Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
Websites
Training
SECURITY:
PERSONAL DETAILS:
Timeline
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Richard Etherington

Cardiff

Summary

Highly skilled professional with extensive expertise in software testing, quality assurance, and automation development. Proficient in a wide range of programming languages including COBOL II, Visual Basic, C, Java, JavaScript, Python, and SQL. Adept at using various testing tools such as Cucumber/Selenium, BrowserStack, Qualys, Rest Assured, UFT/QTP, Tosca, and JMeter. Demonstrates strong leadership abilities with experience in team coaching and stakeholder management. Committed to delivering high-quality results through meticulous test planning and execution within agile environments. Seasoned professional in software testing and quality assurance. Capable of driving test strategy evolution and fostering innovation in testing approaches. Specialisms include automated testing, risk assessment, and team leadership. Ready to deliver improved test efficiency and product quality in fast-paced environments.

Overview

10
10
years of professional experience
6
6
years of post-secondary education

Work history

Senior Test lead (Test Manager)

SSE Thermal
Perth
04.2023 - 08.2025
  • SSE Thermal are a major generator in the electricity supply industry and the custodian of some of the country's most critical infrastructure. As Senior Test Lead I am responsible for defining and, along with my Team, delivering Quality Assurance across the whole of the organisation.
  • My prime remit was to own Testing and Quality Assurance across the whole of the SSE Thermal organisation.
  • Defined Test Strategy both at organisational and project level.
  • Managed a Team of Testers across several Value Streams.
  • Introduced new streamlined Agile ways of working to improve existing testing workflows with the specific aim of shifting testing left.
  • Liaised with stakeholders across the Value Streams to determine their testing needs and requirements.
  • Ensured that we had the latest and correct tooling to meet our testing needs.
  • Worked with the DevOps Engineers/Architects (Azure Cloud) to implement new CI/CD pipelines for both infrastructure and software deployment.
  • Oversaw the Functional Testing Lifecycle (System, Test, SIT, UAT).
  • Ensured that Performance, Security and Disaster Recovery Testing were undertaken as and when required.
  • Brought vulnerability scanning under the control of the Test Function rather than an outside third party, thus significantly reducing our annual spend on Penetration Testing.
  • Defect Management.
  • Stakeholder Reporting through Dashboards, Test Completion Reports and Agile Ceremonies.

Senior Quality Analyst

Kainos Consultancy (NHS Digital)
Leeds
01.2021 - 02.2023
  • NHS Digital have been working on the NHS App for 3 years now with Kainos being a key partner in this project. The App has been taken from a concept through to a fully-fledged platform which has played a pivotal role in the Covid pandemic and shaping the future of the NHS. Not to be mistaken with the 'Track and Trace' app, the NHS App has opened access to digital medical services to upwards of 30 million UK residents enabling them to access GP Services, Appointments, Prescriptions, Messaging, and countless other health services. It has been my responsibility to provide test support wherever it has been required on this journey.
  • Working from User stories specified in Jira, created test plans for both GUI and API applications and subsequently turning these test plans into reusable manual test scripts using the Gherkin acceptance criteria specified in those tickets.
  • Deployment of application and testing assets to our Azure cloud-based platform through our CI/CD pipeline.
  • Manual testing the Messages & Notifications API functionality using Postman requests.
  • Monitoring and investigation of API failures using Splunk to access the Kubernetes logs.
  • Manual testing and debugging of NHS Mobile and Desktop App using Dev Tools, BrowserStack, Appium, Splunk logs and physical devices.
  • Accessibility testing to WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guideline using a variety of tools including Jaws, Dragon, ZoomText and VoiceOver on both desktop and IOS/Android native apps.
  • Development of automated BDD tests within the existing C#/Selenium/Cucumber framework to drive Pa11y, an accessibility testing tool.
  • Execution of performance tests and interpretation of test results using the Gatling performance test tool.
  • Defect reporting and retesting.
  • Played a key role in the fortnightly release process where I often ran point coordinating the Regression Testing effort using our Jira/Zephyr Regression Test Pack and reporting on progress.
  • Offered mentoring to the newer members of the team and guidance in the testing tools and approach that we were using within the Project.

