Ready, Test, Go.

Media companies have thrust themselves headlong into the subscription management business as a means of achieving and maintaining profitability. But that approach hasn’t been without its challenges, as everything from the adoption model to revenue streams and subscriber expectations have changed dramatically over the last 10 years. Stewart Frey, a media technology and solutions leader, joins us to discuss the rapidly evolving media market. In this fundamental shift in business, hear how media brands can take a proactive, multi-faceted approach to win over customers, now and in the future. About the guest: Stewart Frey recently served as the VP of Streaming Technology Solutions and Enterprise Master Data Management at WWE. He was instrumental in establishing and leading Centers of Excellence in business intelligence and digital analytics as well as a master data practice. He also led product, engineering, DevOps and streaming operations teams, focusing on innovation and transformation in content distribution. Prior to WWE, Frey spent 17 years at Paramount (formally Viacom), where he served as Vice President of Media & Technology Services and spearheaded strategic transformation initiatives. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Businesses face a critical task in maintaining ethical data practices in the midst of our AI revolution. How can we avoid putting the biases and harms of yesterday into overdrive with bad data that fuels prejudiced AI decisions? Jason Mills of Snowflake joins the podcast to talk about the challenges of reducing bias, ensuring data diversity and the essential role of audits and transparency in creating responsible AI systems. He also touches on how leveraging the power of real-world crowdsourced data and advanced analytics platforms can ultimately produce higher-quality models and products that resonate in the marketplace. About the guest: Jason Mills is a business leader with 30 years of experience delivering innovative technology solutions within Fortune 100 companies and early stage startups. He is currently the VP Solutions Engineering at Snowflake and a member of the Applause board of directors. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

The future of AI is being written every day. Data scientists and engineers must weigh the potential advantages of AI adoption against its considerable risks when applied insufficiently or recklessly. In this episode from Open Data Science Conference East 2024 in Boston, Josh Poduska of Applause reflects on key insights gleaned from the show, including the emergence of AI as a dominant force in data science and the challenges of adoption and governance. Explore trends, risks and the transformative potential of AI in shaping industries and societies worldwide. About the guest: Josh Poduska, a client partner and AI strategist at Applause, focuses on ensuring the safe and effective implementation of AI technologies through rigorous testing and data creation. With a background spanning leadership roles at companies like Domino Data Lab, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM, Josh offers a wealth of expertise in data science, AI, machine learning and statistics. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

The rapid pace of AI evolution and the rush to use it as a business differentiator challenges ethics-minded engineers to act quickly and decisively to enforce substantive change. In this podcast episode from ODSC East in Boston, Rishu Gandhi of Wells Fargo discusses some of the challenges in building AI-infused digital products, including integrating Responsible AI into business and development practices. About the guest: Rishu Gandhi is a Senior Data Engineer in Machine Learning & AI - Cybersecurity at Wells Fargo. She believes that data and AI will be the architects of our digital future, transforming industries and reshaping our world. Transitioning from chemical engineering to coding, her journey has been a fusion of curiosity and persistence. Gandhi previously worked as an engineer at DuPont and Agilent Technologies, learning and addressing the challenges in the chemical domain. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Humans use digital products. While AI and automation have made great strides in the last few years in accelerating tasks that people would otherwise manage, the human perspective is just as important as ever in building and validating digital products. In a job market that seems to increasingly devalue that human perspective, some QA professionals argue it’s time to reprioritize the power of people in software. Mark Kalet, a quality assurance leader, joins the podcast to discuss how people move the needle to ultimately help realize business goals in a way that systems cannot. While humans introduce unique variables in software development and the business world, they still play a vital role in delivering high-quality digital experiences. About the guest: With extensive experience implementing QA processes and building teams, Mark Kalet offers a unique perspective of digital quality strategy, including driving growth with new technologies, improving performance and increasing profitability. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Over the first full year of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, we’ve been privileged to welcome expert guests across a variety of disciplines. As organizations grapple with the multi-faceted challenge of crafting a comprehensive approach to digital quality, these experts provided insights that can give dev, test and product professionals an edge. Let’s listen back to some selected snippets from past Ready, Test, Go. episodes to provide a high-level overview of digital quality strategies. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Success is less a strike of lighting than a commitment to organizational excellence. Enabling greatness means alleviating unnecessary challenges, which sometimes means pumping the brakes to unravel tangles and inefficiencies, even — and especially — in times of fierce competition and economic uncertainty. Gene Kim has spent years researching the habits of successful organizations. He joins the Ready, Test, Go. podcast to discuss some of the findings in his latest book, including the concepts of slowification, simplification, and amplification. About the guest: Gene Kim is a renowned bestselling author, researcher, speaker and CTO. His latest book, co-written with Steven Spear called Wiring the Winning Organization, published in November. You can find a link to that book here: https://myresources.itrevolution.com/id006657164/Wiring-the-Winning-Organization Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

