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DOUG STEVENSON: Hey, everybody.
My name is Doug Stevenson.
I'd love to welcome you to the very first episode of our show,
"Meet Firebase," where you get to meet the people who
make Firebase happen.
Our first guest tonight is with Firebase Test Lab.
She's a software engineer.
Please welcome Odomitchi Anikpo.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Hi, Doug.
DOUG STEVENSON: Hi, hi.
It's so great to have you on the show.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: It's my pleasure to be here.
DOUG STEVENSON: Tell me, Odomitchi.
What do you do with Firebase Test Lab?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Well, on Test Lab,
I'm a senior software engineer and tech lead.
And I'm currently working on providing even more insights
to developers who use Test Lab to test applications
in the cloud.
DOUG STEVENSON: So obviously, you can test your applications.
But it goes beyond that.
What do we really want developers to take away
from Firebase Test Lab?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Well, what we're trying to do
is empower developers to fully integrate testing
within the development process.
So allowing developers while they're coding in the engine
studio ID to test their application in the cloud,
to a web interface, or also integrating
the continuous integration process,
so that they're aware of any regression that
may have been introduced with a new build, for instance.
DOUG STEVENSON: Sounds like it would
be really good for overall application quality
to make use of Firebase Test Lab.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Exactly.
DOUG STEVENSON: So I see you in the office all the time
and on video.
But I don't think I've ever got the chance to sit down and talk
to you about personal stuff.
So I'm really curious.
Where are you from?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: I am from Gudivada, also known
as Ivory Coast, which is on the west coast of Africa.
DOUG STEVENSON: OK, what's something
interesting about Ivory Coast that people don't know?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Well, on an international level,
Ivory Coast is known for being the world's first producer
of cocoa.
So if you've had chocolate today,
you very likely have had chocolate made out
of cocoa produced in Ivory Coast.
And it's also known for its incredible soccer team.
I'm a soccer fan.
I went to the World Cup in 2010 to cheer for our team.
DOUG STEVENSON: Wow.
I don't really follow soccer.
I follow hockey.
Do they have a hockey team, by any chance?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: No.
DOUG STEVENSON: Probably not the right place in the world
for people to be playing hockey.
I'll dash my hopes on that one.
So I also understand it's a French-speaking nation.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: That's correct.
DOUG STEVENSON: Which probably helps explain your accent,
which I think is wonderful.
I love it.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Thank you.
DOUG STEVENSON: And what do you do when you're not
working on Firebase Test Lab?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: When I'm not working on Firebase Test Lab,
I go hiking.
I love bicycle riding.
And most of all, I love to travel.
Last year, I did a trip around the world solo.
That was a very, very amazing experience.
DOUG STEVENSON: Wow, wow.
So you went around the world solo.
That's a very bold trip to take, isn't it?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Very bold.
DOUG STEVENSON: Because I don't know if I could do that myself.
I'm kind of a homebody.
I don't really travel a lot.
I read a lot.
I travel for business, and that's about it.
So I'm kind of curious.
What prompted you to want to take a trip like this?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Well, sometime end of 2014,
I had an opportunity to take some time off work
and go travel.
I was hesitant to do so, but at one point,
I recall thinking about a younger version of myself.
And that little girl had really high expectations
and big dreams for what she would do when she grows up.
And then I thought if she was to look at her future life,
she would have been a little disappointed.
And so that, to me, was motivation to just get
up and go.
And just follow that dream to go on and discover the world.
DOUG STEVENSON: Wow, that's great.
Do you feel like you sort of met what you
were trying to go for, there?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Yes, I felt like I did.
And not only that, I think it was just the beginning.
I really wanted to take away-- and not
just motivation for the trip was that I
want to live my life in a audacious manner,
and live bold, basically.
DOUG STEVENSON: Your blog that you did
is called travellivebold.com.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: That's correct.
DOUG STEVENSON: Go check that out.
There's a lot of beautiful pictures, both of the scenery
and of you.
So I would encourage people to go check that out,
if they're interested in some of your destinations.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Absolutely.
And I will say, I'll add for me, it's travel.
But I'll urge anyone to fill in the blank for what
it is their passion is.
And do it, and follow it.
And continue to live bold.
DOUG STEVENSON: That's great advice.
As much as you've traveled, certainly,
you have some connections back home still, right?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Yes, yes absolutely.