Automated Test Analyst

Kainos Consultancy (Companies House)
Cardiff
01.2020 - 12.2020
  • Companies House were engaged in a program to update their existing paper-based forms to a new digital platform; Kainos were brought in to undertake this exercise; my involvement was to ensure that the necessary manual and automated testing processes were in place and that QA was able to keep pace with the ongoing Agile development.
  • Responsible for ongoing support for the in-house Cinnamon (GUI) and Karate (API) Jave/Cucumber/Selenium test frameworks.
  • Working from User stories specified in Jira, developed both GUI and API automated test scripts for the above test frameworks using the Gherkin acceptance criteria specified in those tickets.
  • Undertook defect triage, reporting and management in order to ensure an efficient turnaround of any bugs that were found.
  • As a member of an Agile team, took collective responsibility for ensuring all sprint deliverables were met by ensuring all relevant ceremonies and adhering to Agile practices.
  • Provided support and mentoring to other members of the Team and the wider testing community at Companies House.

Technical QA Lead

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Bristol
10.2019 - 12.2019
  • Defra have been heavily involved in putting systems and infrastructure in place in order to ensure that the forthcoming exit from the European Union (Brexit) is as smooth and seamless as possible for UK citizens. Several in-house systems have been developed using new Azure based platforms to facilitate this.
  • As Technical QA Lead, I was responsible for all the testing, Functional & Non-Functional, that took place across 3 of those Projects. I led a team of 7 Test Analysts who undertook manual and automated testing on both Web based and API applications.
  • As in all roles I undertake, I adopted a very much hands on approach and, alongside my fellow Testers, developed automated Functional tests in Selenium (Java), Postman and ReadyAPI and in the absence of a dedicated Performance Tester, took on that mantel to develop Performance Tests in JMeter.
  • Used Jira to manage our Project Workflow and Defect Management following an Agile Scrum methodology, observing the usual Agile ceremonies and undertaking fortnightly sprints. I embraced the use of Agile as a Development Methodology, championed the approach and provided mentoring to those who were not as knowledgeable in its use.
  • Produced the monthly Test Reports for all 3 projects which not only involved collating the figures for each Project, but also involved running OwaspZap and Sortest scans to identify any security vulnerabilities or accessibility issues within the products that we built.
  • Alongside our DevOps Team, I helped to design and develop the Jenkins Continuous Integration Pipeline by applying a parametrised, framework approach to our automated script development which allowed us to run our scripts from a command line in any given environment.
  • Ran regular testing forums and checkpoint meetings to ensure that we hand a cohesive test team across all 3 projects and so that each team member was aware of what others were working. In doing so, we were able to function as a single 'virtual' team and divert resources from physical team to physical team, wherever the need was greatest.
  • Reported directly to the Defra Delivery Lead who was responsible for all Defra Brexit Projects throughout the Organization.

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Cardiff
10.2018 - 08.2019
  • LexisNexis Risk Solutions provide computer-assisted business research to help customers across industry and government assess, predict and manage risk. Currently, they are introducing a new product called ThreatMetrix which extends their analysis to risk arising from Email and Telephone fraud.
  • As part of a BBD Agile Project Team, my primary responsibility was to manage the day-to-day quality assurance of all project deliverables using a variety of tools and methods, including peer reviews, walk-throughs, manual/exploratory testing and automated testing.
  • Initially we adopted an Agile Scrum approach utilising fortnightly sprints. As the Project neared completion, we adopted a Kanban approach to 'mop up' the final uncompleted User Stories/Tasks.
  • Used Jira to manage project plans and record progress against User Stories.
  • Worked closely with the Business to fully understand their requirements to develop a comprehensive testing approach.
  • The bulk of my time was spent executing, maintaining and expanding the existing Ruby based Cucumber/Capybara Selenium test framework; this comprised both GUI and SOAP Web Service tests.
  • We followed a robust Agile approach and I was actively involved in all stages of the process including sprint planning, project stand-ups, 3 amigo sessions, and sprint review/retrospectives.
  • As an experienced Tester, I was able to introduce new ideas and approaches that helped improve the effectiveness of the overall process, both from an Agile perspective and specifically with regards to testing.
  • In keeping with the Agile culture of experimentation, I investigated how Service Virtualisation could be used in order to resolve issues we were having regarding the volatility of Test Data.
  • Helped to build and test a Docker driven multi-stage Test Environment which, now in place, will become a steppingstone towards rolling Docker out to our Production platform.
  • Provided help, assistance and mentoring to the lesser experienced members of the Team; in particular, our graduate trainees.
  • Produced Project and Test documentation using Confluence.

