As we gear up for QA Dreamin’, we had the chance to chat with one of our incredible speakers—Rob Cowell, DevOps Advocate at Gearset. Rob’s passion for testing, DevOps, and the Salesforce ecosystem shines through in everything he does. Here’s what he shared about his journey, insights on testing, and a little bit of fun along the way!
Q. How has the shift toward AI and automation changed your approach to DevOps in Salesforce projects, and what challenges or opportunities do you foresee in the next 2-3 years?
Rob: Biggest challenge that I foresee will be around the rise in AI-generated code (or declarative solutions) – that will require a renewed diligent approach to testing that we’ve perhaps not yet experienced with human-generated code. The issues and errors that such solutions provide are distinct enough to warrant a shift in thinking.
Q. What advice would you give to organizations looking to build a more collaborative relationship between their QA teams, developers, and business stakeholders in the Salesforce ecosystem?
Rob: Making changes is a team sport, and those teams should be cross-functional, not dysfunctional.
Q. Every topic choice tells a story – What led you to choose your topic? What excites you about it, and how does it impact our community?
Rob: Testing is such a wide and potentially misinterpreted discipline in the overall software delivery lifecycle, so as an advocate and educator, I was keen to try and address some of that breadth and share an overview to hopefully give folks a solid foundation.
Q. When you’re not crafting test cases or solving Salesforce puzzles, what hobbies or activities help you recharge?
Rob: I make pixel art, digital music, code on old computers like Atari and Commodore machines.
Q. If you could send a message to yourself 10 years ago about your Salesforce career journey, what would you say?
Rob: 10 years ago? I’d say be patient, that role you always wanted will happen eventually. Took me 10 years to find my home as a Developer Relations professional.
Q. What book or podcast has recently blown your mind, whether tech-related or not? Any recommendations for our community?
Rob: Well, of course, I’m going to recommend my own book, Salesforce DevOps for Architects, but my talented co-author on that, Lars Malmqvist, has written another book himself, Salesforce Anti-patterns, which I’m enjoying.
Q. If you could create a Salesforce superhero, what would be their special power?
Rob: Captain Code Coverage, here to ensure all your changes work first time, every time!
Catch Rob at QA Dreamin’
Don’t miss Rob’s session, Beyond the Clicks: Navigating Salesforce Testing in DevOps, where he’ll break down testing fundamentals and share best practices for ensuring quality in Salesforce implementations.
📅 Date: 18 March 2025
⏰ Time: 10:30 AM ET | 2:30 PM UTC | 8:00 PM IST
🔗 Register Now: QA Dreamin’ Website
QA Dreamin’ is all about learning, sharing, and growing as a QA community. Join us and be part of the conversation with industry leaders like Rob Cowell!
This interview is part of our QA Dreamin’ Speaker Series, where we showcase the thought leaders and innovators who make our event an unmissable experience for quality assurance professionals.
