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Engineering

"Change Agent"

Gabriel, 33, Test/QA Automation Team Leader

Bio and involvement with OSS

Gabe is a veteran test engineer with an eye for opportunity. Open to new ideas, he will take risks and make investments to pursue new directions.

Gabe understands and importantly, believes that his own reinvention is tied to the organization's reinvention through Open Source Software (OSS). This relationship makes Gabe, with his test and measurement automation experience, a "Change Angel" for using an open source, standards-based platform to streamline automation.

Gabe sees great advantage in OSS for interoperability among software and hardware tools across projects and products. He sees OSS as the antidote for his greatest frustration: "reinventing the wheel" for each new product, code base, and testbed.

Gabriel and OpenTAP

For Gabe, OpenTAP is more than an automation platform. It is a change catalyst for delivering quality products and services. It also knocks down barriers to OSS adoption and collaboration with industry peers.

Gabe has immersed himself in OpenTAP. He discovered its usefulness for supporting hardware and test plans across multiple groups, and its compatibility with company OSS policy. He views OpenTAP as easy to acquire, prototype, and integrate — in stark contrast to legacy in-house and commercial test-automation platforms. Currently, Gabe is investigating building and contributing plugins from his integration work to the broader OpenTAP community.

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"Open Source Program Officer"

Codie, 28, DevOps Engineer, assigned to OSPO

Bio and involvement with OSS

Codie wears multiple hats, one being the lead for the Open Source Program Office (OSPO), an important role given the abundance of open source within her "regular" DevOps job. She looks to establish and streamline processes for OSS discovery, qualification, and integration that keep pace with Agile practices and DevOps lifecycles.

Codie seeks broader adoption of Open Source across the organization. She balances being an evangelist and a realist. She blogs and tweets about OSS experiences and is learning to navigate the corporate hierarchy to get her voice heard.

Codie knows evangelizing would be easier with viable use cases — beyond current test automation — enabling proofs-of-concept, especially cases with technical benefits, strong communities, and minimal impact on intellectual property.

Codie and OpenTAP

Codie’s organization has traditionally deployed in-house test automation tools as well as commercial/legacy platforms. Knowing the limitations of such tools, she sought to learn more about OpenTAP through mailing list discussions and other media. She soon found herself advocating the addition of OpenTAP to the corporate OSS catalog, with promotion in the OSS newsletter.

A realist, Codie was reluctant to disrupt existing test-automation infrastructure.   She downloaded OpenTAP and quickly created separate test bed. She's optimistic about improving ease-of-use, performance, and more.

Codie thinks you'll also enjoy

"Exëcutor"

Francisco, 27, Lead Test Developer

Bio and involvement with OSS

With his bachelor's degree in computer science and post-graduate certification in quality assurance (QA) and software QA, Francisco brings impressive technical chops to the development, building, and day-to-day operation of his test automation (TA) lab.

At 27 years old, Francisco found exposure to open source software (OSS) projects in school. He's happy to evangelize the benefits of OSS and eager to learn more about the company's OSS and industry-specific software programs.

Before OpenTAP, Francisco used a range of proprietary and homegrown TA platforms and experienced firsthand their limitations. He's eager to replicate OpenTAP use cases across company projects and products. He wants to minimize disruption to the orderly functioning of his TA lab and bypass impediments to broader OSS use, and encourages management to pursue OpenTAP adoption and invest in needed new hardware.

Francisco and OpenTAP

He likes that OpenTAP is easy to set up and integrate with existing/legacy hardware, as evidenced in proof-of-concept trials. He is willing to promote OpenTAP to peers both within and outside of the company, having significant influence through his strong social media presence.

Francisco Suggests You Also Explore

"Quality Control"

André, 41, Test Lab Designer

Bio and involvement with OSS

André holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and advanced certification in quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). He partners with Francisco and the test lab team, so that while engineers and developers conduct internal tests, André designs the formal test and QA processes needed to release and launch a commercial product.

