Simona Tudjarova started in Endava more than 3 years ago as a Tester. Now, she is a Senior QA Engineer, Scrum Master, Career Coach for testers and a proud supporter of Endava Testing Week. By facing exciting professional challenges and coordinating projects for one of Endava’s biggest clients in the insurance sector, Simona grew into a mature professional committed to supporting the development of Endava’s Testing Discipline expertise by coaching new joiners, holding knowledge transfer sessions and coordinating numerous internal events. 

How did your career start and evolve in Endava?

I started out in Endava as a Tester more than 3 years ago and now, my role is Senior Tester. During the first 4 months in the company, I was part of an internal Scrum project, dealing with the integration of many internally existing systems. That was the first time I was introduced to the Scrum framework and its roles and rules. I had the opportunity to challenge myself and to be a Scrum Master for two sprints. I am happy to say that it was one of the most crucial experiences for me, since it widened my perspectives for the agile methodology and testing in all.

In addition, it was a valuable example of how the team should stay connected and supportive at all times, so that everyone can grow and succeed. Since then, I have been continually working on commercial projects, improving my professional testing skills and gaining knowledge of different types of testing, such as API Testing, Performance Testing and User Acceptance Testing.

Thinking about a success story I experienced over the years, I will mention working on a project that was part of the Independent Testing service for Endava’s biggest insurance client. One of the greatest challenges I encountered there was setting up a testing process for a team that had never worked this way before. I learned how to communicate with stakeholders and how to state my case by explaining the importance of having the testing phase represented with an equal impact in the software development lifecycle as all other phases. This experience created the foundation for the way I now engage with clients, setting up testing strategies and defining different testing approaches.

As I developed professionally, I started coaching new joiners, holding knowledge transfer sessions and coordinating many internal events within the Testing Discipline.

As one of the first employees at Endava in Skopje, I was invited to hold a speech at the official ceremony celebrating our achievement of building to 100 Employees at our Delivery Unit. I would say that this opened my appetite for public speaking! Ever since I have been delivering technical presentations and workshops during all Endava Testing Weeks. All these opportunities have enabled me to polish and hone my presentational, organizational and time-management skills.

What do you think drives and guides you professionally?

What drives me at Endava is the culture and the freedom we have to grow. My path hasn’t been without challenges, but facing them shaped me as a professional. All this comes as a result of having the support needed to develop. Now, I support, help and lead others towards being the best they can be.

What I like the most about Endava, is the everyday life that is fulfilled with different activities, presentations, pass it on sessions, events and of course the Endava values, which are the engine that brings success, progress and accomplishments. Without being open and adaptive to changes I would not succeed and be where I am today.

What was the most important lesson you learned over these 3 years?

Behind each successful story, there is a pile of solved puzzles and mazes, lessons learned and of course, a great amount of commitment. I have learned to accept each given challenge and opportunity. In my opinion, intelligence is translated into the ability of being adaptable.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I spend my free time in various ways, but I truly love being in “2nd gear”, connecting and enjoying time with friends and family, preferably outdoors. Honestly, I do not have a particular hobby, but I definitively enjoy doing many different things that ignite my creative spark - to cook or even paint when the artistic mode is on.

However, taking the globe off the shelf to plan trips and adventures is always refreshing. My last holiday was to Crete where I had the chance to see some of the most beautiful and hidden beaches on Earth. The adventure before that was a trip around Europe by car, when I visited 13 cities in 6 countries in two weeks! Next on my list is to visit a new location outside Europe. Visiting new places, countries and cultures enlivens the character, widens the horizons and makes you a richer person on the inside.

If you were to start work at Endava tomorrow, what would be that one piece of advice you would give to yourself?

Be eager to learn something new and do not be afraid to ask questions. Commitment is the key to success. Endava offers many opportunities to grow; all you have to do is to seize them.