Cristian Dicu, Developer in Bucharest, Romania
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Cristian Dicu

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Manual QA Engineer | Developer

Location
Bucharest, Romania
Toptal Member Since
November 30, 2021

Cristian is an accomplished QA team lead with a decade of experience, demonstrating expertise in mobile platforms and a wide range of desktop and mobile browsers. He's consistently designed and implemented effective QA processes tailored to project requirements, leveraging various development methodologies and frameworks, including Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, and Kanban, to name a few. Cristian's ambitious nature and creative mindset consistently drive him to deliver innovative solutions.

Portfolio

QualiTest
Jira, Confluence, Applause, PractiTest, Jenkins, GitHub, Microsoft Excel...
QualiTest
iOS, Jira, PractiTest
Amber
Jira, TestRail, Jenkins, Grafana, Apollo, Trello, Slack, Microsoft Excel...

Experience

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, Jira, TestRail, PractiTest, Confluence, Agile Leadership, Amazon Kindle

The most amazing...

...thing I've developed is a performance test document to decide which package should be installed on over 200 individual iOS and Android devices.

Work Experience

QA Team Lead

2020 - PRESENT
QualiTest
  • Led the QA team for one of the leading video platform solution companies, overseeing up to 60 uTest users for comprehensive testing, including smoke, sanity, regression, performance, unit, and usability.
  • Developed the entire test library tree, test run logics, requirements, and dashboards for functional tests using PractiTest, the designated test management tool for the web project.
  • Conducted cross-platform verifications across desktop and mobile browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and IE11), utilizing customized Excel documents to assess audio and video streaming quality, feature compatibility, load tests, and more.
  • Regularly initiated automated load tests to accurately assess feature performance, identify issues, and validate bug fixes.
  • Produced precise Excel documents to track streaming quality across different regions, monitor media file uploads, evaluate system performance, and measure response times, among other metrics.
  • Provided the stakeholders and marketing team with accurate results, relevant feedback, and detailed reports based on user data, surveys, regression tests, and post-production runs.
  • Designed diverse test scenarios using content management systems (CMS) and proprietary in-house tools, aligning them with client feedback and support tickets to replicate real-world conditions.
  • Made substantial contributions to Confluence pages encompassing feature functionalities, knowledge sharing, testing requirements, weekly status updates, and more.
  • Managed the issue database in Jira, diligently updating and linking tickets to corresponding tests in PractiTest for traceability, ensuring comprehensive coverage of regression issues in subsequent test runs.
  • Mentored new employees on software test plans, descriptions, and reports, advising and encouraging them to take responsibility for assigned tasks and features.
Technologies: Jira, Confluence, Applause, PractiTest, Jenkins, GitHub, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Scrum, Scrum Testing, Quality Assurance (QA), Manual QA, Manual Testing, UI Testing, Test Cases, Test Documentation

Senior QA Engineer

2019 - 2020
QualiTest
  • Worked with a highly professional development team on an innovative video messaging tool that enables organizations and institutes to change the way they communicate.
  • Managed the issues database, updated and linked all the tickets to relevant tests in order to cover regression issues.
  • Performed tests on all browsers supported—Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, IE11—and the iOS app, ensuring that changes were correctly saved throughout all platforms.
  • Updated all the tests in the test management tool used on this project and created relevant testing runs for each version.
  • Wrote several automation tests for different features using Python and Selenium.
  • Participated in all meetings and contributed with relevant feedback.
Technologies: iOS, Jira, PractiTest

Agile Development Tester

2017 - 2019
Amber
  • Progressed to the development tester of a high-priority mobile game within the company's project. The project involved studying and working with multiple development methodologies—Prototype, Agile Scrum, Kanban, V-Model.
  • Traveled to Munich, Germany, on multiple occasions to plan and help with on-site testing for CMS, in-house tools, services, and third-party integrations and to participate in workshops.
  • Held several workshops for my colleagues related to development methodologies, version control systems, Agile and Scrum methodologies, and more.
  • Developed and tested multiple builds with custom defines using Jenkins, GitHub, and several in-house tools or third-party services before merging them into the main branch and releasing them to the functional QA team.
  • Performed functional tests on a large variety of iOS and Android mobile devices—phones and tablets—focusing on performance, loading times, adaptive screen resolution, network connectivity, and more.
  • Presented reports with precise metrics from different tools and platforms, such as Apollo and Grafana, to the development team, based on alpha and beta global test sessions—between 50 and 150 thousand users.
  • Provided accurate Excel documents regarding performance, progress saving and transfer between iOS and Android, in-app purchases, and more to the development and support team.
  • Explained and delivered relevant information to the development team regarding different defects types and triaged them in Jira and TestRail according to the version scope.
Technologies: Jira, TestRail, Jenkins, Grafana, Apollo, Trello, Slack, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Scrum, Scrum Testing, Scrum Master, Quality Assurance (QA), Manual QA, Manual Testing, UI Testing, Test Cases, Test Documentation

Senior QA Tester

2016 - 2017
Amber
  • Handled simultaneously three projects on iOS and Android devices for the same client.
  • Managed and developed all the QA testing procedures.
  • Delivered excellent feedback and relevant information about the overall testing process.
  • Created accurate tracking excel documents to compare data between these three projects for different purposes.
  • Organized and verified all issues submitted for all these three projects.
Technologies: iOS, Android, Bugzilla, TestRail, Microsoft Excel, Test Cases, Agile Delivery

