AMA with QA Manager Amy Khokhar
By Raman Kang
Amy Khokhar currently works as an RA/QA Specialist with PrecisionOS, having just started with them in 2021. Previously, she worked as a Quality Assurance Manager for Innotech Medical Industries Corp., a medical device R&D Company. She began there in 2018 as a Technical Specialist for testing and troubleshooting Digital Radiography systems like X-Ray Imaging, Chiropractic systems etc. With continuous dedication and hard work, she got promoted to Technical (R&D) manager within a year and then QA Manager in January 2020. They are working on a unique technology of X-Ray Imaging systems using Artificial Intelligence. As a kid, she was always fascinated by Science and Technology. Her first internship was in an Indian government-owned Aerospace and Defence company. She worked there in the testing department of satellite communications and military-grade communication Transceivers. Amy started her master’s of Electrical Engineering at the University of British Columbia and graduated in 2017. She is preparing to head back to school to pursue a Ph.D. in her field. On the side, she is also working on emphasizing girls’ education in India.
Q: Do you use any specific software or organizational tools to streamline the QA process and document it for tracking?
A: QA is a broad field, and my relevant experience is in medical devices for the imaging industry. We cannot use the generally available software for us in cases of testing. In general, I have worked with CRMs like Act!, Insightly, and ZOHO for short time projects. Also, I prefer working in excel and creating macros (kind of like coding I use to customize the spreadsheets).
Q: How do you integrate issues you find in QA into a prioritized revision list (i.e., by the quantity of defect? severity? etc..)
A: We start prioritizing the issues by our defect log initiating from the physical inspection followed by the number of defects. In general severity of the defects is classified based upon acceptable or non-acceptable by national regulatory standards. Pretty much that conditions change the whole approach of streamlining QA testing
Q: Can you recommend any tools/methods for making the QA process more efficient in a small in-house environment?
A: I would recommend any agile testing strategy software, building your own comprehensive worksheet from scratch (it is cumbersome but very reliable in the beginning) until you are set up for real-time testing or commercialization stage. Once established, you can add on and identify the right software for your needs.
Q: How do you feel the rise of automation is impacting the role of QA?
A: It is a very interesting question. Since I am based in the medical device industry, we need to ensure that even the automation tools required for QA testing should be verified and validated before using them. Those software and tools have to be certified according to the national regulatory bodies, and they need to be calibrated at their regular intervals. The good thing about automation here is that it has reduced human errors to a bare minimum. Especially in my field, our software testers develop our test points for stress testing the tools.
Q: Hi Amy, I'm really happy to hear about you emphasizing education for India’s girls. I’m curious to know what your plan is to address this issue?
A: Thanks for showing your interest in this area. My father works for an NGO in India where they select girls from small towns and regions for sponsoring their studies. The sponsors are from different countries by different people interested in taking responsibility for their schooling fees up to the university level. Until now, I was working for him by spreading awareness in my school groups. But now I am earning a salary, and I can sponsor a couple of girls from that NGO by the end of this year. I am looking to set up an initiative here by networking with likewise-minded people. It is a challenging task, but where there’s a will, there's a way!
Q: What is the current market trend, and what are general requirements you look forward to when you interview candidates for potential junior to mid-level QA engineers posts
A: It's a broad question aspect and varies from company to company requirements.
Q: What is the future of testing for AI? How do you perform testing on an AI-enabled system since output varies and based on an algorithm outside our control?
A: Well, to train AI in machines requires a tremendous amount of testing. Initially, product development using AI doubles the time for all software stress testing, and when the product is commercialized, frequent testing is required to maintain the firmware. Also, operating in the real world, the AI machines collect data every second, so to filter out residual data and support the product functionality, it needs to retest the input data in real-time before adding it to the available database.
Since data is feeding in real-time, we always create 2-3 or more pre-tests depending upon verification and validation tests for the particular function product to filter the set requirements and go from there.
Update: Amy has graciously decided to volunteer her time to Women in Tech World as a writer for our Content Team. Keep your eye on this space for future work by Amy!