Sigrid Prenner

After school I wanted to do something new, and so I moved to Graz and started studying Informationsmanagement (a mixture of IT and Business). Going from usability to IT made me realise that I would like to do something that combined those topics. So I started my first job at a big e-commerce company, where I was doing QA and project management. I loved the software testing part of my job, but after four years, I was frustrated by the slow and inflexible processes of an old grown and large company. I knew it was time to move on. At first I took this quite literally and took some time off to travel the world. In the spring of 2018 I was back in Graz and in search for a job.

I was very picky when it came to sending out applications, since I didn’t want to end up in a job that I would only do for the money. Rather, I wanted to work for a company with values I could identify with and where my voice would be heard. In my research I stumbled upon Parkside and it was a perfect fit. I started as a Software Tester and immediately felt welcome. People here are great and I enjoy working in a multicultural environment a lot. I became part of the PicMonkey team. There was a lot to learn in very short time, but my colleagues were very helpful and things went smoothly. Approaching a developer with a bug, can be daunting (nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news), but the amiable atmosphere at Parkside made it easy. Developers and testers work closely together. I know I can always talk to them when I think a feature can be improved, and overall it feels like I’m part of a team where we work together to create something great.

My daily business requires me to be exact and thorough, while at the same time having a curious and creative approach. But what I love most about software testing is that it feels like a game to me. The basic goal is always the same: find the hidden bugs (extra points if you can point something out that could be improved). But the parameters and settings change constantly. You learn and grow with the platform and technology you are testing, which keeps work exciting and new.

Back when I started at Parkside, the software testing team consisted only of two dedicated people, and we worked separated as parts of larger project teams. But there were talks about putting more focus on testing and creating a QA department. This seemed like an exciting opportunity and so after just two and a half months of working at Parkside, I mentioned that I would be interested in taking the lead for this new team. Back then I realised that I had just started in the company, but I was already passionate about my job and I thought I just put my name in and then see where things go.

After another three months with new projects and new coworkers (including two new QAs), it was decided that I would be a team lead for a new QA department. This was (and still is) amazing! I only started at Parkside six months ago and in my time here I’ve not only met great people, but also got to work in a company that appreciates its employees ideas and work. With my new position and my small but awesome team I’m excited for new challenges that Parkside will bring to us.