Bryana (Brie) Keggins is the Software Quality Assurance Manager at Trintech and has been with us for nine years. She wasn’t always a techy. She initially headed off to college for fashion design, but quickly changed direction and ultimately earned her degree in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems from the University of Baltimore. At the beginning of her career, she started off working in Customer Support and then moved to Quality Assurance (QA) where she now works for Trintech.

Shannon: Congratulations on your selection for Trintecher Spotlight this month.

Brie: I really feel honored!

Shannon: When you aren’t keeping the world safe from software ‘bugs,’ what do you do for fun?

Brie: Well, as nerdy as I am, I love to read and bake. Key lime pie is my specialty. I also enjoy listening to music and just spending time with friends and family. It’s funny, I’m an indoors person at home, but when I am on vacation, I like to spend the entire time outdoors.

Shannon: Really? What’s your favorite vacation spot?

Brie: I’d have to say Jamaica; everyone is so friendly. I’ve been on ATV rides, and I’ve also gone cliff diving.

Shannon: Wow! That does sound fun. What about QA? Not everyone is aware of what QA does, can you explain?

Brie: In a nutshell, Quality Assurance is the last link in the chain in software development. The name actually says it; we make sure what we deliver to our customer is tested for quality. With Agile Development, our team receives descriptions of new functionality in brief statements about how the software should work. We translate those statements into comprehensive test scenarios to ensure the new release is doing what it should. We run all these tests manually to see the system as the user sees it. I like to compare QA to detective work; our team gathers information and presents our case. A characteristic that’s key in this job is confidence and having the ability to make your case so the overall product improves. That’s the basis of our job – we’re here to surface issues with the product and find a good solution because we are representing the customer.

Shannon: Your work has such a direct impact on our customers. That’s a tremendous responsibility. How do you stay up-to-date with all the new functionality?

Brie: It is a huge responsibility, and we take it very seriously! Keeping up with new functionality is the fun part of our job. We get to try to break things! You have to jump in and use it, ask a lot of questions and use trial and error.

Shannon: What changes have you seen in our industry since you joined Trintech?

Brie: That’s easy, the biggest change I’ve seen is automation. Not unlike Trintech customers who implement automation in T-Recs, we faced a learning curve when we automated our software testing process. But once we got through the initial set up, we immediately appreciated the benefits. It has allowed us to keep pace with the full suite of solutions that Trintech is offering. Automation is definitely the future, whether you are talking about software testing or financial transformation, and it’s important that we are a part of that future to be effective for our customers.

Editor’s Note: Because Brie has demonstrated such a strong commitment to excellence in her work as a leader on Trintech’s QA team, she has recently been promoted to Manager of Software Engineering. Congratulations, Brie, and thanks for all of your hard work!