A day in life of... QA Team Lead

Marijana Liović, QA Team Lead

For the beginning, introduce yourself to us.

I’m Marijana, QA Team Lead at Base 58, where I’ve been working for two and a half years. In total, I have been working as a QA for five years. Born in Osijek, living in Čepin.

How did you decide to work in IT?

I have always been prone to subjects from the STEM field, so choosing a high school was easy, I went to high school in science and mathematics. During high school, I even thought about social studies (psychology, Croatian language) for a while, but in the end, I decided to continue in the direction in which I started and enrolled at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Then I had to choose a course in college again, I was thinking about it and I guess the little things prevailed. And all that led me to graduate from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, majoring in Communication and Informatics. Honestly, I’m not a person who has been obsessed with technology since I was a kid and I may not have seen myself in IT before, but over time I started to like the area because it is dynamic and always offers the opportunity to learn something new.

Describe yourself in three words.

Gentle, patient, responsible.

What do you think are the most important characteristics of QA?

Precision, accuracy, organization, creativity, critical thinking, and the well-known "eye for details".

What do you like the most about your job and company?

What I like the most is the environment in which I work; it is relaxed but motivating. Everyone is kind, I can always openly ask a question and express my opinion. The atmosphere in the office is especially good, we have connected through our shared interests (growing plants, playing board games…) I also like that as a QA I have the opportunity to work on almost all projects.

What does a typical day at work look like?

Since I have a team to lead, part of the day is reserved for reviewing tasks, tracking team members, and division of work in the team, which I usually do in the morning, when we also have a daily meeting with the developers. The rest of the day is filled with work on projects. There are always some additional project meetings somewhere in between.

What have been your biggest challenges in work so far?

Well, I think it was the very beginning of the work because every start is challenging, especially because I immediately worked on international projects where I was in daily communication with people from different countries. The next thing that was challenging for me was taking on the leadership of the QA team which brings extra responsibility and where I had some new tasks like job interviews, selecting candidates, introducing new employees to the job, etc.

What makes you happy in your free time? What does an ideal day off look like to you?

I am happiest when I spend time outdoors, getting away from the screen - walking, cycling, working in the garden or an orchard…So my best day off would probably be somewhere in nature, either working on something (which is actually rest to me) or enjoying food, walking, or some other activity.

Do you have some other interests?

I like to watch sports, especially our dear 1.HNL, and sometimes I go to NK Čepin's home games. I watch movies or TV shows sometimes. In fact, my favorite thing is to share my time and talents with others, to help someone, and to brighten the day for someone.

Do you have a favorite movie, TV show?

I can't single out any in particular, but the genres I like the most are dramas, thrillers, and movies based on true stories. The only thing I can’t watch is SF.

Do you like to travel?

I like to go somewhere, visit, and see something new, but I can’t say for myself that I’m a travel addict. I think that we can always discover something new in our surroundings and find enjoyment in it. Of the foreign destinations, I love Prague, where I have been three times and would visit it again.

Is there something that really makes you angry or annoyed?

I’m not a person who is easily angered, and even when I get angry, I calm down really quickly. What annoys and bothers me is inactivity; when everyone wants something, a change, and they do not want to take action and start contributing on their own but comment and criticize from the sidelines. Another thing that annoys me a lot is discarded garbage where it doesn’t belong, destroyed benches or parks…

Is there something that always brightens your day?

The company of people who are dear to me and probably some little things, such as when someone I don't know is kind and warm.