GREGORY J. ANNEN 

  Plainfield, IL  60586

1.815.342.0469

gjannen@blueopal.com

http://www.gregoryannen.com/

 

 

Executive Summary:

  

•  Innovative and creative, able to learn quickly, adapt with flexibility, and act decisively.

•  Skilled at organizing complex projects, defining priorities, and delegating tasks

•  Excellent oral and written communication skills to interact effectively at all levels

•  Technical experience includes all aspects of the SDLC: architecture, design, development, integration, QA test, deployment, end user training and support

•  Working experience in various methodologies, including Agile/Iterative/Scrum, Waterfall, V-Model, Continuous Integration (CI) and DevOps

•  Hands-on expertise in a variety of test automation and quality tracking tools and frameworks: Selenium WebDriver API with Java; HP's UFT/QuickTest Pro (QTP); Perfecto Mobile; WinRunner; Service Test; soapUI; LoadRunner; VBScript; Quality Center/ALM with Business Process Testing (BPT); Jira; Ruby/Cucumber

•  Have used a variety of SCM tools for collaborative development, including Git, SubVersion, ClearQuest, Sharepoint and TFS

 

Major Accomplishments:

  

Automation Center Of Excellence

I organized and directed a Center of Excellence for test automation, which provided governance, services and support for functional test automation projects across all US development centers. I managed a core team of experts who developed and deployed effective test automation solutions.

 

Standards and Best Practices

I established, documented and enforced standards for test automation. Initially, I evaluated existing assets, resources, and practices. Next, I applied an industry standard methodology to determine the effectiveness of an organization's automation effort. Then, I recommended the implementation path for a comprehensive solution within the project budget. Finally, I managed the efforts of the automation solution development team to ensure that they stayed within the prescribed guidelines.

 

Cross-Team Collaboration

I utilized all available channels of communication to share testing assets, knowledge, and solutions across multiple projects and locations. For example, I created a corporate SharePoint site as a common information portal for manual testers and automation scripters. I also organized interactive demos of automation solutions.

 

Test Automation Frameworks

As a ‘hands-on’ technical manager, I designed, developed and maintained keyword, data-driven, and hybrid automation frameworks, some for use with HP (Mercury) testing tools: WinRunner, QuickTest Pro / UFT (including BPT), and Quality Center.

 

Staffing and Training

In addition to hiring expert resources for my own teams, I have provided input to the hiring managers of other teams and at other locations, for full-time, contract, and offshore employees. I assume the role of mentor for new hires.

 

 

 

Employment History:

 

SQS - USA (formerly Galmont Consulting, LLC)                                             Chicago, IL

 QA Practice Director, Testing and Automation                        February 2015 to Present

This is a senior technology leadership role as a client facing manager working on high level projects for implementing QA testing best practices and tooling in several verticals, including mobile test automation. Toolsets include HP UFT/QTP, ALM/Quality Center, Perfecto Mobile, and Selenium.

 

Epsilon (formerly Conversant Media)                                                                  Chicago, IL

 Team Lead, Ad Server Enterprise QA & Test Automation     April 2014 to Feb 2015

I managed a team of seven test engineers who created and maintained regression suites built using two customized frameworks: one Java, and one Ruby (Lucid). These scripts tested the functionality of Conversant's core business components under a continuous delivery model.

 

HCSC Blue Cross Blue Shield IL                                                                  Chicago, IL

 Supervisor, Enterprise Testing & BA Services             September 2010 to April 2014

I supervised a team of 20 local and remote resources (Chicago and Naperville, IL, and Richardson, TX), both full-time and contract, who maintained and enhanced a customized VBScript automation framework to execute HP QuickTest Pro automated regression scripts for web-based, mainframe, and Unix applications. I integrated this external framework with the reporting capabilities of Quality Center. I also converted automated tests for a key business application from Selenium to QuickTest Pro. 

 

JPMorgan Chase                                                                                         Chicago, IL

 Senior QA Automation Analyst                                  August 2009 to September 2010

I was responsible for all functional test automation initiatives in a major commercial credit card processing application release. I managed onshore and offshore teams who built Business Process Tests (BPT) using HP QTP and Quality Center. I also served as a QA Test Lead.

