Meet Merix: Marek - Quality Assurance Specialist

When I asked my little birds about Marek, they were pretty agreed. Marek is the extremely nice guy who likes kids and working with them (don't lie, girls! He really exists). Thanks to that, after hours, he's taken up his career as a soccer coach. Yep, soccer (or football as anyone prefers) is his passion and you will easily see it in the following interview. Marek is also a very creative person, what probably makes work with kids even easier. Or maybe it is they who made Marek thinking out of the box :) He is the creator of Test Day and Test Challenge at Merixstudio. My little birds also said that Marek is peanut butter lover and quotes, as well as lame jokes and puns, are what he really like. So... meet Marek, one of our software testers.

  • Tell us something about yourself.
    In everyday life, I am a software tester, but after hours I continue with my soccer coach work. I spend a lot of time developing my competences regarding these two areas. When it comes to my nature, I think that I can call myself an optimist with the right dose of humility.
  • What are your main responsibilities at Merxistudio?
    I’m working in the QA team which is responsible for the quality of the projects and the code. The most of my time I spend on manual testing of software. I also organize small internal events such as Test Day and Test Challenge every once in a while.
  • What is important to you while working?
    I usually start my work day with reminding myself of my to-do list. The ordinary notebook is also a quite important tool for me. It helps me to organize my work in a better way. The good communication is crucial, although we work in front of the computer. Thanks to it we can get the most relevant information faster and do our job efficiently. I’m obviously not a robot, so I like my breaks and time away from work when I can play foosball or video games or just lay on the couch.
  • Tell us something about your beginnings in the company.
    It’s a year ago when I started working at Merixstudio. I remember the first day when it was all new to me. It was tough to remember a few names of my new colleagues sitting near to me. But I think that I broke the ice pretty fast, and now we know each other pretty well. It’s also worth emphasizing that Merixstudio had some additions to its team and a dozen of new players have emerged since then. From the very beginning, I could count on my workmates that helped me every time I needed. I believe that I have developed myself as a tester and got some experience so that I can work on really cool projects now.
  • What have you learned while working in Merixstudio?
    First of all, cooperation with dev teams is something I’ve become versed in. I learned a lot about Scrum, developed my workflow, and perfected my English skills. The opportunity to learn about such CMS as Drupal or Django is fully valued as well. Internal QA meetings brought me to the matter of test automation.
  • What do you like the most about Merixstudio?
    The working atmosphere here is what I really like. Merixstudio is the place where I can work and feel comfortable. At the same time, everybody’s doing a good job and pulling their weight to complete on schedule.
  • What was the biggest challenge you faced while working at the Merixstudio?
    It’s hard to tell which one was the biggest challenge. For sure, I needed the experience to organize time for tests of few different projects in a good way. I also remember really well my first meeting with the client when I had to break the language barrier.
  • What cool things have you worked on at Merixstudio?
    I could go on with a pretty long list of cool projects I worked on at Merixstudio. Works for Tradebiit, Consenna or The Juilliard School are just a few of them. But my first choice is the project for the client who offers services in the fitness industry. The core of the app is in line with my interests, and we were working using Scrum. The communication I mentioned above is the key in this type of projects, so I could use my skills while working on this one.
  • When did you make a decision that you want to work in IT?
    I had my first experience with the industry after the middle school when I started to study at IT tech school. There I learned about the basis of programming and got the tech skills which offer the great prospect for the future. I made the decision that I want to work as a software tester in college at Poznan University of Technology.
  • What do you think is most difficult (and most interesting) in your work as a Quality Assurance?
    One of the biggest challenges in working as a software tester is sustained focus and keeping your motivation on a high level. Especially in the case of long-term projects.
  • The first thing you do when you arrive at the office.
    I break out my notebook and organize the work of myself.

Our #QAteam is having a day like no other! And it's all thanks to Marek, who organised a Test Day, during which the whole team tests the same website. The main goals are to advance their development as the group, find more bugs, and see the project from various points of view. On the other hand, there will be a winner​, so... ;) #competiton #qualityassurance #funatwork #QA #working #work #tester #teameffort #softwarhouse #webdev #webdeveloper #poznan #merixstudio

Post udostępniony przez MERIXSTUDIO (@merixstudio) 8 Cze, 2017 o 6:09 PDT

  • iOS or Android?
    Android.
  • What do you do in your free time?
    Job done, time for my hobby and passion as well. I’m a coach of soccer youth groups. It’s the best way to relax for me.
  • The best hero from your childhood is…
    Son Goku - the main hero of “Dragon Ball” series.
  • Where is your favorite place in Poznań?
    The football field next to the Citadel Park.
  • Beer or vodka?
    A beer.
  • Sports?
    Sport is my passion. Though I’m in soccer, I also like handball as well as basketball very much.
  • Dog or cat?
    I love all the animals.
  • Which website do you visit the most?
    Merixstudio.com of course… But seriously, I usually visit information services and my own site www.marekjarocha.pl, where I write how to train future soccer players.
  • Favorite app.
    The apps I use the most are Facebook app and Messenger. It’s nothing special I think.
  • The light or dark side?
    The light one.
  • If you could only visit one website for the rest of your life, what site would that be?
    Certainly, merixstudio.com :)
  • If you could have your dream job, what it would be?
    I have my dream job right now!
  • Four things you would like to bring to a desert island with you…
    Based on the ‘Cast Away’ movie all I need would be the ball called Willson :)

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