HERBERT M. ISENBERG Ph.D.

415-297-5533      hisen1@gmail.com

 

Professional Experience

 

Countrywide Mortgage                                             Agoura Hills, CA      August 2006 – Present

1^st VP QA & Testing Organization

Responsible for managing the entire QA/Testing organization within the Product Technology, Artificial Intelligence organization

• Primary goal is to increase product quality and client confidence by reducing production defects and system downtime.
• The QA group consists of 30+ team members and 4 managers as direct reports. I also manage an off shore team of 15+ QA Engineers and tool developers.
• Business responsibilities:
• Oversight and governance of monthly and bi-monthly release schedules for their primary loan origination applications, web sites, underwriting systems and rules engine that process large revenue streams 24x7.
• Reduce QA/Testing costs, increase efficiencies and optimize processes while meeting overall quality levels objectives.
• Work closely with our business units reviewing business requirements that are translated into functional specification by the system analyst group.
• Technical responsibilities:
• Design an end-to-end testing framework that supports both manual and automated testing for backend, GUI and websites.
• Implement a new “Next Generation” Regression testing tool based on the principles of root cause analysis. The NextGen Tool analyzes thousands of test cases differences to find the most granular cause and effect relationship in a matter of seconds. The root cause algorithm reduces test results analysis time by 50-80%.
• Ensure that the software testing and development life cycles are in sync and applied correctly throughout every phase of the overall process
• Introduce more efficient testing technologies and set strategic direction for the group.
• Technology: Windows environment, QTP, Performance Center, LoadRunner, Python, XML, SOAP.

 

 

Kaiser Permanente                                                    Oakland, CA                  April 2003 – July 2006

Automation Manager

• Created Kaiser’s first centralized automation group

• Managed the growth of the automation team from 5 to 45 highly technical software automation engineers.  This included managing off shore automation resources in India and Russia.
• Responsible for automating the testing of all of Kaiser’s medical systems and web sites at a system and functional testing level for eight regions across the USA.
• Documented a company wide saving of 25 million dollars over a three years period and predicted saving of $47 million by the year 2113. An audit by a Fortune 500 accounting company confirmed these numbers.
• Designed the overall automation strategy and data driven architecture around the principles of one point maintenance, equivalence class partitioning and scalability.
• Responsible for coaching and mentoring the team, establishing personal relationship to promote and support high productivity levels. I strongly believe in the benefits of being a good listener and mentor and keeping an “open door” policy. This approach has contributed greatly to our team’s success.
• Introduced a 4^th generation automation authoring tool, TMX, to provide a single database repository for all the automation testware, including scripts, functions, subscripts, data files.
• Introduced IEEE quality standards, root cause analysis, and an automation testing lifecycle, (SDLC) that is in sync with the testing and development lifecycles used across the organization.
• Test Data Generation: Designed an automated data generation (ADG) technology, written in C#, perl and XML for generating large amounts of HIPAA compliant, medical rich, patient test data in lieu of using production data. Deployed an Agile like methodology to guide the development of this technology.
• Test Lab: Setup the automation test lab of sixty dedicated machines that ran millions of test cases for Kaiser’s regional and national teams
• Mentoring: Educated and mentored a QA/Testing organization of over 400 people on the power of automation and how to use new technologies to optimize and reduce overall testing cycles.
• Successfully reduced manual testing cycle’s times and cost as much as 50%.
• Technology: Windows, UNIX, WinRunner, TestDirector, QTP, TMX, perl, C#, XML, HL7, SQL, SOA.

 

Hynomics Corporation                                              Bellevue, Washington          2003 – April

Senior QA Manager (Contract position)

Responsible for optimizing a small QA group in preparation for rapid expansion

• Design the overall QA strategy for their cutting edge development technology.
• Established a testing life cycle that integrate with the overall product life cycle, metrics, test plans, test cases (XML), requirements management, defect tracking, documentation (QA handbook), test coverage, risk/impact analysis, test lab, test migration path and automation.
• Work closely with scientists (mathematicians), developers, technical writers, customers and upper management.
• Mentoring the QA staff on the latest QA/Testing methodology and how to optimize testing cycles.
• Act as the key person to advocate quality criteria and standards across the organization
• Technology: Windows, UNIX, XML, SQL, RUP, perl, shell script

 

Charles Schwab & Co.                                                   San Francisco, CA         1999-2003

Technical Director & QA Architect 

Created a new QA group for the Mutual Funds Technology Enterprise

·        Implemented tools, automation and processes for all phases of the software testing life cycle.

·        Developed a data driven automated approach for streamlining testing cycles, rapid product delivery, and the reduction of post-production defects.

·        Responsible for testing financial applications and websites for the Mutual Funds Group and Schwab’s Investment Manager’s organizations. These financial systems processed over 400 billion dollars a day and had to be available 24/7.

·        Automated 80% of all the regression testing that resulted in a 25% saving. One key to our success was building a mutually respected working relationship with our business users and the development organization.