André always looks for proof-of-concept results. He firmly believes the product speaks for itself — hype can't hide disappointing test results. André loves the idea of OSS because developing in-house test platforms from scratch drains company productivity. But with a job objective to verify product reliability, he worries about trusting community-developed software. Nonetheless André supports the company’s transition to using OSS,.

André and OpenTAP

André was initially drawn to OpenTAP because of the reputation of the companies behind it – Nokia, Keysight and others, and the accompany OpenTAP ecosystem. So far, the results have been impressive. He even found new applications of OpenTAP to drive DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control), writing custom listener plugins and new types of report generators. André sees great potential to leverage OpenTAP for a range of new QA/QC functions

André suggests you visit

"Savy Coder"

Lukas, 24, Developer

Bio and involvement with OSS

With a bachelor’s degree in computer programming, Lukas is an up-and-coming developer. He enthusiastically writes code for company products, working with intelligent devices of several types.

Lukas graduated at the top of his class at Chalmers University of Technology. His motivation to keep learning is high. He doesn’t want to be constrained by proprietary products and  he doesn’t have time to waste with buggy in-house testing platforms. He loves the opportunities OSS provides for access to so many tools, but also wary about reliability. He wants to utilize this vast resource, but with his reputation on the line, he needs trustworthy tools. Lukas relies on Cody’s experience to vouch for OSS integrity. Long-standing friends, they trade tips on emerging OSS projects.

Lukas and OpenTAP

Lukas’ team long ago switched from traditional waterfall to agile development, so integrating OpenTAP into a DevOps workflow was easy. He feels confident about the reliability of OpenTAP because of the strong sponsorship history with Keysight, so Lukas no longer worries about test infrastructure failing. He also loves that OpenTAP leverages the features of C#/.NET and even Python with an extensible architecture, minimizing the amount of code he needs to write. If he ever runs into a snag, the OpenTAP community stands ready to help.

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Sales / Marketing

"Agile Networker"

Mariam, 27, Partner Program Manager

Bio and involvement with OSS

Ever the extrovert, Mariam considers the relationship-building aspect of her job a natural fit. She works with Phil, company sales director, to integrate, enable, and resell her company’s products to partners and customers.

She loves to provide solutions for companies to make their work more productive and profitable. When the quantity and quality of her company’s offerings go up, she's better able to meet her department objectives.

Mariam loves community relationships, so the concept of OSS resonates with her on a deeper level than simple convenience or efficiency. With OSS, sourcing testing tools happens in a community that reaches beyond her company. What could be better than that?

Mariam and OpenTAP

Since the company started working with OpenTAP, products enter the marketplace faster and exceed quality expectations. The office grapevine credits this to faster testing and test automation. Mariam attributes her larger product offering and more reliable quality assurance to OpenTAP. This change made it easier to engage, retain, and leverage partnerships. Ever the networker, Mariam has even joined the OpenTAP Forum, too.

Miriam invites OpenTAP ecosystem members to view

Partner interview videos and blogs

"Workflow Master"

Rob, 42, Product Manager

In an industry where timely product launches matter, being first to market impacts the bottom line. Rob brings two decades of experience to the table and knows wasted development time equals lost marketshare. Roadblocks in product development have recently come from failures in testing automation.

Rob’s success relies on compressing product lifecycles, but testing bottlenecks have been a real stressor not fully under his control. Skeptical about the company’s transition to OSS, he worried the additional training and system adjustments would add to timelines. But the OSS transition ultimately created long-term benefits for the time challenges he faces. Time invested on the front end paid for itself with speedy, more reliable testing and test automation on the back end.

Rob and OpenTAP

The timeline for OpenTAP training impressed Rob. The OpenTAP ecosystem offered focused and efficient training options that worked for the company.

Rob believes he is better positioned to make quarterly and annual product launches on time. A surprise benefit Rob discovered is the support OpenTAP offers for products to meet certification requirements, opening new markets and expanding existing ones. Rob also jokingly credits OpenTAP for saving him from attending stress management workshops.

