To celebrate the relentless passion of testers, BrowserStack is honoring some of the icons in the testing space—those who push the industry forward by sharing their knowledge with the community at large through their thought leadership.
Beth Marshall is a Senior Quality Engineer at Llyods Banking Group. With a background in both law and software testing, Beth brings a unique perspective to quality assurance, viewing learning as a continuous journey and approaching challenges with curiosity and resilience.
Tell us a bit about your role as Senior Quality Engineer at Lloyds Banking Group.
I truly believe that my role at Lloyds is one of the best in my 15-year career. As part of the Quality Engineering Centre of Excellence, I work alongside other specialists to support quality-related activities across the Group. My team focuses on test automation, maintaining and enhancing our automated frameworks, and helping others improve their skills through training and community engagement.
Explore how BrowserStack Automate can simplify your test automation process.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out their career in software testing?
See the breadth of learning as something to get excited rather than daunted about. Even after so many years in the industry, I’m still discovering new things every day. It’s one of the best parts of this career if you view learning as a continuous journey rather than a mountain to conquer.
How do you keep up with all the new trends in software testing?
Newsletters, LinkedIn, Talks, training, Community. Being part of the global software testing community, which is one of the most inclusive and welcoming in tech, makes this a lot easier and less intimidating than it could be. And while it's easy to get caught up in the latest tools, remember to focus on the fundamentals - they’ll always be your solid foundation as trends come and go.
What's a testing trend that's got you excited these days?
It's hard to ignore AI at the moment, because that is where a lot of the innovation seems to be happening. But as someone from a legal background (education-wise at least, my degree was in Law) - I’m particularly intrigued by how legislation and common law intersect with our industry.
I also follow high-profile bugs that make headlines, like the recent Crowdstrike outages, and have been keenly watching the Post Office Horizon public inquiry in the UK. It’s fascinating to see how these events might shape the future of quality assurance.
Has AI changed the way you and your team approach testing and if yes, how?
I think people's understanding of AI is starting to mature as the technology matures with it. Rather than being seen as something which will take away our jobs, it is increasingly being recognised as something to augment our roles. It can help with tasks such as writing code, asking for explanations to complex queries, writing draft release notes, social media posts and research - but it should never be relied upon blindly, should always be fact checked and reviewed.
I think this maturity of understanding will allow us to avoid the hype and get some true value from AI. Also, the personal, human touch matters - this post is more important to me because I've written it myself without AI assistance, and (hopefully!) that gives it more importance as a reader - and I think we will start to see 100% human generated content being increasingly cherished on a broader scale too.
Learn how AI-powered test cases can enhance your testing efficiency.
Looking back, what is the biggest shift your team has made in testing and what impact did it have?
While I’ve only been in this role for about two years, I can say that joining a team where supporting each other is a core part of the job—rather than an under-appreciated side task—has been a major shift for me personally and hugely beneficial for the company.
Our "customers" may be internal, but by working together, we’ve made much more progress than if everyone were working individually. The collective benefit of implementing a shared suite of test automation frameworks across the engineering team has had a significant impact.
What are your go-to productivity hacks that help you stay on top of your game?
Make sure to get plenty of sleep and always prioritize learning—after all, it's a key part of your career, and no one else is going to manage that for you. Never underestimate the power of clear communication, friendliness, and assuming good intent in others.
Also, if you want a book that could make you more productive, I highly recommend Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) by Dr. Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson—it completely changed the way I think!
(Responses have been edited for clarity.)
As we wrap up this series, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been a part of it. Your dedication to quality and continuous learning inspires us all. Keep pushing the boundaries, sharing your knowledge, and making an impact in the world of software testing.
