Alan Richardson

“I have had the distinct pleasure of being mentored by Alan on a previous project at Camelot Group PLC. I was just starting out on my automation journey and Alan took my under his wing and really helped strengthen my automation skills, offering valuable and patient feedback. He is one of the rare finds indeed, as he has a perfect balance of highly technical knowledge mixed with the ability to explain complete and complex ideas clearly to all levels within a company. He was key in helping deliver the Camelot website re-platform , and furthermore he has a huge array of training material available, helping the masses learn and understand automation. ”

“Alan opened my eyes to the role of the modern tester and test leader: adding value in a fully automated continuous delivery environment. We had tens of thousands of automated tests: functional, performance, resilience etc. Alan contributed significantly to the architecture of these tests, as well as showing me how structured, exploratory testing is valuable over and above all the automation.”

“I recruited Alan to GSK to lead testing. During his time at GSK Alan demonstrated that he is a expert in this domain and he created a lasting legacy, both in terms of process & tools but also in the knowledge he left behind in other people. People with Alan's level of expertise are a rare find in the testing arena! ”

“I had the good fortune to meet Alan at Channel4 where he was Test Manager. As a member of his team I was inspired by his skill, commitment and passion for testing. He truly reignited the team's thirst for learning and made us all more thoughtful testers. Alan is one of those rare people who are extremely adept at their craft but can also teach and mentor in a way that is enjoyable. I use methods I learned from working with Alan daily in my testing, I couldn't recommend him highly enough.”

“I had the pleasure of working with Alan on the same project in Camelot for a year. He was an inspiring, diligent and highly productive test manager. Alan has deep and broad knowledge of agile practices and pitfalls; an instinct for hiring the right people and passion for doing the right thing and speaking his mind, saying things as he sees them, which is invariably an educational perspective for all concerned. I would highly recommend Alan as a test manager, senior engineer and pragmatic agile mentor.”

“I had the pleasure of being managed by Alan while working at Channel4 and what a pleasure it was. He is a fantastic leader, mentor and above all tester. He leads by example, and being so knowledgeable in all aspects of test I got a strong sense of reassurance that the team was looked after. His deep rooted technical knowledge then brought credibility, which meant when he spoke people listened. I found Alan extremely friendly, approachable and always ready to help. He was always open to share his ideas and research and encouraged the team to find new ways of solving problems, and always keen on using new technologies to do this. I learnt a lot from Alan, and continue to do so whenever we meet. If you need a consultant, there is no one better out there.”

“I have worked with Alan a number of times over the years I have know him in more than one relationship type in various roles since the late 1999. When I worked with Alan as a peer he was a fantastic coach and mentor in the areas I lacked in testing and he excelled, at the time, whilst still directing me in the areas where I possessed some talent and gave this time freely and willingly. Each time I have hired Alan as a consultant to deliver specific testing services he has excelled in the brief and resolved complex issues in testing for the end client and mentored staff to leave knowledge in the organisation. When I have worked with Alan, as I did in BJSS, as his line manager Alan has been an excellent team player with a strong view on excellence and an ability to deliver this for both the consultancy and the end user organisations we have been engaged with. Alan is a strong intellect with a practical basis and is an inspiriation in technical testing at all levels in an organisation who I have regularly enjoyed working with and is a real solution to many testing issues.”

“I've learned a lot from Alan while working together. His contributions not only helped the project, but my personal development as well. His mind lives outside the box, and he takes the time to bring his peers to that place too. We had several interesting discussions and technical debates, where he proved to be one of the most open minded people I have ever had the luck to work with. I am really hoping that we could work together again in the future, so I could pick his brain for more!”

“Alan is an exceptional coach and mentor. He has a natural ability to explain difficult concepts in a way that enables you to understand them and gain new knowledge. He was always very generous with his time and would always help you and take an interest in your gaining new knowledge and skills. He always wanted to share his knowledge with you and I can say without hesitation he would definitely add immense value to any project that he was involved with.”

“I've known Alan for quite a few years and always enjoy meeting and working with him. He has an unusual perspective that enables him to provide insightful advice. He's always interesting, interested in whatever I'd like to discuss with him, and invariably helpful. I'm particularly impressed by his recent work to help people become competent with test automation using Selenium and WebDriver. His books explain the basics as well as the practical skills to learn how to write good, effective automated tests. Somehow he seems to have a gift at being able to help people whatever their initial experience and expertise. LinkedIn required me to link this recommendation to specific job titles - we've known each other over various changes of both our jobs and roles.”