Not too long ago, just this past August,
I traveled home to Ivory Coast.
And to Abidjan, specifically, which is my hometown.
And I got to meet the Google Developer
groups in Ivory Coast.
So that was a very, very nice encounter.
To get to meet the developer community in Ivory Coast
was extremely motivated, and asking
about Google and Firebase.
That was very nice.
DOUG STEVENSON: What kind of software development
do they do in the GDG?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: They do primarily Android development.
As you know, Africa is not just mobile first,
but it's pretty much mobile only.
And Android is primarily the development that they do.
DOUG STEVENSON: Yeah, I have a few more Android devices here.
I mean, I can't sit on all them all the time.
So in fact, I'm actually a little bit uncomfortable.
I'll put that one there as well.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Can I ask you, why so many devices?
What are you doing with so many phones?
DOUG STEVENSON: Well, you know, there's your work device,
your home device.
And then there's the one that you
keep in reserve in case batteries
get low because you want to watch videos.
And then there's the one that has the special camera in it
that's good for photos.
So I carry just a few with me, because you never know
what you might need, right?
But you know, that's all I need for now.
Speaking of Android, there was a big announcement recently
with Firebase Test Lab.
What's that?
Tell me about that.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Well, Firebase Test Lab
is now available in the Firebase Spark
Plan, which now allows developers to test
an application for free.
And without having to provide a credit card
or having a billing account, you are
able to test your application in the cloud, seven tests per day.
DOUG STEVENSON: So this is great,
because you said they don't need a credit card or a billing
account.
And that's been one of the biggest-- at least
my understanding, that's been one of the biggest-- barriers
to adoption, is the moment you hit that paywall.
You don't have incentive to keep going, right?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Correct.
And now, you can pretty much go out there
and try Firebase Test Lab.
It's super easy.
And no need to sign up for a paid plan.
And you're able to test your application.
DOUG STEVENSON: And what about people
who are already on a paid plan?
What happens to their accounts?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Nothing changes
at all for people on the paid plan.
DOUG STEVENSON: OK, so the existing hourly rate
for the fully paid plan stays the same.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Correct.
DOUG STEVENSON: One of the things
we talked about a little bit was that Firebase Test Lab manages
all of your devices for you.
So for testing, if you have a bunch of devices,
kind of like this, you don't have
to worry about setting up that lab and maintaining it.
Or even just acquiring all the devices
could be its own different problem.
So I'd like to play a game to illustrate how that ends up
for some people.
So do you want to play that game with me?
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Sure.
Tell me how we're playing.
DOUG STEVENSON: It's a bit of a physical challenge.
What I'm going to get you to do here is if you could,
hold out your hand on your knee.
So put it out in front of you, just one hand.
And hold it flat.
I'm going to give you a platform.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Am I trying to balance all these phones?
DOUG STEVENSON: So I'm going to start giving you devices.
And if you can reach these, put as many of them
on there as you can.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: OK, and are we trying
to have as high a tower as possible?
DOUG STEVENSON: Yeah, I want to see how far you get.
And these are like all different Android devices, I think.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Oh, I have larger ones too.
DOUG STEVENSON: You're going to have
quite a variety to deal with.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: OK, I'm going to switch hands here,
because I am right-handed.
There we go.
Has anyone tried this before?
DOUG STEVENSON: I put a few in a stack
just to see how it would look.
You're doing very good,
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: All right.
Don't tell me there are more devices back there.
DOUG STEVENSON: There's a couple more.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: Oh no.
DOUG STEVENSON: I have a couple here.
I think I have a few more.
It's looking kind of bad.
What I love about Android is there
are so many different devices to choose from.
You can get whatever you want, whatever hardware you want,
whatever configuration you want.
But it can be kind of taxing for developers
to deal with all these different device configurations.
And so Firebase Test Lab can make that testing
a whole lot easier.
So you don't have to buy, maintain, and set up
all these different varieties.
So I hope the game helped illustrate that a little bit.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
ODOMITCHI ANIKPO: It was my pleasure to be here.
DOUG STEVENSON: It was good having you as our first guest.
Good luck on your future travels.
And for those of you at home, be sure to check out
her blog on travellivebold.com.
So that's all we have time for.
Be sure to stay tuned here to the Firebase YouTube channel.
See you next time on "Meet Firebase".
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