Manikandan Narasimhan

Global Head of TQA,

• Established QA as a Quality Partner across all technology areas by strategically embedding QA in key forums like Tech demand & funding committee, Architecture review board. Being the voice of quality in various steering committees.
• Modernized QA @ FT to implement Agile Testing Methodology & QE for DevOps
• Achieved Consistent 3x Growth for QA Engagement yoy between 2018 and 2024. Now expanded QE services to FT subsidiaries
• Ensured Consistent adoption of QA methodology, standards, framework, & metrics across the firm, delivering seamless outcomes.
• Established multiple Testing Centers of Excellence for Digital and Mobile, including Digital Labs, Data Warehouse Testing, Test Labs, Non-Functional TCOE -Performance Testing, Accessibility Testing, Security Scanning, Quality Engineering COE, Wealth Testing CoE, CRM dynamics TCOE, Front, Middle, and Back-office Testing CoE
• Implemented Gen AI in QA Design, Test Automation Development across the enterprise using Microsoft Copilot & GitHub Copilot, achieving an average of 40-50% accuracy & overall of 25% effort reduction, delivering savings of US$ 2M per annum
• Adopted single user tests, Hybrid automation, and Response time metrics capture in digital labs for browsers & devices for left shifting NFT
• Implemented Datadog for Websites & Trading platforms and synthetic monitoring in lower environments. Enabling Predictive analytics by integrating with the Digi4 Tool
• Implemented Security Scanning SAST and DAST for all Public websites to implement DORA compliance
• Implemented Test Data Governance, Data Management Policy best practices, across the firm
• TQA Leaders are distributed in global locations, leading engagements with full accountability, delivering best-in-class QE services
• Identifying Quality improvement opportunities and achieving operational excellence for our global businesses by adopting a range of delivery models, ex., FT-owned projects, managed services projects, outcome-based engagements. Own the Technology Quality for the enterprise.
• QA has accomplished several innovative Milestones for the enterprise by revolutionising the time to Market solutions by reducing cycle time to production up to 85%, Improved system resiliency by improving MTTR by 75% through automated regression packs.
• QA Team implemented end-to-end automation in multiple dimensions and layers for achieving greater confidence on regulatory projects like EMIR and MIFID, and SEBI-related requirements for India AMC.
• Some key innovations using automation frameworks that significantly reduced cycle time and improved feedback on code quality across the layer of technology include a Single framework code for Website, Middleware, Integrated Web to mid-tier to Datalayer on legacy platforms, a single source code for digital
• End to End-to-end automated regression between Wealthx, Charles River, One TIS, Data Integration and Simcorp Dimension. This was enabled by QA collaboration skills, working with engineering, product management, and operations teams.
• TQA's Motto is Automate first, automate everything, Automate In-sprint. All forms of validation can be automated.
• TQA's automation philosophy has enabled achieving consistent outcomes
• Developed a Talent Roadmap for TQA across the US, India & Canada to identify key skills and Talent for the future. Invested on Talent development.
• TQA transformed from a manual testing shop in 2017 to a Best-in-Class quality engineering team with 100+ SDETS achieving excellence in Domain, Business, Products, & quality engineering,. Average automation in execution is >85% across the enterprise, Lower QA costs
• Established Quality Metrics program focused on key quality outcomes: Viz Efficiency in Design, Automation in Execution, First Time Right in production. Monthly Business Reviews & Vendor Cadence. Quality Gates adherence is reviewed. Payments linked to KPI
• Quarterly CIO Quality Briefings, where insights are shared in real time using Digi4 Enterprise Dashboard, and Adherence to. established the Quality Gate within respective lines of business is discussed. Emerging niche requirements, risks, and issues are discussed
• Enterprise Application Risk Ranking Model, covering 150 applications, is reviewed during CIO briefings, including RCA analysis
• Achieved synergy across Enterprise DevOps tool stack and QE tooling by promoting an open-source framework along with empowerment for team members through investments in reskilling
• Enabled enterprise cloud adoption by defining QA methodology for cloud migration
• Extensive expertise in managing QA for Large SAAS platforms like Workday for Finance, HR, and other SAAS platforms
• 2017-2021, enterprise DevOps was part of TQA. We implemented CI/CD across the enterprise (Bamboo & Jenkins)
• Lead Test Data Governance for Enterprise Data Office
• Member of Franklin Templeton Corporate Center India - Management Committee - Leading Business Innovation
• I lead the Business Innovation initiative with an intent to build a culture of creative thinking and collaborative problem solving amongst the FT workforce in India across Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai locations.
• Developing and Organisational Strategy and establishing an operating model for cross-functional Business Innovation pivoting on colocation for cross-functional teams. Everest Group evaluated our operating mode & rated it as best in class.
• Integrating Innovation as part of FT's work culture by embedding it @ grassroots level, through a focused program for citizen development, creating a citizen developer pool of 500+ active contributors.
• 30+ Technology solutions through cross-functional collaboration, combined savings of 3 million US dollars. Institutionalized innovation Rewards program, and recognizing Innovation talent and Team spirit
• Increased company growth through collaboration with sales and marketing departments launching Digital labs
• Identified opportunities to improve business process flows and productivity by nurturing citizen development
• Cultivated company-wide culture of innovation and collaboration.

• Lead QA for Large programs across different geographies and businesses within the bank, Emerging Markets, Corporate Bank, Barclaycard
• Core banking Flexcube Rollout in Barclays Pakistan, Indonesia, Namibia (Absa Bank)
• Core Banking Migration across Africa, the Middle East from Brains to Flexcube
• Credit Risk, AML, and Fraud Program Rollout across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the UK
• Data Centre Migration for UAE and India business from Durban Data Centre to the Singapore Data Centre
• VIP: Consolidating Barclaycard global convergence of migrating Europe and Africa Portfolio across countries to a state-of-the-art Platform with Credit Risk, Fraud Risk, Issuing, Portfolio Management, Omnichannel, Digital, and Analytics (Western Europe, Germany, & Africa)
• Head of QA for Southern European Cards business across Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
• Implemented Fraud Risk platform Falcon 6.0 for Barclaycard UK & Germany
• Established multiple centers of excellence: Test Factory @ Hamburg, Germany, Visa Master compliance releases in pune.
• Strategizing and implementing organisational restructuring for theBarclaycard Quality Engineering group (500-member QA Team)

Delivery Manager for Testing - Citicards International Business for 44 countries.

Regional Business Anlayst for APAC supporting ABN AMRO's Private Client and New Growth Market Initiatives

QA Consultant supporting Testing for clients like GPaysys FDR, Citigroup

Test Lead supporting projects for clients like Morgan Stanley, Experian and Citibank NA

Manage quality control function for cards operations managing a team of banking assistants