Finnish Testing Meetup Group

Meetup April Helsinki edition is hosted by Gofore .
Hosts from Gofore will be

• Jutta Hakola,
• Leena Taskinen and
• Riikka Kurkinen.

Doors will open at 17:00 and program starts 17:30.

Please remember to update your RVSP in case you cannot participate.

In this session we will have two presentations from:

1. Erkki Pöyhönen & Heli Uusi-Kyyny from Varian
2. Pekka Pönkänen from Wolt

Erkki and Heli's presentation title is: "How can testers sleep their nights well, after being tasked with testing a dangerous device?".

Abstract: "Health and even lives are saved -- and destroyed -- via software. Heli and Eki will tell their experience on how a tester can have professional pride and peace of mind, while knowing the risks involved in using medical devices with SW.

The basic logic is simple and used on several safety-critical industries: Being aware of risks, set the standard of fact-based decision-making and documentation high, and that regulators monitor the companies really walking the talk.

There are several points that are helpful also on less safety-critical contexts. But on top of all that keys are that testers are not left alone, good SW is being produced, testers have what is needed to be successful and there is continuous cooperation between roles. There are ways to provide "solid ground for tester to stand on" without sticking at waterfall processes."

Heli Uusi-Kyyny (Senior Test Strategist and Coach, Varian Medical Systems):
Since 1983 around computers, professionally in SW development incl. testing starting 1989. At first, 9 years non-medical SW development in various application areas, from small to huge systems, test automation. 23+ years in medical software (FDA Class II, IEC 62304 Safety Classification C, Radiotherapy applications) in various testing related roles in multiple levels. Enjoys reading technical stuff but also about self- and organizational development. Likes everything on wheels.

Erkki Pöyhönen (Senior Test Strategist and Coach, Varian Medical Systems), acting as project test manager on the side:

Eki has been programming since late '70s, but has been mostly testing since 1993. Career has spanned most roles in testing one could imagine, mostly on product development. Eki believes in professional development and started Finnish Association for Software Testing on 2001, soon afterwards became the first VP of ISTQB and has delivered public testing course for many subjects.

Likes all things nerdy (still loves C++ & installed early Linux when network drivers became available), plays piano with grandchildren and sings in choir. Main reason for him to go to woods is to capture landscape photographs.

Pekka's presentation title is : " Unlock Faster Mobile Releases: Lessons from Wolt"

Abstract: "Tired of slow mobile releases? In this talk, I’ll share how we transformed our process at Wolt—cutting release cycles from 3–4 weeks down to just 1 week. By shifting from traditional QA to a Quality Assistance model, prioritizing defects smartly, and building automation beyond just unit tests, we enabled teams to take ownership of quality. We also discovered a trick or two for getting apps out the door faster and I’ll share some strategies we use to release smarter and with more confidence. Whether you're a tester, developer, or team lead, you’ll leave with practical ideas to speed up your own releases."

Pekka Pönkänen (QA Engineer at Wolt)

Pekka Pönkänen is a Helsinki-based QA Engineer and mobile testing specialist with 14+ years of experience in tech. Starting from IT and moving into software development and testing, he’s worked across desktop, web, and mobile—with a strong focus on native apps. At Wolt, he’s helped teams speed up their release cycles by shifting from traditional QA to a more collaborative, team-driven approach. Pekka recently earned a master’s degree in cybersecurity, with a particular interest in ethical hacking. In his free time, he’s into chess and long-distance running.