“Leveraging 18+ Years of Software Engineering & Quality Automation Expertise for High-Performance Software Delivery”

In this presentation, I will share insights from my 18-year journey as a Software Engineer and Quality Engineering specialist, highlighting how I have contributed to building reliable, scalable, and high-quality software solutions across diverse domains. I will discuss the strategies I used to reduce defect rates by 60%, accelerate delivery using Agile practices, design automation frameworks, and integrate modern tools such as Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Azure SQL, Power BI, and CI/CD pipelines. I will also walk through real-world experiences from leading development and testing initiatives at Walmart and Verizon, emphasizing how automation, data-driven insights, and strong collaboration significantly enhance product performance and organizational efficiency.
Who is this presentation for?
• Professionals or students interested in software engineering, quality engineering, or test automation • Teams looking to understand how to build automation frameworks or improve testing strategies • Organizations wanting to enhance software reliability, CI/CD efficiency, and data validation processes • New engineers who want real-world guidance on working in Agile environments and delivering enterprise-scale solutions
Prerequisite knowledge:
Audience should ideally have basic understanding of: • Software development life cycle (SDLC) • Fundamentals of testing (manual or automation) • Basics of programming (Java/Python/JavaScript preferred) • Familiarity with SQL and web applications • General awareness of Agile methodology
What you'll learn?
By the end of this presentation, you will learn: • How I designed and implemented automation frameworks using Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, and TestNG • How defect rates were reduced by 60% through structured test automation • How to integrate Power BI, Azure SQL, and data validation into software quality processes • How CI/CD pipelines transform product delivery and team efficiency • Best practices for collaborating in Agile teams and improving project outcomes • How to approach complex testing scenarios including E2E, regression, performance, and web services testing

My name is Swetha Talakola, and I am an experienced Software Engineer and Quality Engineering professional with over 18 years of expertise in software development, automation, and manual testing. I have worked extensively across Web, Mobile, E-commerce, Finance, POS, Reporting, and Client/Server applications. I am a strong team player with excellent communication skills and a proven track record of delivering high-quality solutions, improving processes, and driving automation excellence. My experience spans technologies like Java, JavaScript, Python, SQL, Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Power BI, Azure SQL, and CI/CD pipelines. I am passionate about building scalable systems, enhancing product quality, and enabling teams to succeed.