Interviews and Reviews

QA’s Secret Ingredient: How Zhenis Ismagambetov Cooks Up Precision and Innovation

A seasoned QA expert reveals the innovative strategies behind precision, efficiency, and success in today’s most ambitious projects.

The impact of Quality Assurance (QA) on company revenue in 2024 is increasingly significant, as evidenced by various reports and surveys. An annual survey by Medium on data quality revealed that 31% of revenue is impacted by data quality issues. This statistic underscores the critical role that effective QA plays in maintaining data integrity, which is essential for informed decision-making and operational efficiency. Quality Assurance is not merely a compliance function but a strategic driver of revenue growth across various sectors in 2024. By investing in QA processes, companies can enhance product quality, improve customer experiences, and ultimately increase their bottom line.

Zhenis Ismagambetov, a Senior QA Engineer at Publicis Sapient, understands the global significance of quality assurance practices. His expertise has been instrumental in revolutionizing QA processes for large-scale, high-impact projects. Having worked on the Biomedical Research Informatics Computing System (BRICS) Zhenis has firsthand experience in leveraging QA as a tool for innovation and efficiency. With a career that spans roles in diverse industries, he brings a unique perspective on how QA methodologies can be tailored to maximize impact and deliver measurable results. Zhenis shares his insights into the evolving role of QA, its influence on business outcomes, and the trends shaping the industry in 2024 and 2025.

Zhenis, thank you for joining us. Could you explain what BRICS is, how it functions as a biomedical research tool, and what your role has been in the project?

Thank you for having me. The Biomedical Research Informatics Computing System, or BRICS, is a cutting-edge platform developed to address the challenges of managing and analyzing complex biomedical data. Created through collaboration between the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense, BRICS supports research efforts across clinical trials and broader health studies. Its functionalities include secure data collection, validation, and storage while adhering to stringent compliance standards. BRICS is highly scalable, enabling research communities to customize its use while supporting international collaboration.

As a Senior QA Engineer, my duty is to enhance BRICS’s reliability and functionality. I developed and implemented automated test scripts, which reduced manual testing time by 40%. This not only improved testing efficiency but also accelerated the deployment of new platform versions, increasing update speed by 30%. 

Thanks to your efforts, the platform is now popular and used by over 5,000 researchers globally and has facilitated more than 200 international collaborations. Can you share what inspired its development and how your expertise in quality assurance contributed to its success?

The inspiration for the BRICS platform came from the need to overcome longstanding inefficiencies in biomedical research, particularly the difficulty of managing and analyzing vast amounts of data across diverse teams. My expertise in quality assurance allowed me to focus on creating a seamless, user-centric experience for researchers. I introduced advanced automation frameworks like Selenium WebDriver and Cucumber, which improved testing accuracy and ensured the platform’s reliability under complex use cases. By collaborating closely with NIH stakeholders and cross-functional teams, I also helped refine the platform’s functionality to meet the evolving needs of researchers, making it a robust tool for driving scientific innovation.

As QA evolves, there’s growing recognition of its role in shaping not just product quality but also operational efficiency and team workflows. How have you leveraged QA methodologies to drive efficiency and improve team dynamics in your career?

Efficiency and strong team dynamics are critical for the success of any project, and QA plays a significant role in achieving both. Throughout my career, I’ve prioritized the implementation of automation frameworks that streamline repetitive tasks, freeing up teams to focus on more complex challenges. For example, introducing tools that automate end-to-end testing—which checks the entire system from start to finish to ensure everything works together as a real user would—speeds up workflows and reduces errors, directly improving product quality.

On the team side, QA fosters a collaborative environment because it requires constant interaction with developers, product managers, and stakeholders. By integrating QA practices early in the development lifecycle, I’ve helped create workflows where teams can proactively identify potential issues, reducing unexpected problems or delays that occur near the end of a project. Additionally, training team members on QA tools and methodologies has strengthened our collective capabilities, empowering individuals to take ownership of quality at every stage. This combination of efficiency and collaboration ensures that the project not only meets technical requirements but also supports sustainable team performance.

Before joining Publicis Sapient, you held QA roles at Freddie Mac, a leading US mortgage company, and PrintMail Solutions, serving over 300 financial institutions. How did these experiences shape your QA approach, and what key achievements have you carried forward?

Working in different industries gave me a broad perspective on how QA processes can be tailored to meet specific challenges. For instance, at Freddie Mac, I implemented automated validation systems for financial data, which reduced manual work and improved data accuracy significantly—a critical need in the financial sector. This taught me the value of precision and regulatory compliance in QA. 

At PrintMail Solutions, I collaborated directly with end-users to identify their needs, gather feedback, and implement refinements to enhance web application functionality and usability, ensuring the solutions aligned with user expectations and improved overall satisfaction. This hands-on experience strengthened my ability to align technical work with user needs, a skill I’ve carried into my current role. These varied experiences have helped me approach QA with a balance of technical rigor and user-centric thinking.

Your experience allowed you to generate your unique methodology, “Developing a Comprehensive QA Methodology for QA Engineers and Testers” which is a comprehensive approach to ensuring quality in software development. What inspired this approach, and how does it improve the QA process?

When I understood how important it is to share the acquired experience and knowledge with others, I created this methodology to address common challenges in QA, such as inefficiencies, inconsistent documentation, and difficulties in scaling processes for different team sizes. It emphasizes practical solutions like reusable scripts, streamlined workflows, and iterative feedback to make QA more efficient and collaborative. The methodology covers the entire QA lifecycle, emphasizing reusable scripts, robust documentation, and iterative feedback. As I designed it for teams of all sizes, it ensures efficiency, better collaboration, and higher-quality deliverables. The most rewarding part has been seeing it successfully adopted across diverse teams, improving both productivity and the quality of deliverables. 

QA is often seen as a behind-the-scenes function. How do you view the role of QA in projects of this scale and the impact on businesses?

QA is central to the success of projects, where reliability and precision directly impact the work of thousands of specialists. It goes beyond just identifying bugs—QA ensures that the system performs seamlessly under real-world conditions and supports the complex needs of its users. In high-stakes projects, QA is integrated into every phase, from initial design to deployment, enabling us to identify potential issues early and adapt swiftly to evolving requirements. For me, it’s about building trust—not just in the platform itself but in the processes behind it—so that users can focus on their work with confidence, knowing they have a stable and efficient tool at their disposal.

Looking ahead, what trends in quality assurance and healthcare technology do you think will most significantly shape the future of these industries?

One transformative trend is the growing integration of AI and machine learning into QA processes. These technologies can not only predict and identify potential issues earlier but also optimize testing workflows by analyzing large datasets for patterns and anomalies. In healthcare, where precision and reliability are critical, these advancements will enhance the speed and accuracy of delivering solutions.

Another key trend is the deeper integration of QA into the earliest stages of the development lifecycle. This proactive approach ensures that quality is built into the product from the start, rather than being addressed later. In healthcare technology, I also foresee an increasing emphasis on interoperability—ensuring that platforms and systems seamlessly work together to support research and patient care. By combining these advancements with continuous learning and adaptation, we can meet the evolving demands of this dynamic industry.

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