Donna Firks has over 15 years of experience in software testing and quality assurance, currently working as a Test Manager at New Look Retailers where she manages testing teams and strategies. She has a variety of skills in testing methods, tools, and programming languages as well as qualifications in software testing and IT management. Her experience also includes roles as a Test Lead, Test Analyst, and Application Management Analyst Programmer for companies such as New Look Retailers, Accenture, and Barclays.

1. Donna Firks
10a WykeRoad, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 9QE | 07873994028 | dfirks@hotmail.com
Personal Information
- Date of Birth: 24/07/74
- Nationality: British
- Driving License: Full UK
Education
2009 - 2015 OPEN UNIVERSITY.
BA Literature Studies
1990 - 1993 WEYMOUTH COLLEGE
- National Certificate for Dental Surgery Assistants(NEBDSA)
- RSA Typewriting & Word-processing Levels 1 & 2
1987 - 1990 BEAMINSTER SCHOOL.
G.C.S.E English Language, English Literature, Geography, Science, Mathematics,
French Language, Home Economics, Computer Studies
Industry Accreditations and Skills
- ISTQB Advanced Test Manager
- ISEB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing
- ISEB ITIL V3 Foundation Certificate
- Test Automation (up to Selenium IDE 2.9.1)
- Management of platform transition between ATG and Hybris (Web/ Mob)
- EPOS Test Management (ObjectPos, DigiPos, and Aptos Store Pos -Wincor)
- Jira Fundamentals and Advanced (including Confluence, Agile, and Zephyr)
- BDD (Cucumber)
- QA-IQ COBOL Fundamentals
- WIN2K Operating Systems & Networking Essentials
- Application Testing - Define Application Product Test Conditions
- Application Testing - Define Application Product Test Cycles
- Application Testing - Prepare and Execute Application Product Test
- COBOL: Debugging and Testing
- COBOL: File Handling/Statements and Editing Characters
- COBOL: Structured Program Development
- Oracle Database 10g: Introduction to SQL I: SQL Functions in Oracle Database 10g
- Oracle: SQL Server, Developer, and SQL*Plus
- IBM DB2 Universal Database 5.0: Embedded SQL Programming
- Mainframe: ISPF/ Mainframe: JCL Fundamentals/Mainframe: Navigation
- Microsoft MOUS Certification (MS OFFICE proficient)
- Programming Fundamentals: Designing Programs
- UNIX Overview
- Microsoft BackOffice Server
- JAVA 2 programming
- Data Privacy-What It Means and Why It Matters/ Client Data Protection: Your Responsibility

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Experience
TEST MANAGER | NEW LOOK RETAILERS | 2013-CURRENT
 Accountable for developing and maintaining an IT test strategy, Automation strategy, best practice quality
framework and test methodology
 Managing a Core team of Test Leads and Analysts to deliver testing (distributed)
 Creating an overall IT test strategy covering tools, automated testing, test team structure, iterative/agile,
and risk-based test approaches
 Ensuring the most cost-effective, timely, and appropriate testing solutions are developed
 Management of test resources (Core team and third party)
 Agile and Waterfall best practices(Inc BDD, Continuous Integration)
 Ensuring Quality Assurance for testing is applied across all delivery suites to meet current industry
standards
 Implementation of Automation across test systems
 Managing 3rd party test organisations (on/offshore) and ensuring that they understand and follow agreed
standards and processes
 Providing testing advice and guidance to others within IT and the Business
 Ensuring testing across Delivery is consistent and performed to agreed time, cost and quality
 Ensuring all testing activity adheres to established testing policies, methods, and standards
 Acting as an escalation point for major test issues
 Driving continuous improvement and actively supporting change initiatives
 Managing risks associated with testing, taking action when any risks become unacceptable
 Ensuring lessons learned from post-implementation reviews are incorporated into future work
 Providing guidance and coaching to other Testers
 Responsibility for line management and task management of Test Leads
 Ensuring all team members are clear on their role, have up to date objectives and personal development
plans and receive consistent line management, feedback and performance appraisals
 Supporting skills development to ensure team members are equipped to meet current and future demands,
and ensuring career development is aligned with the strategic direction of the business
 Sets the policy and standards for business process testing
 Manages the design and execution of business process tests, usability evaluations, network and business
trials, confidence tests
 Ownership of all test tools (inc. Jira Defect Management, Agile, Confluence, Selenium, Zephyr, and JMeter).
TEST LEAD | NEW LOOK RETAILERS | 2012 - 2013
Test Lead responsible for leading the testing of new applications and changes to existing New Look applications, to
ensure that that they meet the functional requirements and quality standards required by New Look. Also
responsible for the planning and management of test phases (e.g. System, Integration, UAT, Performance, etc.) for a
broad range of projects.
In addition, tasks that include the following:
- Supporting the Test Manager in the creation and delivery of testing programmes on behalf of Project Managers
- Managing the execution of test phases as required
- Preparation of Test Approach & Strategy documentation
- Preparation of test facilities
- Creating schedules
- Planning and management of test resource
- Participating in the execution of tests for any New Look application
- Design of test plans
- Writing test scripts aligned with business requirements
- Constructing test data
- Conducting tests
- Reporting and managing test defects – escalating as appropriate
- Reporting progress to the Test Manager and Project Manager