“Alan possesses a unique combination of deep technical knowledge, strong leadership skills, and a pragmatic approach towards problem solving. His level headed approach is a soothing addition to any hectic environment. He is patient and his door is always open and a great mentor. His presence on any project will greatly increase the overall productivity of the entire team. Would highly recommend him and would welcome the opportunity to work with him again.”

“In my first conversation with Alan when I just arrived on the project team, I knew immediately he knew "a lot" about "a lot". And he knows it very well, and is able to show it in code too. I appreciated his insights into the architecture, the software development process being followed, the testing strategies and the testing practices, and where all the risks were and the magnitude of them. His knowledge and advice helped me and my teams create and follow better process, as well as strategising for making our world a better place in immediate and mid-term views. I recommend him for any test consulting - from short term health check, to long term deep changes.”

“I've known Alan for a few years now through the Software Testing community. He's always been an inspiration for me and a great teacher. Spending time chatting with Alan is a great pleasure and a great opportunity to learn. More recently I asked Alan to come in to our company to help us solve some tricky and complicated test automation challenges. He was quick to respond and immediately added value. He gave us direct steps to solve the problems we had and he gave us great insights in to how to build a scalable and future proof test automation framework. Not only did he solve the tricky problems immediately but he also inspired and provided great mentoring for our automation team.”

“I've worked with Alan for about 6 months and have been using him as a role model in my testing career ever since. He shaped our testing process, made us part of a truly agile team while still managing to experiment with new ways to make our Selenium tests go further. We're still drawing from his impact, 2 years after leaving LMAX Exchange. From attending some of his talks and reading some of his articles and books I commend his abilities as a true figure in the software testing industry. Overall he's been an inspiration and an excellent insight into how software testing should be done. If you have the chance to collaborate with Alan, make the most of it.”

“I needed a Test Manager/ Ninja master to shape automated testing for my team at C4. Alan was that and more - his vision was clear as to where he needed to take his test team, he trained them personally and methodically in a way that thoroughly impressed me and his team were able to deliver time and time again. I would highly recommend Alan to anyone - be ready to be impressed.”

“Alan has extensive knowledge and experience of software engineering, test management and delivering world class products. I worked with Alan briefly in 2012 and I can honestly say it was one of the most enjoyable, knowledgeable and useful experiences I have had in my professional career. Alan’s depth of knowledge is truly inspiring and his desire to help/train/mentor other members of the team is second to none. He has a unique ability to break down complex tasks and activities into simple, logical steps to ensure the final goal is achieved. It would be great to work with Alan again and I can only say that if you have the chance to work with him, or have him in your team, then you should do without hesitation.”

“Alan is one of the best hands-on managers I have worked with. His testing skills are exemplary and inspiring. I have worked with Alan couple of times and was always impressed with his management style and ability to solve tricky problems (such as coverage and reporting) in innovative ways. Alan always keeps his mind and ears open for new ideas, new approaches and is always eager to learn and share (teach, mentor...) what he has learnt. In essence, he is a go-to-man for tricky testing and test automation problems - it’s always pleasure working with you Alan.”

“Alan is the ideal test manager and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. He really moved testing at C4 up a gear and built an excellent team to support this step change. As Operations Manager I sometimes had cause to raise last minute requests to accommodate changing business priorities and Alan always delivered; providing an innovative, detail oriented yet pragmatic approach to formulating and executing test plans in order to ensure the highest level of QA, often working to tight deadlines.”

“Without a doubt, Alan is the most competent test manager i have ever worked with. I cannot fault his managerial abilities and most importantly his technical skills. Everytime i have spoken to Alan, i always learn something from him. He is never too busy and he is never free which means you can always walk up to Alan and he will provide the assistance needed of him. Alan is very innovative when it comes to testing and he is one of the greatest tester I have ever met.”

“Alan is great to work with and has a great depth of knowledge both in agile practices and software testing. As test manager at GSK he shielded the rest of the test team very well from the politics and other distractions so we could focus on our work. I look forward to working with him again in the future.”

“Alan is truly one of the few thought leaders within the testing industry. While working with him at BP he also proved to be an extremely competent and resourceful project/test manager, who has the ability and experience to successful deliver test programmes on a global scale.”