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

QA Consulting (HMRC)
Telford
07.2018 - 10.2018
  • HMRC are implementing a new document ingestion, storage and retrieval system.to support their Case Management Unit utilising a number of core microservices supported by a GUI frontend. It is the first time that they have used Agile on a large-scale project. As part of the scrum team, my role has been to support test automation and contribute the Agile process wherever I am able.
  • Along with the whole of the Project Team, participated in the sprint planning process in order to determine what User Stories would be completed in the subsequent sprint.
  • Took part in 3 Amigo sessions, along with business and development experts, in order to ascertain what the Acceptance Criteria were for the User Stories selected for the sprint.
  • Translated the identified Acceptance Criteria into Gherkin scenarios which would comprise the Feature Files to be executed through the existing Cucumber/Selenium Automated Framework.
  • Using the Feature Files, created Automated Scripts in the existing Java Spring Framework for both Restful APIs (using RestAssured) and GUI (using Selenium).
  • Conducted and participated in regular peer review sessions in order to ensure that our delivered codebase met the site standards and was fit for purpose.
  • Test execution was conducted in AWS using dedicated Docker based containerised environments which were managed using the Portainer UI.
  • Following successful execution, the delivered Automated Test Scripts were incorporated into the Jenkins based Continuous Delivery Pipeline.
  • Maintained the User Stories and sub tasks in Jira, reporting progress and task completion as required in order to support the sprint burndown.
  • Attended daily stand-up meetings in order to report progress and inform other Team members of the activities that I was undertaking.

AUTOMATED TEST LEAD

Welsh Water
Cardiff
01.2018 - 07.2018
  • Welsh Water have traditionally followed a Waterfall methodology but are very keen to introduce Agile working practices. I was brought in as part of a pilot project in order to introduce the new way of working and to champion the Agile approach; in particular, it has been my responsibility to promote automated testing and establish an on-going automated testing strategy.
  • Provided the sole point of contact for all aspects of test automation, within the Automation & Orchestration Team, advising on best practice, identifying tooling and defining our strategic road map.
  • Evaluated a number of candidate automated testing tools including Python, Pester, Tosca, UFT, Postman, JMeter, Cucumber/Selenium.
  • Provided an automated testing solution for the periodic server patching process that is undertaken by the infrastructure team. This has entailed writing a new test harness using Pester, a PowerShell based testing framework, which has allowed us to easily create both generic and bespoke server health checks that are being used to regression test Welsh Water’s server estate post-patching.
  • Extended the above solution to provide a health check for new servers built on our Azure cloud platform.
  • Introduced and implemented Git in order to manage our automated codebase.
  • Built a robust, cross-platform, multi-browser, Cucumber/Selenium/Java automated testing framework to facilitate BDD testing within the application development areas.
  • Developed automated API tests to directly test the business layer using Rest Assured and, subsequently, incorporated these tests into our Cucumber BDD model.
  • Established a new performance testing capability using JMeter in order to identify performance bottlenecks within the in-house ServiceNow application platform.
  • Helped improve the reporting capabilities of the testing facility by introducing readily accessible dashboards and daily test activity reports.
  • Used Trello (initially) and then Jira to manage my day to day workflow, issues and manage defects raised as part of the testing process.
  • Stepped in and played an active role in managing and continuing the Agile ceremonies in the absence of our Project Manager (Scrum Master) while he was off work due to long term illness.

