without sacrificing the true essence of testing. Having DevOps as part of our repertoire will open the gates for Magenic to become the best in class cloud modernization and quality engineering partner. - What has been a client highlight for you in your time at Magenic?
Leading the client in their journey from ideation to implementation has been a highlight for me. - What is your philosophy in providing superior client service?
Transparency, collaboration, flexibility and value-based outcomes. - You’re renowned for being able to think big picture while also mastering details. Any advice for newcomers to the field?
For newcomers my advice is to work hard, welcome change, fail quick, be open to other perspectives, and be humble.
If you’d like to read Prabhu’s LinkedIn post on balancing work and family, visit her LinkedIn page. Prabhu has helped create manual and automated testing that combines DevOps best practices of continuous testing and integration. To see how this balance of testing methods helps move our clients fast in an agile world, visit our Success Story page.