Karla Justen: Test Analyst at Philips

🎤 Hi, сould you introduce yourself?

Hi! I’m Karla Justen. I am 27 years old. And I was born in Florianopolis, Brazil. I love to solve problems, brainstorm multiple solutions and try to figure out which one is better for the context it will be applied. It’s the main reason why I pursued for a Bachelor of Computer Science degree. I’m passionate about how technology can help solve problems in any context.

🎤 What are you working on?

I’m working at Philips in a command center project for hospitals. The goal is to collect informations from the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system of every department in a hospital and centralize it to help in the management process.
The command center can be a big help to improve the performance of a hospital by assisting healthcare workers get fast information from other departments. And let them dedicate as much time as possible in taking care of their patients.
Of course, there are the financial benefits of using a command center too. If a patient gets treated faster, for example, if we can avoid patients waiting too much for an exam, or wait for medical release, or avoid them occupying a bed for more time than needed. It helps the circulation of patients increase and, consequently, the hospital will be more lucrative.
As a Test Analyst, I’m always looking for ways on how the product I’m working on will impact the client’s and the user’s life. With that in mind, I help to simplify user flows, automate processes, assure quality, improve usability, user experience, and efficiency.

🎤 What work experience do you have?

While I was at college, I worked on academic projects. It was a great experience. I was able to work in different roles ( as developer, researcher, writer, designer, manager, tester...). It was the perfect opportunity to understand different perspectives each team mate can have in a project. And also helped me decide on which role I would like to pursue.

🎤 How did you get into your field?

When I was a kid, my parents had a small store. One day, they started to use a system to help in the selling and management process. I got so excited with it. I noticed how it was helpful and made processes easier. So every time since then, when I notice a problem, I think of a way I could solve it. And every time, the solution I think of has an informatic system involved.

🎤 What is your technology stack?

I believe that it’s important for any tech professional to know a lot of tools and have an idea which one is best to be used depending on the project it will be applied. So I’m always up for the challenge to learn something new. My technology stack is: Java, C++, Cucumber, Selenium, JavaScript, JUnit, Json, Postman, Docker, SQL, Material Design, Trello, Linux CLI, Jira, Slack, SQL, Python, CircleCi, Pytest, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.

🎤 Describe your first project and what is your role in it.

On my first job in the tech world, I worked as a Research Intern at LAPiX. The project had the goal to develop a concept for an autonomous vehicle system using only passive vision approaches, aka cameras. And test it on urban and rural roads, typically found in in-development countries. Considering unmapped roads, dirt roads, large potholes, interruptions on the pavement, ditches and gullies.
In this project, I had the opportunity to wear multiple hats. I did systematic literature mapping, written technical reports and articles, brainstorming ideas, designing camera supports needed to make tests. I believe my biggest contribution was the road detection system validation I designed and built. I used a remote control prototype car and changed it to receive commands from the road detection system my team had developed.
It was a great opportunity, I worked with people in different graduation levels. I believe this diversity helped me grow faster. Because we were able to discuss the same thing at different levels of expertise and were able to bring to the table what was more fresh in our minds.

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🎤 What difficulties did you encounter along the way?

The first difficulty I stepped on, I was at college and having so much difficulty understanding the class I was studying. It was my first experience in a situation where I worked hard, studied so much, asked questions, and participated in all classes. But I wasn’t able to get good grades on the tests. It was so frustrating for me. Even the professor noticed it. At the end of semester, I was able to be approved. But was real close to be reproved.
Another difficulty I remember, it was when I was working on my first project. We had a deadline and we needed to validate the road detection system version we were working on. And the results weren't what we expected. We were working hard to improve the system’s performance, the communication interference between devices, and everything else we could think of. We ended up with acceptable results, but it wasn’t what we expected.
I always believed “if you work hard, you will always achieve your goal”. And these difficulties were the first ones that taught me it is not always true. All I can do is work hard on all I have some control on and then hope for the best. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of things out of our control.

🎤 What tips would you give to someone wanting to break into tech?

Be curious. Let your imagination go wild. I guarantee you, there’s no stupid questions. If someone says otherwise, don’t waste your time, look for another one who doesn’t think this way.
Also it’s not always easy. When you hit a point of difficulty, believe you are capable. Because I’m sure you are!!! We all are!!! Just give time for your mind to absorb everything and be persistent.
And try to balance your life between studies, work and personal life. Our mental and physical health depend on it. And we need to be ok so we can improve ourselves and achieve our goals.

🎤 What are your career aspirations?

Today I’m a Test Analyst at Philips. My short term plan is to learn the challenges involved in the projects. Like the difficulty to insert the bug prevention process during the development process. Instead of just testing to identify bugs.
I believe it will help me on my medium term plan, which is to work in a leadership role, maybe as Project Manager, Business Analyst or Product Owner. I believe the knowledge I’m gathering with the development process will be useful to make better decisions as a leader on planning and proposing projects.

🎤 What IT books, resources, and blogs do you read and recommend to others?

Hacker Hank is an online platform and I used to learn how to program and practice it. I really like it because you develop the activity and you can test it by submitting and it gives real time results. Also they have a badge system that encourages us to improve ourselves.
Khan Academy is a great source to learn basic concepts. It helped a lot during college as another source to learn the subjects I was having at college.
I recently started using Linkedin Learning. I liked it, because there are classes from experienced and successful professionals in the field. Which gives more credibility from what they teach.
For social and networking experience, I suggest the Women Tech Work Conference, it’s a great way to get to know amazing people all over the world and also get to know their experience in the IT world. There are a lot of discussions on ways to succeed on social and technical aspects. Usually we are not the only ones to face a particular challenge. The Women Tech Work Conference is a way to notice it.

🎤 What’s the best way to keep up to date with what you're doing?

LinkedIn: @karla-justen