ObviousGuy's Journal: More Peer Reviews

All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Peer to be reviewed: K
Relationship to Peer: Co-QA Engineer

K's major lack is simple. He is not trained as a computer programmer and as such he cannot write code. This is a problem because it is almost a given that a QA engineer should be able to implement automated tests and add them to the existing harness framework. His current inability to do this detracts from his value as an employee at this company.

That said, I must stress how good of an engineer K is. His insightfulness and general brightness in regards to testing is unrivaled in my years as a software engineer. His ability to identify test points and come up with test ideas is so keen that after a short perusal of the spec and a conference, the test plan is essentially finished.

His personality is a great fit for this company. The home office prides itself in cultivating an employee-friendly atmosphere by hiring people who fit the mold and he definitely fits well. Unfortunately for him this is the Tokyo branch and there seems to be no effort put forth to cultivate such an atmosphere here.

His eagerness to take on responsibility is commendable. Realizing my weakness in Japanese skill, he has taken it upon himself to handle the written communication of the QA team. In addition, he has begun taking English lessons without subsidization from the company and has in a few short months become quite capable in speaking and reading the language.

In summary, K is an outstanding contributor to this QA team and a boon to the company. The company would do well to consider paying for some programming classes for him to maximize his abilities and to expand his usefulness to this company.

Constructive stuff.

[MonTemplar]

Here's hoping your firm does the right thing, and doesn't end up with K taking his talents to someone else...

Re:Constructive stuff.

[ObviousGuy]

The thing is, I'm not sure where K could take his talents to in the short term, especially without programming ability.

It's a gamble for the company to pay for some classes and give him the ability to change companies with ease, but frankly it's only the bad companies that attempt to handicap their employees by undertraining them.

What I'm afraid of is that this Tokyo branch office is exactly that kind of company. I'd leave (and have seriously considered it) but I'm getting such a plum package that I'd be an idiot to give it up.