We are the subjects of data — but, too often, fail to understand or influence how it is used. Humans must make trade-offs to enjoy the luxury of digital products while also maintaining a sense of decency and privacy. So, what does that mean for the companies who collect this data and the AI that interprets it? Author and professor Wendy Wong joins the podcast to discuss why consumers must take an active role in their data sharing choices, and how organizations should adapt to the needs of these users over the long term. About the guest: Wendy Wong is the Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia. She is the author of the book, We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age, which published in October. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Payment transactions are anything but simple -- yet users expect them to be intuitive, reliable and friction-free. How do businesses manage this task in a global marketplace fraught with local payment preferences and challenges? Zeb Winzenried, Director of Testing Services in Payments at Applause, joins the podcast to explain how organizations can navigate this complicated space. About the guest: Zeb Winzenried manages the testing request delivery with a global team, helping big companies validate their payment flows. Zeb’s business background and love of technology helps him navigate the challenging and unique payment testing landscape. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Irene Pereyra, discusses concepts from her book, Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology, to shed light on how digital products can delight or frustrate users. You can find Irene’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Strategies-Interactions-Technology/dp/0760378045 About the guest: For more than 10 years, Irene Pereyra has led program management and UX initiatives as the co-founder of Anton and Irene, a Brooklyn-based design firm. Irene has lectured at more than 100 design conferences and educational institutions, and is currently the co-chair of the Interaction Design program at Harbour Space University. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Software testing is important, but why exactly do we do it? And how should we examine our digital quality efforts over time? These are necessary questions that many QA organizations don’t ask. James Mortlock, Lead UAT Test Manager at Vodafone, joins the podcast to discuss what should go into a software testing strategy — and why. We also talk about delivering better value with digital quality initiatives, and why efficiency ultimately benefits everybody. You can also see James in a recent webinar he did with Applause called How Vodafone Shifted User Acceptance Testing Left, which you can find here: https://www.applause.com/resources/webinars/how-vodafone-shifted-uat-left About the guest: James Mortlock is the Lead UAT Test Manager at Vodafone. He previously held roles in digital automation, analytics implementation and served as a Scrum Master. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Edited by Samsu Sallah and Megan Gawlik Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Many businesses have immature data governance processes reminiscent of bad diets — garbage in, garbage out. Insights gleaned from data, whether by human eyes or AI, are only valuable if the data is readable and relevant. For too many businesses, it’s not. Civic tech service designer, author and lecturer Lauren Maffeo joins the podcast to discuss where organizations miss the mark on data quality, a problem that costs businesses millions of dollars per yet. She’ll discuss findings from her book, Designing Data Governance from the Ground Up: Six Steps to Build a Data-Driven Culture, and how governance-driven development can foster shared data responsibility across the organization. You can find Lauren’s book here: https://pragprog.com/titles/lmmlops/designing-data-governance-from-the-ground-up/

Technology solves some of the problems in our society today, but it exacerbates others, such as discrimination based on a person’s race, gender, income level or disabilities. As companies continue to invest heavily in AI/ML technology, they must take caution to ensure new products don’t fall back on old, problematic patterns that cause harm to users or others. Meredith Broussard, author of the book More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech, joins the podcast to discuss the myriad ways these issues — not glitches — present themselves in modern technology and digital products, and what we can do about it. You can find Meredith’s book here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262373067/more-than-a-glitch/ About the guest: Meredith Broussard is the Associate Professor at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and Research Director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology. She is the author of Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World. Her work has been featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Atlantic, BBC, Wired and the Economist. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Edited by Samsu Sallah and Megan Gawlik Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Even if you live in a galaxy far, far away, many of the cybersecurity and digital quality concerns that cause product releases to fail are relevant. Even the mighty Death Star is left vulnerable by one tiny flaw that should’ve been discovered and patched — and this is just the start of what we can learn about digital quality from the world’s favorite sci-fi universe. Security consultant, expert and author Adam Shostack shines a light on the Star Wars series to reveal cautionary tales about software quality, cybersecurity and more. About the guest: As President of Shostack + Associates, Adam Shostack delivers high-quality training and consulting in security engineering, including threat modeling and DevSecOps. Shostack also serves as a member of the Black Hat Review Board, RISCS Advisory Board and IriusRisk Advisory Board. He is also the author of three books, including Threats: What Every Engineer Should Learn From Star Wars. You can find Adam’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Threats-Every-Engineer-Should-Learn/dp/1119895162 Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Edited by Samsu Sallah and Megan Gawlik Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

