Elevating Quality: How a Senior Software Engineer Thrived in Solutions QA

In 2019, Praful Bhardwaj's career took an exciting turn as he transitioned from a QA engineer in the investment banking sector to joining the WhizAI team. This marked his first experience working with artificial intelligence (AI) in a startup environment. Unlike his previous role, which involved stable systems and established QA processes, WhizAI presented a new challenge, where both product QA and solutions QA needed to be built from scratch.

During his first year at WhizAI, Praful worked tirelessly to overcome obstacles and contribute to the company's growth. Initially, he served as the sole engineer responsible for product QA, ensuring the product achieved its objectives predictably and reliably while maintaining bug-free platform components. He collaborated closely with developers to establish rules and document processes, which streamlined QA procedures and enhanced operational efficiency.

From Product QA to Solutions QA

Praful explained that WhizAI, a generative AI platform for life sciences, differs from the systems he supported in the past. WhizAI must be tailored to a client’s needs depending on the use case, therapeutic focus areas, and business goals. WhizAI integrates with the company’s data, scaling to accommodate as many sources and the data volumes necessary to deliver accurate insights. The platform’s sophisticated algorithms detect patterns and anomalies to answer users’ questions and alert them to activity that needs their attention, such as a decline in prescriptions or patients at risk of nonadherence. 

The platform also enhances experiences with large language models (LLMs) that allow users to interact conversationally. It’s a game-changing solution that brings true self-service to data analytics, making it easy for life sciences business users to build data-driven decision-making into their daily workflows to improve outcomes. 

As the QA team grew, Praful’s responsibilities evolved from a product QA to a solutions QA role. He explained the contrast between the two: “I have to understand the customer’s needs so that we can provide more than a product – we provide a solution. It takes a mix of business and technical analysis.” 

Praful worked on the first solution for WhizAI’s flagship client, a large pharmaceutical company with five therapeutic areas. He facilitated communication between WhizAI and the client to set up the first area successfully. The company was so satisfied with the platform’s ability to deliver clear data points and reliable insights it expanded its use of WhizAI to its other therapeutic areas. 

“Making the customer happy and getting more business has been one of my biggest contributions,” he said. 

The Benefits of a Great Team Behind You  

Praful has continued to take on new projects at WhizAI, including ExplAIn and unique client deliverables, while maintaining his focus on the company’s overarching goal of democratizing data insights. 

“We are a promising organization and can be the market leader with our ability to manage multiple solutions for a single client,” he pointed out. “In solutions QA, we work to understand what the client needs, then test it and perfect it.” 

Praful says his success at WhizAI hinged on the support of the entire team, including his mentor, Pranay Vasani, WhizAI Solutions Director, who helped him navigate the AI learning curve, and the other members of the QA team. 

“The most pleasure I have found working at WhizAI is the cohesiveness of the team,” he commented. “To deliver what is promised is always top of mind.”

He added that the WhizAI team, from senior management to his colleagues, is compassionate and caring, which he experienced firsthand when he became ill with COVID-19. “They were all ready to help me and my family in any way,” he recalled. 

From the opportunities that Praful has had to learn new technologies, grow into a new role, develop leadership skills, and work in a supportive environment, the new direction his career took in 2019 has proven to be a positive move. 

“I am so glad to work at such a company,” he said. 

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