Darren L. Mills

• Managing test analysis, preparation and execution activities for a number of in house projects running concurrently, including migration to Microsoft 365, performing System/System Integration and User Acceptance Testing across the projects.
• Translating business requirements into testable conditions, writing and executing test cases and supporting the business through the UAT phase.
• Raising and managing defects throughout the project lifecycle, through various forums and defect management processes.
• Working alongside many areas of the business and project representatives, stakeholders to meet project goals and deliverables, to ensure impact into the production environment within minimal disruption.

As a frontline role representing Sydney Metro and Metro Trains Sydney, I was responsible for managing first response incidents and ensuring adherence to safety standards at all times while delivering exceptional customer service on the Metro Network.

• A large migration programme which will see a number of processes migrating to existing 3rd party platform(s).
• As a UAT Test Analyst, my role was to support Business Analysts and project team(s) and be responsible for turning Requirements/Acceptance criteria into tests and then executing those tests against target system(s), using JIRA and X-Ray plug in during test preparation and execution.
• Role required close working relationships across multiple workstreams, 3rd party suppliers and great deal of analytical thinking, planning and clear understanding of requirements and systems under test.
• In addition to Test Analyst activities, raising defects and supporting Defect Management process was also required.

• Co-ordination, management and support user testing across 11 different business areas for migration of apprenticeship training system to 3rd party provider.
• Providing hands on training to business stakeholders on best practices and ways of working for the UAT phase.
• Generating testing MI and providing this information to Project Manager as and when requested, for use in daily and weekly meetings with Senior Management and sponsors.
• Stakeholder management across multiple workstreams to understand, discuss and resolve issues identified during test execution.
• Implementing and providing ongoing support for the defect management process.

• During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowing that recruitment of testing roles would be scarce, I was able to secure temporary work at my local Sainsbury's supermarket in their On Line department. This enabled me to support myself financially whilst continuing to look for suitable contract IT testing opportunities and support my local grocery store, at an unprecedented time of increased on line grocery ordering due to the pandemic.
• Role involved picking and fulfilling up to 6 different customers orders at a time from supermarket shelves within a certain time limit, to ensure that orders could then be packed and loaded onto delivery vans to meet various time slots.

Working across 4 different projects/programmes during this period in a variety of positions. Key roles and responsibilities included:

• Managing team of 3 x Test Analysts, working on a portfolio of small change initiatives.
• Writing Test Strategy and Test Plan documentation.
• Updating regression/wellness test packs.
• Analysing requirements/acceptance criteria, fact finding and working closely with Business Analysts.
• Supporting Out of Hours implementations to implement change into Production environments.
• Creating and maintaining RAID documentation (Risks, Assumptions, Issues & Dependencies).
• Performing UAT activities across the Digital mobile app for both iOS and Android platforms.
• Providing key Test Lead support to UAT Test Manager and 6 x Test Analysts for a regulatory project to replace paper clearings between banks with electronic images (ICS – Image Clearing System).
• Writing manual test cases, mining and preparing data.
• Producing daily, weekly MI reports for Senior Management and key Stakeholders.
• Executing tests, managing test execution by other test analysts, raising defects.
• Managing and coaching local team of 17 x testers working on changes to Payments systems, enrolled from existing business areas and contractor market.
• Using a number of testing tools such as WebEx and JIRA.
• Defining and tracking key project milestones.
• Managing and/or supporting the defect management process - carrying out initial triage, defect calls and QA activities.
• Supporting Central POD Managers across number of agile POD's and work streams for a migration programme adopting scrum/agile framework. Managing daily tasks, daily execution activities and providing on going support to POD Leads.

• Writing Test Strategy and Test Plan documentation.
• Analysing and reviewing documentation to support test preparation activities and defining test scenarios.
• Chairing weekly meetings on test preparation activities, attended by key project representatives.
• Stakeholder engagement activities with other business areas.
• Attending project meetings to represent testing work stream.
• Planning and managing test execution activities.

Project Horizon

• Taking on wider remit to that of previous roles, responsibilities here was to manage and lead a “Testing Office” to support business testing for a programme migrating mainframe systems between 2 data centres.
• Role encompassed co-ordination of business testing across all divisions of Lloyds Banking Group as well as managing testing activities for my own team - a key retail business division of the group.
• During 2014, 8 migration events touching on priority bank systems required to support the group were completed successfully, all of which required business testing.
• Stakeholder Management across circa 23 different business areas and management levels of the group.
• Producing presentations to key business stakeholders defining scope of each migration event and approach to business testing.
• Performing Test Manager role for a division of the retail business – a key customer banking channel.
• Performing walk throughs of key documentation to programme and business stakeholder representatives.
• Representing business testing at programme level forums and meetings.
• Acting as main point of contact for all business testing queries and requests.
• Managing and supporting business testing during all live implementation and rehearsal events – all implemented during weekends.
• Producing traceability matrix defining scope coverage across all business areas for each event as well as other forms of documentation to support live events.
• Writing and obtaining sign off for Business Test Plans.
• Chairing weekly business testing calls for each wave to focus on business testing needs and key milestones.

TSB Branch Alignment Programme

Following on from the launch of TSB Bank plc, heritage Cheltenham & Gloucester branches that are now part of the TSB Bank were aligned to the rest of the TSB branches, to ensure continuity across sales and service functionality.

• Manage all aspects of testing along with 2 x Test Analysts on requirements gathering, analysis, test preparation and test execution activities to test new and changed functionality as well as IT hierarchy reference data changes.
• Stakeholder Management activities in defining and signing off test scope.

Verde Programme

My main role was to lead and manage a team of 3 x Test Analysts for the Verde programme, reporting to the overall Test Manager. The overall objective of the programme was to create a new 'Bank' to increase competition and choice within the Banking Industry as well as meet an EU directive. This was delivered over a number of migration events and implementations during 2012 and 2013.
The Test Lead supports testing activities around the changes required to retail IT applications as well as changes to accounts and customers included as part of the divestment, covering both C&G and LloydsTSB brands.

• Requirements analysis, providing input into Business Acceptance Criteria and producing Test Model.
• Stakeholder Management to ensure valid requirements and test coverage.
• Preparation of User Acceptance Test scripts and uploading them into Quality Centre.
• Compiling data requirements and supporting offshore mining team with data provisioning.
• Test execution using Quality Centre, raising and resolving defects identified.
• Supporting Defect Manager with defect resolution and prioritisation.
• Supporting live implementations both in the evening, early hours of the morning and at weekends.
• Providing input to Test Plans and End of Test Reports.
• Coaching, supporting, managing and training other Test Analysts.
• Supporting Test Manager and providing cover when necessary.
• Extensive liaison with onshore and offshore developers.
• Compiling execution schedules.