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"The Closer"

Phil, 52, Sales Director

Bio and involvement with OSS

Phil’s magnetic personality and long career in the company makes him popular across departments. He’s been around long enough to see products introduced, only to die in quality control. He wants his sales team to present clients with only the best product offering.

In the past, sales forecasts have been missed because product launches were delayed, and his team didn’t have product buy-in. Since the engineering teams started testing products with OpenTAP, the quality and quantity of products has advanced substantially. Like Rob, Phil is happy to see more (and higher quality) products emerge from the engineering pipeline. That means more to sell, more to feel good about, and more revenue.

Phil and OpenTAP

While Phil doesn’t personally use OpenTAP, he believes the credibility of his sales pitch increased because he can tell customers his products are tested on a platform with a global ecosystem. Phil is ecstatic that his company found a better, faster, and more affordable testing solution with OpenTAP.

Phil would like to share these items with you

"Demonstrator"

Karl, 38, Field Engineer

Bio and involvement with OSS

Karl’s boisterous personality and genuine smile make him a popular member of the sales engineering team,. Customers know his systems installations and support will always be high caliber and many customers request him by name. For Karl to provide this type of service, he needs products he can personally trust. Karl loves the opportunity OSS provides for quick access to customizable testing. He formerly worked with test demos that were developed in-house and experienced some embarrassing moments with customers when demos and installs didn’t go smoothly. Having access to a broader knowledge base with OSS has been a game-changer.

Karl and OpenTAP

Karl is a huge fan of OpenTAP. He’s ecstatic with the velocity and quality of product releases tested with OpenTAP. He has fewer support issues to resolve with customers, freeing up his time for new sales. Karl has experimented with using OpenTAP to run demos on sales calls and at trade shows, with super positive results. Ready to explore other OpenTAP uses, Karl signed up as a member of the forum, has contributed many interesting questions and builds new demos and test cases in his spare time.

Karl would like to share with you

Management

"Revenue Boss"

Helen, 45, Finance Analyst

Bio and involvement with OSS

Helen holds an MBA in advanced accounting. She is proud of her two decades of experience keeping the company books cleanly and efficiently. Helen speaks with an authoritative voice when it comes to financial stability. She understands that better margins mean more available assets for growth investment.

Helen constantly assesses benefit versus risk. Not a natural risk-taker, she voiced skepticism when the company adopted Open Source Software (OSS). While Helen does not directly interact with OSS, the financial results from groups using it have left her pleasantly surprised.

Helen and OpenTAP

Helen considers OpenTAP a lower risk OSS option. Cost savings from fees dedicated to licenses and royalties for proprietary test automation software outweigh the initial cost of OpenTAP training.. New types of revenue associated with products and services built over OpenTAP are also developing within the company.

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"Executive Sponsor"

Tanya, 46, VP of Engineering

Bio and involvement with OSS

As VP of engineering, Tanya, age 46, has far-reaching responsibilities, including making sure her division stands out in technical prowess and ROI. Her degrees from Stanford equip her well to succeed with these aspirations.

Tanya's involvement with test automation began with the acquisition of the incumbent solution. She now approves expenditures in that area and and also the test automation lab budget, looking for ROI in 3-12 months. She also values key performance indicators (KPIs) that she can reference to prove her organization's success to the CTO.

Tanya recognized the power of Open Source to engage community, hire and retain talent, and shift the organization from a hardware to a software orientation. She joined the "virtual" Open Source Program Office (OSPO) and never looked back.

Tanya still balks at justifying costs for OSS work by lab teams, as well as occasional scrutiny by Michael, the IP attorney, over licensing and IP.

Tanya and OpenTAP

Gabriel, the "Change Angel," impressed Tanya with his initiative. She came to understand open source OpenTAP as a low total cost of ownership (TCO) technology. She's impressed by OpenTAP's strong pedigree and sponsorship and potential for delivering solid ROI. Her impressions were substantiated by OpenTAP proof-of-concept results and lab performance.

