6. Vernon Richards: “When I tested video games, I was testing on the PlayStation and we used CDs and DVDs”

I don’t know how we all got jobs. There were two of us in the team who made sure we all worked, the rest of us were absolute clowns. It was enjoyable, there were really good teams and I learnt a lot there. These days, the budgets for these games are similar with the ones for a Hollywood film, it’s not small money and it is more serious and credible. Vernon Richards shares ideas, memories and information from his career. Vernon is a Quality Coach & Tester that helps organizations, teams & individuals understand the relationship between quality & testing, to help them build better products & deliver more effective services. He has been testing since 2002 starting with video games on PS2, Xbox & PC (it may not sound like a real job but it’s the truth!). By day, he is a Senior Expert Quality Engineer at a health tech, and by night night he runs Abode of Quality. He believes that quality & testing problems are actually people problems in disguise! Often the cause of these problems is misaligned goals, different perspectives, low empathy for colleagues, and the list goes on. Using his coaching skills in the quality & testing space, Vernon believes the most effective way to serve the business is to help teams & individuals gain new perspectives about themselves & their teammates. Our host is Alex Mocioi, a professional with 20 years of experience in software engineering and 10 years of experience in tech training. Shift Happens podcast is supported by Nagarro.