Careers in tech are rarely linear, and testing is no exception. At spriteCloud, experienced professionals often bring valuable, transferable skills into quality and testing roles. Wijnand van den Heuvel recently joined spriteCloud after a long career in digital project, program, and product management.
In this interview, he shares why he pivoted into testing at this stage of his career, how his previous experience strengthens his work, and why spriteCloud provides the support and culture that make such a transition possible.
Can you tell us a bit about your career so far and the roles you’ve held in digital project management?
I first got into a digital project management role in 2008. It was a very different world online back then. You were basically an account manager, business intelligence expert, project manager, UX designer, and technical designer all in one. Websites were far less complex, and as a project manager you were the only person between a client and the design and development team. Over time, this changed, and the role of the project manager started to focus more on time, scope, and budget.
Every agency has a slightly different interpretation of the role. In some agencies, the focus was more on account management, while others placed more emphasis on the technical side. I think I was lucky enough to experience many different interpretations of the role, which gave me a broader understanding of projects as a whole. Later in my career, I focused more on the operational side and held roles such as operations manager and program manager.
After years in digital project management, what inspired you to explore testing as a next step in your career?
Last year, I took a step back to look at my career so far and assess what was working and what could be better. After spending more than 15 years in digital project management, I wanted to take stock of what I enjoyed and where I wanted to go next. What I realised during my time off was that I always found the final phase of a project very interesting. Things move fast, and there is a strong sense of focus when everything needs to be delivered for production.
I also felt that this phase could often be handled differently. While I enjoyed it, it was stressful for most people, and issues would often surface that could have been addressed earlier. I worked on many e-commerce projects, and the larger the project, the more important it became to have a clear “definition of done” and a solid approach to testing against it. As a result, I spent a lot of time training myself—and later the rest of the teams—on how to properly test a task or user story so there was a shared understanding of when something was truly done.
Were there specific experiences in your previous roles that made you interested in testing?
In my last job as a freelancer, the development team barely tested at all, and when they did, the quality was very poor. I was working as a product manager on that project, so I was not in control of the development team, and my client flat-out refused to accept features that were clearly not ready to use.
That project ultimately was never completed due to frustration about the quality of work delivered by the development team—and their project manager. I could easily find at least five bugs in 15 minutes and would return the project to their project manager with a simple message: test before delivering. Somehow, they just could not get this under control. The client was also a friend of mine, and I could clearly feel his frustration. I ended up explaining to the development company how they should set up proper testing throughout their software development lifecycle, and I found that process very interesting.
How does spriteCloud support learning new skills or switching career paths like yours?
So far, spriteCloud has been amazing. From day one, I was assigned a great buddy who helped me get started with my studies. Everyone is very open and approachable, and you can go to almost anyone with questions—they will always explain things in a way I can understand. I also get a lot of freedom to work on side projects and apply my other skills, which is great.
What kind of projects are you most excited to work on at spriteCloud?
I would have to say AI. It’s amazing what it can do, but it is still very new, and companies have a lot to learn about how to use it correctly. The applications for testing are very promising as well, but it can never replace critical thinking. Any project related to AI has my special interest. That said, I still very much enjoy taking a website and simply hunting for bugs.
How would you describe the culture and working environment here?
Very open and relaxed. From the office staff to management and consultants, everyone is approachable and genuinely willing to help you grow.
How would you describe spriteCloud in one sentence to someone considering a career move?
A great place to work if you want to learn and do cool stuff.
Curious where a career in testing could take you? If you’re an experienced digital professional who thinks critically, cares about quality, and wants to keep learning, spriteCloud is looking for you. Contact careers@spritecloud.com to get started.