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- Escalating issues and risks
- Advising business users with the creation of user acceptance test scripts
- Day to day management of Test Analysts working on the same project
- Day to day management of UAT resources seconded from various business areas
TEST ANALYST | NEW LOOK RETAILERS | 2009 - 2012
- Responsible for testing new applications and changes to existing applications, to ensure that that they meet the
functional requirements and quality standards required by New Look.
- Supporting the Test Manager in the creation and delivery of testing programmes on behalf of Project Managers
- Project testing and/or managing the testing of multiple concurrent projects of varying size and complexity.
- Managing the execution of test phases and Preparation of test facilities
- Participating in the execution of tests of any New Look application
- Design of test plans and creation of test scripts aligned with business requirements
- Constructing test data and conducting tests
- Reporting defect
- Reporting progress
- Escalating issues and risks. Assisting business users with creation user acceptance test scripts and supporting
user acceptance tests.
APPLICATION MANAGEMENT ANALYST PROGRAMMER | ACCENTURE – BARCLAYS
ENGAGEMENT _POOLE | 2007 - 2009
Live support of Global Payment users: providing Incident and Problem resolution and Change Management related
to liveissues.
Support of user activities: Providing timely responses to all client requests, including 24x7 on-call support outside
normal business hours; meeting deadlines and budgets.
Handle Change Requests: Effectively handling client change requests by proposing and support in the development,
design, and testing of solutions, including that change requests entrance criteria and documentation, is complete,
reviewing and revising both change documentation and code changes of testing data and following through on
execution of said data and release implementation.
Service Control Management for related incidents, Problems and Changes.
Management of offshore work resource distribution related to Incidents, Problems, and Changes.
BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST NEW LOOK RETAILERS - WEYMOUTH. | 2004 - 2007
Delivery of IT development and Problem Analysis and resolution to the business for major applications in line with
needs, expectations, and quality standards. The primary focus of the role - business systems analysis, also all stages
of a project lifecycle.
This includes:
- Requirements gathering and daily, weekly, and monthly Business Reports
- Business systems specification writing
- Business systems design
- New Application and Systems testing (Inc. test scripts, etc)
- Managing User Acceptance Testing/ Implementation support

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Memberships
uTest– Contributing towards crowd-sourced testing, software testing, test tool reviews, software testing courses,
software testing community, actual testing projects (most recent NBA website and Santander Bank Payment
process).
Upwork– Working as a freelance consultant for a number of global clients. Specialisation in Atlassian application
solutions.
References
HR
New LookRetailers
Mercery Road
Weymouth
Dorset
Paul Rodgers
Paul.rodgers@Debenhams Retail Plc
Bedford House Park Street
Taunton
TA1 4DB 07904441259