Welcome back to our Employee Spotlight posts! Our blog is currently under refurbishment (exciting), but we wanted to start off this month with a new employee for you to read about!
Nick Bennion - Test Engineer, QA
After graduating from university, I spent brief spells as a radio DJ, textile dyeing assistant, music seller, and ferret handler. However, with a degree in music, and having spent years training as a classical cellist, the move into the insurance industry seemed a natural progression.
In 2001, I joined Provident Insurance (latterly Covéa Insurance), working as a senior claims negotiator. This provided exposure to most aspects of claims, including litigation, credit hire and fraud, in addition to the general claims handling. Then in 2007 I moved into the Electronic Trading department to head up a team focused on product implementation and maintenance, testing monthly pricing and underwriting changes in addition to EDI, documentation and project work. This involved travelling around the country, visiting large software houses and brokers, liaising with customers, and testing both the external systems and their internal system - RDT's Landscape solution.
I joined RDT in 2013, working in the Halifax office. I am responsible for the testing and quality assurance of everything that comes out of our scrum team, and have involvement throughout. During the two and a half years that I have been with RDT, the role and processes have constantly evolved, the most major change being around test automation. Working alongside the guys from nFocus, our team was heavily involved in the replacement of RDT's existing automation tool with the Odin Axe automated testing framework. This will greatly enhance our ability to test and deploy changes.
The work has been incredibly diverse, using innovative and cutting edge technologies. We have been involved in the delivery of new websites, financial processes and reports, and the integration of a new document production system, with changes to the underlying architecture. We also delivered the joint MIB and DVLA initiative, MyLicence, allowing access to accurate driving history data. This is now live with a number of existing clients.
I have always been fascinated with trying to break things, largely intentionally but occasionally by accident, and this is evident when I'm testing. I like the combination of a logical and methodical approach with a more creative side when creating test scenarios. The embedded agile process at RDT encourages self-organisation, ownership and collaboration within the scrum teams, and provides great freedom and real empowerment. Working in a satellite office does bring its own unique set of challenges, but I am lucky to be surrounded by special people.
I am passionate about my role and developing my skills, and this passion is evident throughout the company. RDT provides the opportunity to develop and experience new technologies, all in a fun, friendly and stimulating environment.
Stay tuned for our next Employee Spotlight!
PS. We are at TINtech on Tuesday! Who else is going to be there?