·        Managed the white box automated testing effort, as one of the key architects for the system. Responsible for identifying and interviewing outsourcing groups with the java skills required for testing an object oriented system based on reusable components.

• Managed the off shore automation group from India responsible for regression testing of web based applications. Keys to our success were the development and implementation of a set of “Principles for Automated Testing” and the development of personal relationships with our India counterparts. The off shore regression testing effort has resulted in substantial cost savings and increased test coverage. 

·        Led the initiative to adopt the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for the Mutual Funds Technology Group. This set of metrics was used to measure improvements and map progress across our project lifecycle for achieving higher levels of quality, productivity and performance. The CMM initiative was successful and is now part of the continuous improvement program for the Mutual Funds group.

• Influenced overall QA direction, models, standards, and perspectives through multiple presentations to senior management. Led the effort to move from a waterfall testing methodology to the adoption of the Rational Unified Process (RUP).
• Visionary & Chairman of the enterprise wide automated testing Forum and the requirement standards Committee. 
• Awarded a large Technology Innovation grant to identify and implement the Next Generation of Automated Testing Technology. Completed this project in three months, under budget, and substantiated formal "proof of concept criteria" around this technology. Demonstrated, "beyond a shadow of a doubt" a 86.6% productivity and cost benefits of this technology in relation to 1) Training, 2) Design, 3) Development and 4) Maintenance.
• Technology: Windows, UNIX, Certify, WinRunner, Testdirector, CMM, RUP, ReqPro , TRACK.

 

Oacis Health Care Systems                                            Greenbrae, CA  1995-1999

Quality Assurance Manager & Architect

Responsible for automation of a newly designed clinical management information system.

·        Headed up the recruiting effort to build a world class software testing and Integration group.

• Redesigned the software testing lifecycle based on IEEE standards.
• Implemented the McCabe Visual Toolset to provide standard and object oriented complexity metrics of the entire code line. Reported results directly to the Chief Software Architect and VP of Development.
• Manager of the Y2000 project. Coordinated daily activities of up to five consultants in all phases of a structured Y2K project methodology in a very complex object oriented client server (n-tier) development environment.  Project completed on time and within budget.
• Manager of the Clarify implementation project. Clarify is an enterprise wide tracking tool similar to Remedy. Designed the quality module UI and state transition model to support development, QA, and marketing workflows around our defect lifecycle. Developed a process to provide defect trend analysis metrics for senior management in an effort to increase productivity and sort out root cause analysis variables.
• Designed and built a robust automated testing system for both a GUI and web based clinical information management systems capable of running thousands of test cases in unattended mode. The architecture of the automated testing system was designed around the principles of One Point Maintenance. The subject matter of this methodology and design has been published in Dr.Dobbs journal and presented at an international conference on automated testing.
• Technology: VB3, VB4, C++, Object Oriented, CORBA, Sybase, Win31, Win95, NT, AutoTester, Clarify, McCabe Visual Toolset 6.0.

 

Charles Schwab & Co.                                                       San Francisco          1992-1995

TECHNICAL LEAD

Managed Schwab’s first NT Client Server lab of 60 NT workstations and multiple UNIX servers.

• Testing lead for numerous other projects, managing up to 8 people, including users, developers and testers. Created standards for test plans, test case formats, coverage analysis matrices, decision point criteria and established baseline databases. Formalized processes and procedures for building automated testing systems.
• Pioneered and managed the development of Flexible Testing Methodologies and "On Time" QA processes to synchronize the flow of information, in a rapid development environment, between developers, business users and the testing group. Fulfilled the goals of testing earlier in the development process and increasing test coverage, resulting in measurable application improvements.

• Created Schwab's first automated testing lab for test and task automation.
• Implemented AutoTester for Windows, successfully automated integration and regression testing of major financial applications, both host and client-server based.
• Technology: SEER/HPS CASE tools, Paradox, Visual Basic, SQL, C, WinRunner,

 

Matson Navigation Co.                                                     San Francisco, CA                 1989-1992

SENIOR QA MANAGER

Founded Matson's first software quality assurance department and software testing lab.

• Design and implemented software testing processes, procedures and templates from unit to regression testing.

• Designed, constructed, and implemented an intelligent, generic, automated Regression testing methodology that is easily ported across platforms for testing either PC LAN or IBM mainframe based applications.  This was accomplished using the AutoTester toolset and structured testing methodologies in conjunction with a formal software development life cycle.

 

Relational Technology                                                           Alameda, CA                         1988-1989

SR. TEST ENGINEER

Worked as part of the PC product development team. Responsible for designing, building and management of their automated testing environment for the complete family of PC INGRES products written in C. Designed test matrices, that concurrently measure levels of test coverage, which have been implemented company wide. Host systems are DEC VAX/VMS, Ultrix, and Sun.