Development QA Tester

2015 - 2016
Electronic Arts
  • Led a team of seven through the everyday tasks of an extremely popular mobile game, with more than 100 million downloads. To better integrate functional QA in the development process, I was working under the development department.
  • Stayed three months in Helsinki, Finland, working closely with a highly professional development team. Together, we've created a whole Agile approach and held multiple workshops about the processes involved.
  • Coordinated the QA department from India composed of more than 50 colleagues on multiple assignments, such as cross platforms testing, network connectivity, and special offers, to name a few.
  • Created builds with custom settings and provided the QA team with the testing guidelines for each feature. Also, developed accurate software test plans for the upcoming ones.
  • Performed functional tests on a large variety of mobile devices—over 200 individual phones and tablets—with different specs, operating system versions, and screen resolutions.
  • Tested and pushed content, such as in-game messages, live and triggered push notifications, special offers, and device spec packages.
  • Investigated accounts with missing content, stuck purchases, or that didn't have any receipts, marking them as cheaters in the projects' "black list."
  • Provided detailed daily reports to stakeholders with triaged issues submitted by the entire team.
Technologies: DevTrack, Jira, Leanplum, Jenkins, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Scrum, Scrum Testing, Quality Assurance (QA), Manual QA, Manual Testing, UI Testing, Test Cases, Test Documentation

Senior QA Tester

2014 - 2015
Electronic Arts
  • Trained new employees with no experience in project testing practices while being part of an incredibly large QA team.
  • Managed all the issues submitted by the entire team composed of more than 60 colleagues verifying and triaging them in Jira and several Excel documents.
  • Developed numerous test plans and test suites for upcoming features and presented them to the R&D team.
  • Tested, documented, and improved several tools used on the project by providing relevant feedback and suggestions.
  • Built multiple excel testing documents for iOS and Android to test the performance, network connections, and cross-platform progress transfer, to name a few.
  • Contributed to confluence pages with accurate information about different parameters regarding performance, network, device specs, cross-platform progress, and many more.
Technologies: iOS, Android, Jira, Confluence, Issue Management, Bug Triage, TestRail, UI Testing, Manual QA

Sports Video Games

Submitted many divergent issues on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone operating systems and covered them in regression runs. I was assigned to manage, verify, and triage all the issues submitted by a team composed of more than 60 regular and senior QA Testers. I was responsible for the Alpha checklist status and reporting, updated by the entire team each day.

City-building Simulation Game

Led a team of ten QA testers daily for the most successful city-building simulator mobile game with more than 100 million installs on iOS and Android platforms. On many occasions, I was also responsible for the team in India, composed of more than 50 QA testers on different assignments like performance, battery drain, progress saving and transfer, network connectivity, load tests, and more. Lived for three months in Helsinki, Finland, to hold or participate in several workshops related to SDLC, Agile Scrum, tools, and QA processes.

Factory Simulator Mobile Games

I designed and managed all testing myself for three very similar mobile games with more than 10 million installations combined on iOS and Android. Implemented high-level testing processes involving performance testing documents, device/operating system matrix tables, and release guidelines, to name a few, that were used on other projects as well.

Real-estate Mobile Board Game

A prototype real-estate mobile board game available on iOS and Android, developed by one of the largest US gaming companies that reached almost one million installs in Beta. As the single development tester, I traveled several times to Munich, Germany, for workshops, training, and on-site testing while leading a team of ten regular and senior QA Testers. I've implemented multiple QA processes based on my experience and knowledge, which later were adopted by other projects with my help.

Video Messaging App

An innovative video messaging tool that enables organizations and institutes to change how they communicate about their products, employees, updates, and more. I was assigned to develop tests based on requirements and perform test runs on all desktop browsers, iOS, and Android native apps.

Interactive Video Editor

A desktop tool designed to edit and create interactive videos through paths, hotspots, quizzes, and more. I tested all features against all supported file extensions and browsers, submitted many issues, and provided accurate reports, using an Excel testing document I created, which was later used as part of the regression run.

Virtual Classroom Platform

A virtual classroom platform available on desktop, iOS, and Android native apps, built for teachers and learning professionals from top universities and schools. I created the entire testing process and was promoted to QA Team Lead, responsible for a team of ten QA Engineers.

Virtual Events Platform

A desktop platform that allows users to create, manage, and measure large, live, or on-demand events using customizable templates. I managed the QA team through everyday tasks and provided accurate daily status reports on performance and overall coverage.

Tools

Jira, TestRail, Trello, Slack, Confluence, Bugzilla, Jenkins, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop, CorelDRAW, Grafana, GitHub

Paradigms

Agile Workflow, Agile, Scrum, Manual Testing, Software Testing, Unit Testing, Kanban, Iterative Testing, Incremental Development, Iterative Development, Management

Other

Applause, PractiTest, Agile Leadership, Agile Delivery, Agile Sprints, Teamwork, Feature Prioritization, Scrum Testing, Jira Administration, Team Mentoring, Quality Assurance (QA), Manual QA, UI Testing, Test Cases, Test Documentation, Issue Management, Bug Triage, Test Planning, Software as a Service (SaaS), QA Leadership, QA Testing, Mentorship, Regression Testing, Documentation, Agile Software Testing, Test Management, Software Testing Lifecycle (STLC), Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), UX Testing, Integration Testing, DevTrack, Team Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Design Reviews, Apollo, Scrum Master, Waterfall Methodology, Waterfall Delivery, Performance, Mobile App Testing, Casinos & Gaming, Startups, Website Testing, QA Test Plan Management

Frameworks

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Prototype Framework

Platforms

Leanplum, Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Amazon Kindle, Windows Phone

Languages

Python

2010 - 2012

Associate Degree in Liberal Arts

Bucharest National University of Arts (UNARTE) - Bucharest, Romania

2003 - 2010

Diploma in Liberal Arts

Nicolae Tonitza Fine Arts Middle & High School - Bucharest, Romania

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