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

DeltaCapita Ltd (HSBC)
London
12.2016 - 12.2017
  • DeltaCapita provide testing and business consultancy services to the banking sector. I was brought in to DeltaCapita to introduce Automated Testing practices into the GTRF Supply Chain Project. I was responsible for both the definition and implantation of the Automated Testing Strategy.
  • Evaluated the existing manual testing approach and identified an Automated Testing Strategy that aligned directly with how manual testing was currently being undertaken. This ensured that any cutover from manual to automated testing would be relatively pain free and could be directly implemented in an Agile workstream.
  • Identified, evaluated and ran Proofs of Concept against a number of potential automation tools (Cucumber, Selenium, Tosca, UFT, RestAssured, HipTest), but due to the unique nature of the application (it had no GUI, nor was it Service driven), determined that the best and most cost-effective solution would be to develop a framework from scratch.
  • In line with the underlying application architecture, developed a bespoke framework in Java that would support Contiguous Integration and facilitate a data driven approach to Automated Testing using Excel worksheets to drive the testing.
  • Using the User Stories and Acceptance Criteria already held in Jira as well as the existing manual tests, we were able to build a number of Automated Regression Test Packs that were used at various points within the release cycle.
  • Designed and created an interface to Jenkins that used TestNG style output logs to report the test results directly into Jenkins. This proved to be a very simple and effective way to integrate any non-supported framework with Jenkins without using a plugin.
  • Created a Cucumber/Selenium Framework that has become the backbone of System Integration Test Platform. By championing a Behavioural Driven Development (BDD) approach and highlighting the benefits it delivers, my Team and I have significantly increased testing throughput and ultimately improved the quality of the deliverables by reducing the overall number of bugs that have made their way into the live system.
  • As our maturity has grown, I have more recently revisited our Continuous Integration Strategy and prepared a proposal that documents how we can move forward to a full blown Continuous Deployment Model.
  • Was responsible mentoring and supervising other, less experienced automated testers.
  • Reported directly to the Test Manager and advised on all matters regarding Automated Testing.

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

SQA Consulting (DWP Sheffield)
Sheffield
02.2016 - 10.2016
  • As part of the IOS Testing Centre of Excellence it was my responsibility to advise on and promote the best practices in test automation throughout the Department for Works and Pensions. Our guiding principal was to introduce a ‘Shift Left’ philosophy to testing approach and discipline.
  • In conjunction with the Automation Test Manager and Automation Architect, helped design, define and implement the Automated Testing Strategy.
  • As a team, we introduced clearly defined documented policies and procedures that easily allowed test projects adopt and implement our Test Strategy. I was personally responsible for creating several of these documents and provided key input into many of the others.
  • Assisted in the development of several ‘tool agnostic’ Automated Frameworks, centred around ALM, UFT and Selenium; all removed the technical emphasis on automation away from the Testers and allowed the Testers to create Automated Test scripts without having to have a detailed technical knowledge.
  • Created a bespoke automated test framework using Selenium Webdriver in order to test the web frontend for the Universal Credit Project.
  • Successfully integrated ServiceTest into our new automated testing framework which allowed us to seamlessly run both functional and API tests in the same test scenario.
  • In keeping with our need to ‘shift left’ and adopt Behavioural Driven Development (BDD) practices, I personally developed a Cucumber Parser for UFT that allowed the Testers to create Test Scripts using Gherkin which would then be automatically executed in UFT. I also introduced a new custom reporting mechanism that provided a higher level of reporting suitable for presentation to senior management.
  • Undertook a Proof of Concepts exercise in order to verify that GIT was a suitable Version Control mechanism for UFT Projects. Having proved that it was, I then went on to produce the implementation and rollout plan.
  • Worked directly with the Project Teams; determining their automated testing needs and advising on the best approach to implement Test Automation.
  • Provided first line support to several projects based in various parts of the country. This involved mentoring the test teams in automated practices and teaching them how to use our automated testing frameworks. This also included first hand training in how to use UFT and ALM.

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

Partnership Assurance
London
06.2015 - 01.2016
  • Partnership Assurance provides enhanced annuities to the retirement market. They have recently introduced Unified Functional Tester (UFT) into their portfolio of testing tools. My role has been to bring formality and structure to their automated testing approach and to mentor their existing staff on the best practices with regard to test automation using UFT.
  • Provided a key input into the definition of the Automated Testing Strategy.
  • Produced an Automated Testing Approach and Standards document outlining a proposal to use a data driven framework model in order to support the ongoing automated testing programme. This approach has now been adopted.
  • Created a new data driven automated framework to test the existing policy maintenance system which was written in Visual basic and WPF.
  • Introduced the use of Descriptive Programming techniques in order to overcome the challenges faced when trying to identify certain objects within the existing systems.
  • Evaluated HP Service Test against SOAP/UI in order to identify the most effect tool with which to conduct API testing.
  • Championed the implementation of UFT Tests into the existing Continuous Integration and Deployment mechanism and identified mechanisms that would maximise the test throughput.
  • Undertook the training of Partnership’s existing staff in the use of UFT and the best working practices.
  • Implemented a Configuration Management process using Team Foundation Server (TFS) in order to store and record all our testing assets.
  • Worked within an Agile Scrum Framework, attending daily stand-up undertaking fortnightly sprints, attended sprint planning, show and tell and retrospective sessions.

