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Get to Know: Saddam Hussian

get to know saddam hussian

Welcome to the second edition of “Get to Know.” In this series, we’re introducing our employees to the public and letting them get to know a bit more about one another. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together. In this edition, you’ll get to know Saddam Hussain.

Saddam Hussain works as a Salesforce QA lead at CloudQ. His responsibilities include: managing a team in quality assurance so we meet the expectations of the clients concerning the products or projects implemented; coordinating with project managers, stakeholders, and clients to maintain good relationships; and keeping the team motivated and inspired throughout the processes. He plans out the QA procedure within the industry standards and ensures his team makes the product meet the quality required and expected.

Saddam completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from C.Abdul Hakeem College of Engineering and Technology. According to him, he is a quick learner, is adaptive to any environment, and always approaches his work and life with the utmost interest and confidence.

We had a fun experience during this Get to Know session. Have a look at the interesting conversation:

  1. How do you prefer to start your day?

I start my day with morning prayer then have a refreshing cup of tea and spend some time chatting with my wife. At the office, I log in around 11 am, have a meeting with my team to explore the day’s work plan, update them with client requirements (if any), guide them through their queries, and try to make the proceeding as smooth as possible without hiccups.

  1. Do you have a checklist planned out for the day?

I check my calendar and find out the tasks to be done and meetings to be attended, make a mental checklist, and go about the day.

  1. What do you enjoy most about working with CloudQ?

The flexible work environment at work CloudQ is enjoyable for me. They have given me the authority to do activities that ensure I can complete the task at hand within deadlines. I have found this beneficial both personally and professionally.

  1. How long have you been with the company?

I joined the company in 2018, and it’s been almost 4 years.

  1. What prompted you to apply to work with CloudQ?

When I was working in my previous company, It had been 3 years, and I was looking forward to a job change, as everyone does. I was approached by a job placement consultant at the same time and introduced me to Robin, the HR [lead] at that time. We discussed the requirements available for QA, everything fell in place, and I joined CloudQ.

  1. What was your first job?

I completed my graduation in 2012, and in 2013, I joined Photon Infotech Private Limited as a Trainee QA Engineer. I enjoyed working there and was part of a big team. My mentor, Mr. Gowtham, trained me very well in all aspects of quality assurance.

  1. What’s your go-to productivity trick?

Nowadays, especially during these difficult times, I believe COMMUNICATION is the key to productivity. For example, when we assign a task to our team members, we expect them to finish off within the timeline. However, when everyone is working from home, follow-ups, updates, and work statuses all need to be communicated through proper channels, back and forth between team leads and members, to ensure smooth workflow and productivity without hindrance.

  1. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

I prefer to start my day early. As mentioned earlier, I start my day with morning prayers, then a cup of tea, sleep for some time, and start work at 11 am. This helps me keep a sustainable work-life balance.

  1. Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

To be frank, I do not have anyone in particular that I look up to. You can say I go by gut instinct. I do things that feel right to me, and normally, it has worked out in my favor.

  1. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had, and what did you learn from it?

When I was fresh out of college after graduation, I wanted to work in my core field, ie, EEE. So, I received a call from a job consultant, assuring me of a job, and he has made me pay a fee of around 10,000 rupees. He assured me about job interviews in Delhi with food, accommodation, and travel facilities. I was fresh out of college and believed him. Once the payment was done, I never received a call from that number, and I was not able to contact him. So it was a bad experience for me which left me uncomfortable to seek jobs through paid consultants.

  1. What led you to this career?

Once I was unsuccessful in finding a job in my stream, my brother guided me to attend a Certified Testing Course. The biggest advantage of an EEE graduate is that we are exposed to coding and different languages. I believed I was comfortable with coding and learning new languages. Product testing involves a lot of coding. So that’s how I became a QA in the future.

  1. What energizes you at work?

As long as I can deliver my job responsibilities on time, I feel motivated and inspired to do a better job. I work closely with my team to finish the work perfectly within the deadline even if I have to pitch in with ideas when my team members are stuck. The sense of achievement after a project delivery is very inspiring.

  1. What’s one thing that surprised you about working at CloudQ?

When I joined CloudQ as a QA, I had very limited knowledge on managing a team or a project. CloudQ surprised me yet with offering opportunities to lead teams and learn on the job, and now, I am managing the Zoho team as well. The trust the management has in me to pull off the team management in different departments has surprised me a lot!

  1. What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re proud of?

When I joined CloudQ, I was working with a BA on the ClearResult project, and he appreciated my work. This was my first time working with a US client, and they appreciated me very much for my work. They even offered to work with me in the future.

  1. What’s the biggest misconception people have about your position?

People think testing is a simple job and it only involves finding bugs (we get this experience normally from developers), but testing is not a simple job. We need to think of different scenarios [in which] the customers would use the solution or product and the possible errors that may show up. We need to simulate these scenarios, test for bugs, and rectify them. We are responsible for delivering quality and bug-free products. QA is not an easy job.

  1. What is Quality Assurance?

Quality Assurance is the process of delivering bug-free products.

  1. What all quality assurance steps do we take at CloudQ?

When we get all the artifacts of a project, we start with a test plan, cracking the requirements. Based on the test plans, we prepare test cases, test scenarios for requirement feasibility, and look out for different bug scenarios. We have a preset matrix and try to follow the bugs for presented test cases, and if the bugs appear for non-identified test cases, we solve the issues. Everything new is to be documented and updated for future reference and corrections.

  1. What type of products and processes have you tested the most?

Product-wise, I have tested with all SalesCloud Features, Pardot Projects, Expense Tracking Services, and Hospitality Projects.

  1. What certifications do you have that have prepared you for this position?

I have done Salesforce Admin Certification, SalesCloud Consultant Certification, and Quality Assurance Analyst Certification courses.

  1. Can you describe the greatest challenge you’ve faced in quality assurance?

Sometimes, the developers deliver the product last minute, and as Quality Analysts, we only get limited time for project validation. QA is a time-consuming process, and working within a limited period is very challenging. Sometimes, we have come across situations where they have no proper documentation related to the project and products which makes it very difficult to find the coding structure to find bugs.

  1. How do you prefer to end your day?

At work, I want to end my day knowing that all the tasks planned for the day are completed without any escalation from the clients or management. I prefer to have calm and relaxing evenings at my home.

Thank You Saddam, Sir, for offering an insightful conversation and offering up information to get you to know a little better.

We hope you all enjoyed this post and are looking forward to many more! If the marketing team connects with you for an interview, please indulge us. We’re trying to better our community and make CloudQ a more interconnected workplace.

Contributor

Lekshmi Devi

Team Marketing

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