Is your company going to be digital or not?
A month after opening our 2nd office and meeting with people in Los Angeles, CA, one thing is very clear: companies know they need to move into the digital world, and they know they need help getting there.
August 17, 2017
DevOpsDays PDX
Last week, I attended my first DevOpsDays PDX! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it seemed like a cool conference - DevOps obviously intersects with QA work, and my interest has been peaked by articles I’ve read from the likes of New Relic, Julia Evans, and Etsy.
August 10, 2017
Importance Of Software Testing
Testing is the first step in determining the quality of software.
Testing = Checking + Exploring
Despite the fact that the role of software testing may seem insignificant and few of us ever even think about it, this is especially true for people who are new to software development. The testing process is an equally integral part of development and planning. Sooner or later, many organizations that develop software have come to the realization that they need to organize a quality assurance…
August 1, 2017
Introducing Our L.A. Office
We are thrilled to formally announce the opening of a new Metal Toad office in Los Angeles! The expansion reflects our rapid rise in the software, mobile app and tech solutions fields, and growing demand from clients in the entertainment and media industries in Southern California.
July 20, 2017
The Value of a ScrumMaster
I went to ScrumMaster training a few weeks into my first job in an Agile project management environment. I was brand new to the methodology, and throughout the training and after, I didn't really understand the value of the ScrumMaster. “What an easy gig,” I thought. Even a year into practicing the methodology (as a member of the team, not the ScrumMaster) this was my understanding of the responsibilities:
Calendar: Schedule and start the Scrum ceremonies, and make sure everyone is attending…
July 17, 2017
Save You a Search - Protractor Tips
I had trouble with two problems recently: Disabling some features that pop up when test automation is running on Chrome and writing a test that could pass Google reCAPTCHA using Protractor. Here are some tips to save you a search.
July 13, 2017
History of Computer Girls, Part 3: Dorothy!
I've been going around town giving a talk on the history of women in computers. During my research, I came across so very many women I’d never heard of before, but who had made indelible marks on the history of computing. I decided to write a blog series about these amazing software pioneers who just happen to be women. But I didn’t just want the blogs to be boring old history lessons. Instead, I wanted to give examples and do research on the actual code these pioneers made.
Memo, dated January…
July 12, 2017
Initial Impressions of Kotlin
As almost every Android developer has heard of by now, Kotlin is being included as a first class language in Android Studio. Kotlin is a language created by JetBrains, the same company that is responsible for IntelliJ Idea, the core of Android Studio. Originally, a plugin was required to use Kotlin from within Android Studio.
July 11, 2017
IoT Hackathon - Coffeebot with Raspberry Pi
For our latest Hackathon, with the theme being the Internet of things (IoT), my team and I wanted to create a device that would encourage people in the office to keep the coffee pots full of life-giving nectar. Often the pots don't get refilled when someone takes the last cup of coffee, so we decided to gamify the process.
July 10, 2017
What I Learned Going from the College World to the Real World
As a recent graduate from Portland State University, the inclination to write this blog has been an ongoing dilemma. Since I first graduated high school, I knew limitations existed if I were to only attend school full time. Those limitations were slightly different from most others’ given the knowledge I had from my parents on just how different the real world could be from what's taught at school. Like most, I also needed financial help. It was evident to me that working while attending school…
July 7, 2017
