The Underground QA Podcast

Ariel Smith (Test Discipline Manager at Bungie), Marcin Pieprzowski (Test Software Project Manager at Ubisoft), and David Benefield (QA Lead at Obsidian Entertainment) break down the ISTQB Game Testing syllabus, covering what it does well, what it doesn't, and ways to improve it. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Marcin Pieprzowski (QA Project Manager at Ubisoft), Ariel Smith (Test Discipline Manager at Bungie), and Chelsea Curran Adams (Director of QA - Fortnite at Epic Games) begin a series on Certifications in our industry. We’re going to be focusing on the newly created ISTQB Game certification. We’ve been discussing this around the community - what are the benefits, what are the drawbacks, and is this something you would ask of your teams. Are we achieving the goals, as an industry and discipline, that we need to be better? All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Chelsea Curran Adams (Director of QA - Fortnite at Epic Games), Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games), Marcin Pieprzowski (QA Project Manager at Ubisoft), and Ariel Smith (Test Discipline Manager at Bungie) are joined by Myron Parks (Founder of Human Sense Coaching) to wrap up 2022 with a review of this year's episodes, Underground QA community highlights, and the video game industry as a whole and share insights from our community. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games), Marcin Pieprzowski (QA Project Manager at Ubisoft), and Ariel Smith (Test Discipline Manager at Bungie) discuss Test Case Management tools, what the benefits of using one are, and what to think about when choosing one for your team. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Marcin Pieprzowski (QA Project Manager at Ubisoft) and Ariel Smith (Test Discipline Manager at Bungie) are joined by special guest Trevor Page (Senior Test Manager at Bungie) to discuss escaped defects and best practices for parsing and using the data about them. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Ariel Smith (Senior Test Lead at Bungie), Marcin Pieprzowski (QA Project Manager at Ubisoft), Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games), and Chelsea Curran Adams (Senior QA Manager at Epic Games) chat about bug prevention including tools, processes, and the unique role QA plays in preventing bugs. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games), Ariel Smith (Senior Test Lead at Bungie) and Marcin Pieprzowski (QA Project Manager at Ubisoft) are joined by Leland Dantzler (Senior Test Discipline Manager at Bungie) to offer insights into what to expect in an interview for an FTE Junior-level QA role. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

In this episode, Ariel Smith (Senior Test Lead at Bungie), Chelsea Curran Adams (Senior QA Manager at Epic Games), and Sarah Gallardo (Senior DevQA Analyst at Bethesda Game Studios) continue their live creation of a test plan. Using Slither.io as a fictitious example, they discuss timeline, headcount, and testing activities. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Ariel Smith (Senior Test Lead at Bungie), Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games), and Sarah Gallardo (Senior DevQA Analyst at Bethesda Game Studios) create the beginnings of a test plan live on stream! Using Slither.io as their example product, our hosts use the FLURPS framework to analyze the game, what testing needs it may have, what questions they will need to ask of the broader development team, and what risks may be faced during/after development. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Chelsea Curran Adams (Senior QA Manager at Epic Games), Myron Parks (Principal Agile Coach at PartnerStack), and Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games) wrap up season 2 with a review of the year, including insights from our community members on what they love about QA. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

In this episode, Myron Parks (Principal Agile Coach at PartnerStack) and Ariel Smith (Senior Test Lead at Bungie) are joined by Joe Leiter (Senior Tester at Bethesda Softworks) discuss how orgs can incorporate speedrunning techniques to improve their testing and test processes. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Chelsea Curran Adams (Senior QA Manager at Epic Games), Ariel Smith (Senior Test Lead at Bungie), and Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games) are joined by Grant Ervin (QA Analyst at PUBG Corp), discuss what career growth is and practical ways to achieve it. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Ariel Smith (Senior Test Lead at Bungie), Chelsea Curran Adams (Senior QA Manager at Epic Games), Sarah Gallardo (Senior Dev QA Analyst at Bethesda Game Studios), Myron Parks (Principal Agile Coach at PartnerStack), and Chris Rando (QA Lead at Epic Games) discuss what it's like to be a woman in games and in professional settings. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

In the second part of our two-part miniseries on test cases, Myron, Chelsea, Ariel, and Chris discuss test case management and reporting. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

In episode 1 of a 2-part miniseries, Chris, Myron, and Ariel chat about what makes a good test case so important to QA.

In this episode, Myron, Chris, Chelsea, and Ariel discuss the always-important topic - compensation! They provide practical tips for knowing your worth, finding roles that meet your compensation criteria, and negotiating pay. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

In this episode, Ariel, Chris, and Myron reflect on a year of working remotely during the COVID pandemic. They take a look back at discussions in the Underground QA Podcast's very first episode and also look forward to what the pandemic could mean for the game industry and remote work. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

Chris, Myron, and Chelsea kick off the first episode of Season 2 with a discussion on one of the industry's spiciest topics, crunch. All individuals appearing on the podcast are not doing so as official representatives of their respective companies and the opinions expressed here are their own.

In this episode, Ariel, Myron, and Sarah are joined by special guests Chiril Russu and Melissa Russell to chat about QA on live products. They cover the live testing mindset, key partners for live QA teams, public test servers, hotfixing, and more!

In this epsiode, Chelsea, Ariel, and Myron discuss one of QA's most important functions, risk assessment. They break down the conversations that all game teams need to have about risk and provide a practical example of how to visualize and prioritize risk.