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We’ve sat down with Merlin Benneth, an Accessibility Project Manager at PLUS QA. From presenting at meetups to the upcoming PNSQC conference this coming October, Merlin is an expert in the field of Digital Accessibility and has been part of the team since 2017.
Can you tell us a little bit about you? (interests outside of work, where you grew up, anything!)
My interest in software development started when I was 12 years old and installed Game Maker on my Windows XP. Since then I’ve pursued a career in tech. During my free time I make games and artwork, and I volunteer with the local game development community in Portland, the Portland Indie Game Squad. Somehow I still find time for performing arts as well and will occasionally participate in ballet classes and performances–I come from a theater family, so the need to entertain others is ingrained in me.
You have moved through multiple different roles at PLUS QA, can you tell us how long have you been here and what your role is today?
I started out as a part-time tester and gradually worked my way up to project management. When I was starting out the team needed more accessibility testers, so I ended up getting to work on a lot of accessibility testing. It turned out to be something that comes naturally to me, and now I’m finding myself leading accessibility projects as a project manager. Next year will be my 10th year at PLUS QA, which is wild to think about!
What qualities do you think make a good manager for a QA testing team?
My belief is that leaders should lead from the front rather than the back. A manager should always hop in and help the team, especially when the manager has the most experience. I aim to help my teammates grow by working alongside them and helping them find some of the trickier bugs to spot. Understanding each team member’s strengths and weaknesses is important too–In accessibility testing that’s especially important, because the skillsets required for testing accessibility are so diverse that each team member will have their own unique specialties.
What are some of your favorite projects you have managed over the years?
It should come as no surprise that I love working on projects related to video games or gaming in general. One time I got to test an actual video game which was pretty exciting. I always enjoy projects where I get to test something for a new piece of software or hardware that’s coming out soon.
What's the most rewarding part of your job?
I think the projects that have left the greatest impression on me are the ones where I was able to help developers directly in improving the accessibility of a product that is used by millions of people. I’ve helped improve accessibility on learning applications, designer software, and more e-commerce sites than I can count. It’s pretty cool to be able to say that I contributed to a positive impact on those products.
What have been some of the challenges you’ve encountered in your role? How have you handled them and what have you learned through that experience?
One of the downsides of testing is that sometimes things don’t work, which means you can’t keep testing it. As a project manager, this means plans will change and the team might suddenly not have anything to work on. Fortunately, the other PMs and leads at PLUS QA have been able to step in and offer some support by finding things for other testers to work on. More importantly though, I’ve learned that it always pays off to try and spend some time with the software before testing day to make sure there aren’t any significant blockers, and if that’s not possible, try to have something else ready to go just in case things don’t go as planned.
What advice might you have for someone who wants to be successful in a role like yours or in the QA industry in general?
Always say “Yes” to challenges. If there is ever a chance to do something new at your job, do it. Eventually you’ll be seen as someone who can take on multiple types of work, which means you’ll be allowed responsibility for more things. Having a wide range of skills is especially important in QA because there are so many different things that we test and work on.
Can you share a memorable moment or achievement from your time here at PLUS QA?
It’s hard to pick just one, but the one that stands out the most is when I was given the opportunity to give a presentation at PLUS QA for the PNSQC meetup on the basics of accessibility testing. There’s also the time I demolished the entire PLUS QA staff at Super Smash Bros.–We had to pick a different game for game night after that.
What are we most likely to find you doing on the weekends?
Most likely I’m volunteering at a local meetup with the Portland Indie Game Squad, but if I’m not doing that, you can still find me making games and artwork at home!
Want to connect with Merlin? Come see us at the PNSQC conference from October 12–14th, where Merlin will deliver a presentation on Accessibility Testing titled “Can an AI be an a11y?”