Education

A-Levels -

Exhall Grange School
Coventry
09.1973 - 06.1979

Skills

  • Languages: COBOL II, Visual Basic, C, WinRunner TSL, HTML, Java, JavaScript, VBScript, ASP, VBA, TGS, Reportbuilder, APS, Easytrieve Plus, CLIST, REXX, Python, Unix Shell Script, SQL
  • Testing Tools: Cucumber/Selenium, BrowserStack, Qualys, Rest Assured, UFT/QTP, Tosca, WinRunner, JMeter, TestComplete, IBM Rational Integration Tester (formally Green Hat), QA Wizard, Karate, Cinnamon
  • Operating Systems: MVS/XA MVS/ESA, DOS/VSE, AWS, Azure
  • DB & Filing Systems: DB2, VSAM, DL/1, Oracle, SQL Server, MS Access
  • Utilities & Tools: Fileaid, Expediter, SQL, SPUFI, QMF, Proedit, Toad, PVCS Tracker, MKS Integrity, WinSCP, SQL Manager
  • Teleprocessing: CICS, ISPF, Dialogue Management Services
  • Design & Testing Methodologies: Prince, SSADM, Jackson Structured Programming, V Model, Anderson Method/1, Agile, Jira
  • Office Tools: MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, MS Access, Visio, ABC Flowcharter
  • JIRA and confluence
  • Automation development
  • Agile methodology understanding
  • Postman api tester
  • JavaScript proficiency
  • Defect tracking tools
  • Automated testing software
  • Coaching team members
  • Knowledge of c
  • Knowledge of sql
  • Test script interpretation
  • Integration systems knowledge
  • Test case designing
  • Team Leadership
  • Issue resolution
  • Quality Control
  • Quality Assurance
  • Quality Assurance Testing (QAT)
  • Penetration testing
  • Defined testing and acceptance strategies and determined quality assurance benchmarks
  • User acceptance testing
  • Test planning
  • Team leadership abilities
  • Performance testing
  • Automated testing processes
  • Quality assurance understanding
  • Resource planning
  • Security testing
  • User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
  • Stakeholder relations
  • Test analysis
  • End-to-end testing processes
  • Stakeholder management
  • Collaborated with project management and developers to coordinate testing activities at all stages
  • Advised team members on appropriate testing actions and decisions
  • Functional testing
  • Planned and directed full testing lifecycle for [Type] projects
  • Test data analysis
  • Agile environment testing
  • Test strategy development
  • Software development life cycle
  • Regression testing
  • Selenium Webdriver
  • Software testing and debugging
  • Agile methodology adaptability
  • Accessibility standards compliance
  • Test case development
  • Manual testing
  • Performance and load testing
  • Test case creation
  • Automated Testing
  • Database management
  • Non-functional testing

Training

  • Easytrieve Plus Programming
  • CICS Application Programming
  • APS Programming Language
  • DB2 Application Programming
  • Prince Project Management
  • Selection Manager Fundamentals
  • Effective communication & presentation skills
  • Team leadership & motivation techniques

SECURITY:

  • BPSS Clearance Level until May 2015
  • SC Clearance Level until July 2015

PERSONAL DETAILS:

  • Nationality British
  • Married
  • Totally flexible regarding work location
  • Excellent references available upon request

Timeline

Senior Test lead (Test Manager)

SSE Thermal
04.2023 - 08.2025

Senior Quality Analyst

Kainos Consultancy (NHS Digital)
01.2021 - 02.2023

Automated Test Analyst

Kainos Consultancy (Companies House)
01.2020 - 12.2020

Technical QA Lead

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
10.2019 - 12.2019

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

LexisNexis Risk Solutions
10.2018 - 08.2019

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

QA Consulting (HMRC)
07.2018 - 10.2018

AUTOMATED TEST LEAD

Welsh Water
01.2018 - 07.2018

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

DeltaCapita Ltd (HSBC)
12.2016 - 12.2017

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

SQA Consulting (DWP Sheffield)
02.2016 - 10.2016

AUTOMATED TEST CONSULTANT

Partnership Assurance
06.2015 - 01.2016

A-Levels -

Exhall Grange School
09.1973 - 06.1979

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Richard Etherington