As companies look to maintain lean budgets or even cut them, how can organizations make sense of their digital quality investments, and optimize them moving forward? It takes full organizational commitment and a clever approach to take advantage of all resources — internal and external to the business. In this episode of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, software development and testing expert Matt Heusser of Excelon Development discusses the importance of efficient testing that delivers value. Hear from Heusser how flexible resources like crowdtesting can help fill gaps in testing coverage, and whether he sees a tide change in how leaders are approaching digital quality. About the guest: Matt Heusser is the Managing Director of Excelon Development. Heusser is an award-winning thought leader, speaker and writer. He is also the author of Lean Software Testing/Lean Software Delivery methods and courses. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Feature-rich products don’t necessarily lead to widespread customer adoption. In fact, the everyday user likely prefers a stripped-down, easy-to-understand product to one that offers all the functionality under the sun. Striking a balance between speed to market, inventive products and an emphasis on digital quality can sometimes lead to a push-pull that sinks innovation initiatives. Turns out a diverse background can go a long way toward substantive innovation — just as Gary Larkin, the Chief Strategy Officer of Marker Trax and Koin Mobile. In this podcast episode, Larkin, whose background includes marketing, graphic arts and advertising, explains why an approach to product innovation must be simple yet refined and thoughtful yet profitable — not always easy needles to thread in the global marketplace. About the guest: Gary Larkin is the Chief Strategy Officer of Marker Trax and Koin Mobile. Through decades of leadership experience, particularly in the payment solutions space, Larkin has learned the dos and do-not-dos of product innovation and expansion into new markets. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Software testing attracts people with a variety of backgrounds and skills. But the ones who thrive in today’s fast-paced, oft-evolving digital world manage to strike a balance between deep domain knowledge and a curiosity to expand their repertoire of skills. Learn from QA expert Kristin Jackvony how to avoid becoming Job Security Jim and Conference Connie, and instead forge a career path poised for growth. Kristin is the author of the book The Complete Software Tester: Concepts, Skills, and Strategies for High-Quality Testing, which you can find here: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Software-Tester-Strategies-High-Quality-ebook/dp/B09NGVVCJ9/ About the guest: Kristin Jackvony is an experienced QA manager and tester, specializing in both improving legacy software and supporting new software from the earliest stages of development. As the Principal Engineer in Software Testing at Paylocity, she organizes systems and processes to support all areas of testing. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

When brands focus too heavily on the product — and not on whether customers actually want that product — they potentially miss some huge blind spots that can sink the launch. Innovations that focus on the customer’s perspective are more likely to succeed. As we will discuss with guest Adonis Celestine, there’s evidence dating back to the Industrial Revolution to help prove this point. About the guest: Testing expert and advocate Adonis Celestine is the Director of Automation at Applause. He has written three books on digital quality, including Quality Engineering: The Missing Key to Digital CX. He also speaks at conferences all throughout the EU. Adonis’ book is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Quality-Engineering-missing-key-digital/dp/B0BD22NX2Q/ Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

From technical lead to CEO of Coveros, Jeff Payne has made a 35-year career of helping solve digital quality concerns. On this episode of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, Jeff Payne, CEO of Coveros, discusses what real Agile testing looks like. It’s not a ceremonious approach to a Waterfall way of working — it’s about substantive organizational change. About the guest: Jeff Payne is the CEO of Coveros, a consultancy, which also owns TechWell, the host of popular STAR and Agile + DevOps conferences. In addition to speaking at conferences, Jeff has published more than thirty papers on software development and testing, and even testified before the U.S. Congress on digital issues. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.

Some businesses have absolutely no clue how to measure the user experience — and it shows. Inge De Bleecker, Principal UX & Conversational AI Consultant and Founder at outriderUX, has seen the best and worst of it. In this episode of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, she talks about how to build UX awareness from the ground up. About the guest: For three decades, Inge De Bleecker has designed, developed, managed and consulted on the user experience. She is the Principal UX & Conversational AI Consultant and Founder at outriderUX. Inge has spent her career focusing on the user and making the user’s life easier when interacting with digital products. Hosted by David Carty Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella Graphic design by Karley Searles To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.