The Life of a QA Co-op at Loopio
Figuring out which co-op opportunity is right for you can be tricky so we went around and spoke to our students and got their take on their experience here at Loopio.
Each semester, we bring in a new group of students who contribute towards the department's goal of making our testing fully automated.
Question 1: What do you look for in an ideal co-op placement and why did you choose Loopio?
Daniel:
What I look for in an ideal co-op placement is a role where I can see how my work is impacting the company. I also look for a place that supports the growth of their employees. As a co-op, I still have a small skillset, so learning new skills and new technologies is something that I really care about.
I chose Loopio for many reasons. One of which was the passion that the interviewers (Imran and Ross) had about the product and what they did. They showed that Loopio was clearly a place they were proud to work at. I wanted to work at a place like that.
The culture at Loopio wasn’t something that made me choose Loopio, but has made it something I would want too stay at for a long time and come back to work for. Loopio’s culture is something that stands out. Unless you are going to a really big company (e.g Google), or went through an extensive interview process, it’s hard to gauge what the company is like from just one interview. This is especially true for co-ops, as we often only have one interview that takes place in Waterloo, which means we never see the office or meet a lot of the people there. Going into my first day at Loopio, I had no idea what to expect. By the end of my first day, through the extensive onboarding and the friendliness and openness that everyone showed, I could tell that this was a company that cared about and supported the success of their employees. It also certainly helped that the office space was beautiful. The culture that Loopio has and the environment it creates for the people working here is simply incredible.
Rutvik:
In an ideal co-op place, I would look for an accepting and friendly work environment, applicable/useful work experience, and decent compensation. I chose Loopio because it perfectly fits my description of an ideal co-op placement. Loopio is definitely a very diverse and inclusive company. Everyone is always helpful and open to questions, so you always feel like a part of the team. Another major requirement for a co-op placement for me is definitely the experience that I would receive. Luckily, at Loopio, even as a co-op you are provided with proper work experience that would be applicable in future ventures. Moreover, everything that I learned was very intriguing. Last but not least, it was helpful that Loopio was able to provide decent compensation in terms of team events, weekly Friday parties and pay.
Sergio:
For my co-op placement, I really wanted a smaller company where I could gain a lot of valuable experience in the software industry. Loopio seemed like a good fit for what I was looking for and they had hired Waterloo co-ops in the past. I liked that Loopio was named one of Canada’s Companies-to-Watch in the 2018 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards. I was looking for a company that was very driven to creating and developing new technology. The location of Loopio was also ideal being in downtown Toronto, so I could commute from home. Not to mention that it’s near Kensington Market, so there is always somewhere good to eat!
Question 2: What was your day/week/sprint like a member of a feature team?
Daniel:
My team (and all of EPD) uses an agile framework, with two-week sprints starting and ending every other Wednesday. Just like any other member, I attended Sprint Plannings, daily scrums, sprint retros and any other sprint related meetings. This was really cool as I got to contribute and see, just like any other full-time developer, how the product was progressing and challenges that came up and their solutions. It helped me to really feel like a part of the team and that I mattered.
A typical day for me was to get to work sometime before my daily scrum. Attend the daily scrum and give an update on what I did, what I’m working on and anything that’s blocking me. The rest of the day could consist of meetings like SMASH, or AMAs with the SLT (senior leadership team), or just working on my tasks. For lunch, I would usually grab something to eat from Kensington Market or Chinatown, and then head back to the office to eat there, talk and watch people play pool.
Rutvik:
Being on the Library feature team, Meerkats, my days were very productive and sprints very accomplishing. Every sprint, I was assigned tasks that were challenging for me but also very doable. These tasks would allow me to remain productive throughout the sprint by helping the team out towards the sprint goal and writing automated tests that would allow for more confidence in the product. Each day the team would have a scrum meeting which essentially allows everyone to explain how much they accomplished throughout the day and get a scope of where others are with their own tasks. This helps keep the team connected and improves communication. The sprint methodology that is applied at Loopio is extremely useful because it provides co-ops with experience in a methodology that is becoming more and more popular.
Sergio:
My week started with our sprint planning which consisted of discussing the features we were going to take on. Every morning we would have our standup where we would give our team updates on what we worked on the previous day as well as our plan for the day. At the end of the sprint, we would have our sprint review. I always enjoyed seeing what the team had worked on come together as a demo for the company to see. Then we would have our sprint retrospective in which we would reflect on how our sprint went. This would sometimes be complemented with bubble tea!
Question 3: What challenges did you face and learn to overcome?
Daniel:
My biggest challenge that I faced, and still am continuing to overcome is my ability to speak up and express my ideas. I often overthink what I want to say and end up not saying anything, but everyone has been really supportive and nice on my team. The daily scrum gives me a chance to say something, and even though it doesn’t faze a lot of people and some people may see it as something super small, it did faze me. It has been a great opportunity for me to develop my speaking skills without pushing me too much out of my comfort zone.
Rutvik:
One of the best things promoted at Loopio is curiosity. Everyone is encouraged to ask questions about things that are happening in the workplace or just in general. This sort of environment is perfect for co-ops because the whole purpose of these placements is to learn new things. Working in a company that promotes asking questions is, therefore, the perfect place for co-ops to thrive. A challenge that I came across was working with new tools and software. Fortunately, because curiosity is promoted, I felt encouraged to ask questions about everything that I didn’t understand. Another challenge I had to overcome was working in the sprint environment because it was the first time, I was able to work in fully functioning sprint cycles. Although I had to get used to the cycles, everyone was really helpful, and I was able to integrate into the cycles pretty well.
Sergio:
With Loopio being my first co-op placement, there were many new technologies and processes that were completely new to me and that I had to learn to be successful. I had never used things like git, virtual machines, databases that were all going to be essential to my work here at Loopio. I also got the experience of working in teams with both my fellow co-ops as well as with my feature team. I learned how to approach these new challenges with an open mindset and how to overcome them. As well as that, the support here at Loopio was always there. If I needed help understanding or using something, someone on my team was always happy to help.
Question 4: What were your favourite and biggest takeaways about working at Loopio?
Daniel:
I think the biggest takeaway I took was how important giving and receiving feedback can be. One of the 5 core values at Loopio is Candor, which is simply being honest and open. Giving feedback is one of the most common examples we use when talking about Candour. Learning how to give and receive feedback in a meaningful way was something I quickly became accustomed to, although I still have a lot to learn! An environment where everyone is open to feedback allows for continuous growth, which is always important for not just the employees but for the company as a whole.
Rutvik:
My favourite takeaway from working at Loopio was definitely how effective it is to work in a team that is sprint-oriented. Setting reasonable goals in a systematic manner is more efficient than people just grabbing random tasks. Moreover, it is less stressful and improves communication between the team members.
Sergio:
My biggest takeaway from working at Loopio would be the importance of giving and getting feedback. One of Loopio’s core values is candor, they always encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas and I found this to be the case at all levels of the company. Loopio held both company-wide as well as department-specific AMA’s. They were also always looking for feedback on their onboarding process. On a smaller level, my team always had several meetings and dedicated times for discussion whether it be our daily standup, sprint retrospective or 1-on-1s with my manager. All these things made me realize the importance of feedback and how they really contributed to bettering Loopio as a whole.
That’s a wrap!
Thanks for the read 😎
