Silo Busting 31: Putting Digital Experience Design to the Test with Philip Soffer & Jonathan Lupo

This episode of Silo Busting looks at testing from multiple angles. Phillip Soffer, EPAM’s VP of Product-Service Systems and Jonathan Lupo, EPAM’s VP of Experience Design talk in-depth about testing, automation, experience design and AI’s role in all of this. 

Soffer explains, “The more we introduce artificial intelligence into various systems, whether it is how they behave for the end user or how we test them, the more important it actually is to have a human check on the AI.” He goes on to say that AI can operate with bias toward the data sets they’re trained on, which may not be the same people for whom the systems are intended, and that it may introduce algorithmic bias. This reinforces the human involvement with AI innovation, especially as it pertains to testing.

Of course, testing is imperative in the digital age. Most organizations recognize the importance of comprehensive testing, but not all have the appreciation for how much time testing can take. Automation alleviates this since the necessary tests can run continuously and collect valuable results in real time.

Speaking of real time: Lupo asks Soffer if the pandemic has created an opportunity for automated remote testing…

Soffer remarks on something called “hallway testing”—walking around an office and using colleagues as testers to see how they engage with a product. This was once a valid substitute for formal testing. Soffer ponders, what happens when you take away the hallway, when colleagues are no longer working in the same place? He states, “We’ve had a lot more interest in doing that kind of hallway testing in a virtual way, through the testing crowd that we have as part of Test IO.”

Tune in to hear what these experts have to say and learn more about the future of testing in our ever-changing world.