Software Testing specialist group: Committee

Chair and Early Careers Advocate
Nicola Martin FBCS FWES

Nicola Martin, a senior software engineering leader turned career coach and founder of NMC&C, with over two decades of experience in the tech industry, including many years in software testing and quality. Nicola is passionate about diversity in tech and has been active in supporting causes and groups in this area.

Her accomplishments include being named AI Champion at the Everywoman in Technology Awards, securing 19th place in Computer Weekly's Most Influential Women in UK Tech, and being longlisted for the UK Tech Awards. Nicola was also highly commended as a Role Model in the Women in Tech Excellence Awards and has featured in various industry recognition lists.

Nicola is the creator of the ‘Tech Pathways’ podcast and newsletter, where she shares insights into thriving in the tech industry.

Vice-Chair and Programme Secretary
Mike Harris CITP FBCS

Mike has been a tester for 20 years and is the lone tester for Geckoboard. He has been a member of a test team, a lone Tester and a Test Lead. He has also worked as a part of waterfall, lean and agile teams. Mike has a testing and quality blog.

Mike has a BSc. (Hons) from Middlesex University and is an Associate of the University of Hertfordshire. He has set up and led a Testing Community of Practice and been part of a successful agile transition. He also is a conference speaker and has contributed to two ebooks: How Can I Test This? and Testing Stories.

Treasurer
Alan Giles MBCS

Alan Giles is Head of QA at Induction Healthcare Group, which provides innovative technology solutions across the secondary and community healthcare markets. He has over 10 years' experience of software quality and test in a range of industries including FinTech, HealthTech, payroll, and hospitality, especially enjoying the challenges digitisation and organisational transformation bring. Particular interests include the automation of tests and processes, release efficiency, hiring and mentoring, and accessibility.

Inclusion Officer
Maddy McMurray

Maddy McMurray is a QA Non-Functional Test Analyst, working for Sparta Global and currently on placement with a government organisation. Experienced in Operations and Finance, Maddy began retraining in tech in 2019, joined Sparta Global in 2022, and started their journey into the testing world.

They are a Neurodiversity and ADHD advocate who regularly speaks at professional events, using their lived experience to educate organisations and teams about accessibility, inclusion, and supporting neurodiverse people at work. Previously, they volunteered as the Education Liaison Officer for the Pride Special Interest Group, organising career talks for young LGBTQ+ students and professionals.

Outside of work, Maddy is an avid writer and history enthusiast, currently working on capturing the oral histories of LGBTQ+ people in Southend and Essex.

Membership Manager
Paul Mowat CITP FBCS & TMMi Test Process Improver

Paul is SIGiST's Marketing and Community Secretary. Paul is a Fellow CITP BCS member, and a BCS CITP assessor with 20+ years experience in technology delivery and advisory. Paul is a Director at Infinity Tech Consulting and a recognised TMMi Test Process Improver having assessed global companies by recommending innovative and efficient improvements and optimised ways of working.

Marketing and Communications Secretary
Beth Probert MBCS

Beth is a Software Tester, Quality & DevOps Specialist, and passionate advocate for getting more women into tech. Beth has held a variety of roles in sectors including Satellite Communications and Energy, and is an advocate of using tech for good and the important role quality plays in all software products. Beth also runs a tech blog where she shares her thoughts on tech, diversity and testing.

Beth enjoys speaking at conferences about technology and testing, and volunteering with organisations like WISE to improve the gender balance in STEM industries. Her dedication and expertise has been recognised by a number of awards, including being included in Computer Weekly's list of Most Influential Women in UK Tech. She is currently working at ROSEN, spearheading their quality and devops practices globally."

Social Media Assistant
Steve Dunn MBCS

Steve is SIGiST's Social Media Assistant. A BCS member, Steve has worked in IT for nearly 30 years across various industries, primarily focusing on software development with Microsoft technologies, user support and training, and, more recently, DevOps. Steve is also a member of the DevSecOps Group in the BCS and currently works as a Systems Developer and DevOps Engineer for Freightliner, a global logistics company.

Events Coordinator
Gomathi Ramalingam

I’m a working mum with nearly 20 years of experience, supported by a wonderful husband and our 12-year-old son. Professionally, I’ve worked across various domains, participating in, leading, and managing testing teams. Currently, I’m the Director of QA and Product Delivery at Simba Chain.

Exploring testing in the Web3 world keeps me extremely excited. As a family, we love travelling, as I firmly believe that experience is the best teacher. I also enjoy running, which helps me plan my day and stay focused. I’m proud to have completed the London Marathon twice in the past five years.

Events Coordinator
James Tyack CITP MBCS

James Tyack is a Software Testing Manager and graduate of the University of Bath in Computer Information Systems, with focal areas in Computer Science and Business Management. With over 20 years of experience in Software and Test, James has worked as a Software Developer and Testing Leader, excelling in Waterfall, Agile, Scaled Agile, and Agile Testing.

James is passionate about Testing, Quality, and Continuous Improvement, having built teams and mentored professionals throughout their careers. A dedicated STEM Ambassador, Apprentice Stream Founder, and Trainer, James is an active participant in local testing meetups and key conferences.

The Tester Editor
Andy Shaw MBCS

Andrew is a software tester who has experience in testing web based and desktop software in the geographical, cargo and shipping, and lone worker industries.

He focused on the software testing area following a redundancy at the end of 2013 and has not looked back since. He is an advocate of exploratory testing, and has gained experience of manual and automated testing, and continually developing his career as a professional software tester.

He enjoys public speaking about software testing, at networking events and universities, as well as organising events for BCS. He also supports the different BCS Student Chapters and mentors people considering software testing as a career.

Sponsorship Coordinator
Jonathon Wright FBCS

Jonathon Wright is a digital therapist, strategic thought leader and distinguished technology evangelist. He specialises in emerging technologies, innovation and automation, and has more than 20 years of international commercial experience within global organisations.

He is currently the CTO of Digital-Assured based in Oxford in the UK.

Jonathon combines his extensive practical experience and leadership with insights into real-world adoption of automation, performance and security testing. Thus, he is frequently in demand as a speaker at international conferences such as TEDx, Gartner, EuroSTAR, STAREast, STARWest, UKSTAR, Guild Conferences, Swiss Testing Days, Unicom, AI Summit, DevOps Summit, TestExpo and Vivit Community (of which he is currently the president of a not for profit, independent software community with over 70,000 members across 125 countries). Jonathon is also the podcast host of the QA lead (based in Canada) and the author of several award winning books.

Committee Member
Laveena Ramchandani

Laveena Ramchandani is a Quality Engineering Manager with a comprehensive understanding of tools available for software testing and analysis. She aims to provide valuable insights that have high technical aptitude and hopes to inspire others in the world through her work. Laveena holds a degree in Business Computing from the Queen Mary University of London and regularly speaks at events on data science models and other topics as well as blogs, hosts, and trains future testers. She is also a finalist for the Digital star award at the FDM every woman’s award 2022.