  

TriZetto Healthcare Management Systems                                                                                                                                                                                           Naperville, IL

 Manager, QA Automation COE                                                                                                                                                                                                                     April 2008 to June 2009

I organized an Automation Center of Excellence for functional testing which set standards and determined best practices for 5 geographically separate development centers. I directed a local team of automation experts in developing and deploying enterprise level test automation solutions. I established an Automation Council for advocacy and governance over standards implementation.

 

SunGard Financial Data Systems                                                                                                         Lombard, IL

 QA Test Automation Product Manager                                                                                                                                                                April 2006 to April 2008

I enhanced and maintained a keyword-driven framework using HP QuickTest Pro and TestDirector/ Quality Center which simplified test case input using Excel spreadsheets. This single solution had multiple uses for mainframe, java, and web-based test execution, maintained by distributed teams.

 

ShopLocal, LLC                                                                                                                    Chicago, IL

 Senior SQA Test Automation Team Leader                                                                                                             January 2006 to April 2006

I was responsible for test framework design, implementation and training using QuickTest Pro and Quality Center. I developed an SQL automation solution for automated query-based tests. Some C#.

 

Utopia Solutions, Inc.                                                                                                      Naperville, IL

 Practice Lead for Functional Test Automation                                                                                    April 2004 to January 2006

As a consultant for several major clients (e.g., Kraft Foods, CDW, AllScripts), I built and deployed test automation frameworks, trained staff, and documented solutions for hand-off to internal QA teams. I implemented test lab virtualization using VMWare products.

 

CNA Insurance                                                                                                                 Chicago, IL

 IT Quality Assurance Senior Specialist                                                                                                                                                                  April 2003 to April 2004

I created WinRunner scripts in TSL, provided LoadRunner test planning and execution, and evaluated a QuickTest Pro upgrade for various web-based application test scenarios. I revised the test script automation architecture to improve maintainability and increase test coverage.

 

IBM Global Services                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Chicago, IL

 IT Specialist/Architect; Technical Team Lead                                                                                                                   April 1998 to April 2003

I performed system test and support of Lucent’s Oracle-based Global Product Database and legacy interfaces. I introduced automated testing techniques to the Lucent QA team, developing a keyword-driven framework for Mercury WinRunner. This type of framework became an industry standard.

 

TEKSystems (Maxim Group) Consulting                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Chicago, IL

 Team Lead for System Test and Support                                                                                                      November 1996 to April 1998

This was a contract-to-hire position for IBM at Lucent, with responsibilities described above. My exceptional performance in this role led to my full-time employment by IBM.

 

The Walgreen Company (Data Center)                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Mt Prospect, IL

 Coverage Analyst                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            October 1995 to November 1996

I performed system evaluation and support for transition of 2,000+ retail stores to the Intercom Plus satellite network, an n-tier client-server solution. Unix, Novell, Oracle. Satellite networks.

 

Harry Rohde Management Systems, Inc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Elmhurst, IL

 Senior Programmer; Development Team Lead                                                                  March 1990 to October 1995

As a Senior Software Engineer coding with Thoroughbred Business BASIC and Team Lead for all HRMS R & D projects, I opened the door to a new business in a related industry and upgraded the technologies used to implement business process management software.

 

Corrugated Supplies Corporation                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Chicago, IL

 Customer Satisfaction Manager                                                                                                                                                                                         March 1978 to March 1990

My roles included production scheduler and customer satisfaction manager for a staff of four. My ability to accurately define the production scheduling workflow led to my collaboration with internal system programmers and eventual decision to pursue a career in software development.

 


Education:

 

   •        Loyola University, Chicago, IL                 Degree: B.A.                 Graduated Magna Cum Laude

 

 

Certifications / Memberships:

 

•         HP Certificates: Unified Functional Test; ALM Quality Center; Perfecto Mobile App Testing Tool

•         IEEE Affiliate Member, R4-Central USA Region

 

 

Interests & Hobbies:

•         Building and upgrading computers and hardware

•         Robotics: hardware and software development

•         Creative writing

•         Portrait painting

•         Woodworking

•         "Fixing things that break", sometimes by redesign

•         Reading: sci-fi a favorite