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"Corporate IP Attorney"

Michael, 48, Inside Counsel, IP

Bio and involvement with OSS

With a bachelor's in mechanical engineering and law degree from UCLA, Michael contributes technical understanding to his main job -- protecting company assets. As with most corporate attorneys, Michael works to avoid problems vs. seeking opportunities -- a vital role.

Michael pays close attention to licenses, product service level agreements (SLAs), patents, copyright, trademarks, and so on. He seeks straightforward licensing terms and risk mitigation. He expresses caution about new OSS licenses, copyleft licenses, and complex IP rights.

Michael is busy and his department understaffed, His focus lies with reviewing contracts, especially for revenue generation. He appreciates legal forums and opinions of outside subject matter experts on licensing. Michael is ndaunted by change, if captured in corporate policy and precedents.

Michael and OpenTAP

He likes that OpenTAP is easy to set up and integrate with existing/legacy hardware, as evidenced in proof-of-concept trials. He is willing to promote OpenTAP to peers both within and outside of the company, having significant influence through his strong social media presence.

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"Chief Executive Officer"

Paul, 52, CEO

Bio and involvement with OSS

Word of the progress from Tanya's group has reached the top of the organization. CEO Paul has been particularly impressed by the new metrics for efficiency and quality.

Paul and OpenTAP

Word has also spread throughout upper management's inner circle. Several of Paul's board members have encouraged him to make additional investments in OpenTAP and other open source projects. Paul has also authorized a companywide inner source program driven by Tanya, VP of Engineering.

Paul thinks you'll also enjoy

Partners

"Contract Manufacturer Representative"

Julie, 38, Account Manager

Bio and involvement with OSS

Julie works for a contract manufacturer based in Taiwan. Tanya and Gabriel’s company is heavily reliant upon Julie's employer which provides 40% of their total manufacturing capability

Julie and OpenTAP

Julie's firm is thoroughly engaged with Tanya’s product teams. Julie's staff in Hsinchu maintains weekly calls with Francisco, Lead Test Developer, who is helping them retool their test framework to use OpenTAP too. This change frees up Francisco’s test lab to focus on new products, an improving efficiency. Additionally, Julie routinely interfaces with Helen in Finance and Tanya, VP of Engineering.

Julie's Favorite OpenTAP Resources

"Value Added Reseller Representative"

Kelly, 49, Supplier Representative

Bio and involvement with OSS

Kelly works for a value added reseller (VAR), meaning their product line includes contributions from many organizations, including from Paul and Tanya’s firm, with whom Kelly was worked for the last three years. Always cognizant of the added value she can provide to her eventual customers, she is most concerned about pricing, performance, quality, and service.

Kelly and OpenTAP

Because her company represents 20% of sales for Paul’s company, Kelly carries weight in pressing Phil, Sales Director, for discounts. Kelly also interacts with Product Manager Rob regarding features and roadmap information as she prepares for upcoming products to be offered.

Kelly thinks you should also read

"University Student"

Jenna, 21, Engineering Major

Bio and involvement with OSS

A senior at University of California at Santa Cruz, Jenna will be graduating next spring with a degree in electromechanical engineering. She is a committed student, working diligently on her senior project on industrial control systems.  She met marketing manager Rob at a job fair, and he has been sponsoring Jenna and her project. Rob is also excited that Jenna and her classmates have been capturing the project's progression on video and is pursuing re-using these videos for promotional purposes.

Jenna and OpenTAP

Jenna's curriculum includes classes and labs on test automation where she learned about OpenTAP through her independent research and from lab TAs. The concept caught her interest enough that she introduced it to her professor.

Jenna is inspired by

"Systems Integrator Representative"

Veejay, 42, Partner Representative

Bio and involvement with OSS

Veejay works for one of CEO Paul’s company’s most important partners, a systems integrator. In turn, this company works with large manufacturers and industrial end-users to help integrate Paul’s company’s products into their workflows.

Veejay and OpenTAP

Veejay's employer combines third-party hardware and software — using both open source and in-house code — to create customized solutions for the industries they serve. This requires that Veejay interact with both Phil, Sales Director, and Karl, Field Engineer, who routinely join Veejay on site visits.

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