The life of Arda Özerten from the Commencis QA team

Meet Arda from our quality assurance team. He graduated from Bilkent University in 2010 and joined Commencis in 2015. He is an integral part of Commencis as he ensures the products that we build are robust and in line with customer expectations.

Why did you join Commencis, and what has kept you here?

I joined Commencis to learn more about testing processes, techniques and tools that are used in mobile and web development, and develop myself in these areas.

The things that kept me here are the key differentiators such as the friendship and community in the company, a minimum level of bureaucracy, the ease of communication with other colleagues, the encouragement that the company provides to try new techniques, technologies and tools, the variety of social employee benefits, the attention given for the voice of employees, and much more.

Saying hi!

What are some of the unique challenges you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?

The top challenges that I face are to follow new trends, technologies, processes as well as tools and adapt these to our department and the way we work in a continuous manner.

To overcome these challenges and stay up-to-date with new trends, I usually work closely with team members that have the capability in certain areas, take decisions together to move forward and follow up with the results.

What is your most memorable moment at Commencis?

The most memorable moment at Commencis was the moment that our product Device Farm, which helps to increase the speed of test processes and ease to reach test devices, had gone live after a full week of overtime. I was relieved when we completed the software and hardware integration, and product development. Besides this moment, I enjoyed the new year party very much in 2016. I was quite impressed by the surprise that our HR team has prepared for us - a Brazilian samba dance show!

Reenergizing with a friend who knows how to loosen up and enjoy life.

How do you spend your time outside of the office?

I like spending my time doing sports, going to movies and playing the drum at the studio. Unfortunately, I can only read books and watch TV series and movies during Covid-19 pandemic while we are all staying at home.

When are you the happiest?

Of course, the paycheck days :) All joking aside, I love buying new technologies and toys (for big boys, of course) and become the happiest when I unbox them for the first time. Yes, I have an unboxing obsession :)

What are your top three life highlights?

I can say these are the top three life highlights for me: starting my Bachelor’s degree in Bilkent University in 2010; leaving my family in Ankara and moving to Istanbul in 2015; and getting married in 2019.

If given the chance, who would you like to be for a day?

Definitely Elon Musk! I am impressed by the work that he has been doing which will impact everyone living on earth in a positive way in the future. It would be great to see how he spends his day.

If you could witness any historical event, what would you want to see?

At the moment, we are witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime event, but in case of historical events, I would like to become a part of the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. It may be quite interesting to see the enthusiasm and motivation in the public, and of course the founder of our country with my own eyes.

What are your three most overused words/phrases at the moment?

“Exactly”, “Therefore” and “Are we all set”? (due to frequent online meetings during the pandemic!)