 

Sybase Inc.                                                                         Berkeley, CA                          1987-1988

Q.A. ENGINEER         

Sybase is an SQL relational database management system. Designed and implemented multi-functional data server tests. Instrumental in organizing an automated testing environment. Ported a wide range of tests to OS/2.  Testing platforms include DOS, Microsoft OS/2 and Sun UNIX.

 

Freyberg Technologies Inc.                                                Corte Madera, CA                     1982-1987

Q.A./PROGRAMMER

Developed application modules, in C, for IBSnet, a PC-based transaction processing system.  Managed the integrity of the software, custom screen design, training and extensive software testing.

 

University of California San Diego           La Jolla, CA                                                       1974-78

Teaching Assistant

While working on my Ph.D dissertation, I worked part time teaching courses in Introductory Sociology, Social Linguistics and Interaction Theory.

 

San Diego State University                     San Diego, CA                                                   1975-1976

Assistant Professor

Worked part time at San Diego State University teaching a courses in Social Psychology

 

University of California San Diego           La Jolla, CA                                                       1973-1974

Research Assistant

Research lead on a project to measure the rates of recidivism for drunk drivers.

 

EDUCATION

 

1980: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Medical Anthropology:  Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. MI

• Designed and managed an interactive doctor-patient relationship study, through the Universities medical clinic.
• Recorded doctor-patient medical interviews, and based on dynamic sequencing structures in conversation, developed a natural language simulation model to predict the likelihood of a correct diagnosis.

 

1979: Ph.D. Medical Sociology, University of California, La Jolla, CA

 

1969: B.A. Anthropology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

 

Speeches and Publications

 

1995: Published article in Dr. Dobb’s Journal, entitled “Flexible Testing Systems” (June edition)

 

1995: STAR Conference, Moscone Center, San Francisco,  lead seminar on  “Flexible Testing Systems”

 

1995: Lectured on Flexible Testing Systems methodology at Software Recording's International User conference.

 

1990: Speaker at Software Recording's first West Coast Conference

Topic: How to "jump start" both developers and QA into automation via a combination of Structured and

Run-Compare Testing Methodologies

 

 

Accomplishments:

• Experience: 23+ years of experience in the field of QA, testing and automation. Very knowledgeable in all area of the testing life cycle and how to optimize and implement associated processes.
• Management & Team Building: Created several QA & testing departments from scratch. Hiring staff, creating all the processes and procedures, interfacing with development organization, implementing automation for software testing, bug tracking and reporting. At Schwab, I started a new QA department for the Mutual Funds Technology group, hired the staff based on skill levels required, put in place daily testing process, automated the regression testing, developed the functional specification, interfaced with the used community, designed end-to-end testing – from mainframe to website. Optimized the testing process and documented a 30% time and budget savings.
• Innovation: At Schwab, I would awarded a large R&D technology grant to validate the “Next Generation of Automated Testing” , a process that does not require coding of scripts and make it very easy for testers to automate. The project was very successful; an 86% saving was demonstrated in the areas of Development, Maintenance, Design and Training. The CIO gave a press release, the first one in 18 years for a testing tool. The company purchased warrants for 10% of the company and I was presented with an individual technology innovation award in the area of QA/Testing – one of the first time in Schwab’s history. At Kaiser, I designed and implemented the first data driven, one point maintenance, automated system based on the principle of equivalence class partitioning.
• Leadership: Lead the effort to outsource automated regression testing to India. I designed, developed and implemented the first automated testing system that could be remotely executed from India. The system was built using WinRunner and Test Director.  I was the lead QA/Testing Architect on the project, and lead a team of six, working closely with onsite engineers from India.
• Methodology: Leadership role in identifying and adopting the Rational Unified Process (RUP) as a standard development and QA methodology. Designed the tool integration strategy to support all phases of the RUP.
•  Process Improvement: As an advocate of Continuous Improvement, lead the initiative to adopt the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) as a quality measure standard for the Mutual Funds Technology Group. Lead the entire effort to collect information, conduct interviews, analyze data, and report results to upper management. This set of metrics will be used to measure improvements and map progress across our project lifecycle for achieving higher levels of quality, productivity and performance. The CMM initiative was successful and is now part of the Continuous Improvement Program for Mutual Funds.
• Company Wide Influence & Visionary: At Schwab, Chairman of the Enterprise Wide Testing Forum and the Requirement Standards Committee. Reviewed, piloted and selected requirement tracking tools, along with a wide variety of tools to automate development processes and tasks. Acted as the lead visionary for how to successfully implement QA/Testing methodologies, life cycles and requirement standards in a large organization with complex environments.
• Off Shore Development: Managed the off shore development group from India, responsible for automated regressing testing of web based applications/ java applets, off shore execution, tools, design, methodology and architecture. To ensure success I developed and implemented the “Principles of automated testing”, emphasizing a data driven, one point maintenance architecture, that is reusable and scaleable. Keys to our success were 1) Coaching and mentoring the team and 2) The development of personal relationship and the understanding of the Indian culture. The off shore regression testing effort has resulted in substantial cost saving and increased test coverage.