Dorothy Adu | Systems Engineering, Test & Validation

35-second career story

From Requirements to Evidence

A short look at how I connect requirements, tests, and operational evidence across connected products—and bring that discipline to healthcare systems.

Read the video summary

Dorothy Adu, Systems Test Engineer with an MS in Healthcare Systems Engineering, connects devices, firmware, connectivity, location, and platforms through end-to-end systems testing.

The work includes building requirements traceability from scratch: 166 requirements and 45 traced tests. Field validation includes 19 test devices over a three-week soak and a separate 32-test-case effort with a 19-badge soak.

The story follows the requirements-to-validation practice through tests and evidence, with healthcare systems engineering as the next chapter.

Selected work

Requirements, tests, and evidence—with purpose

From traceability frameworks to field studies and connected-care design, I make the relationships between user needs, system behavior, and validation visible.

Healthcare RTLSRequirements traceabilityVerification & validation

Building a requirements-to-evidence practice

A connected-device program needed a clear path from what the system must do to how the team would verify it. I built a traceability framework linking requirements to tests, execution results, and evidence, with operational scenarios that brought real-world use into the validation process.

Sanitized scope: 166 requirements / 45 traced tests. The framework made test relationships and evidence gaps visible for review and release-readiness discussions.

From requirements to a decision

I structured requirements for testability, mapped validation methods and test cases, and connected execution evidence through TestRail. Requirements-based automation supported repeatable checks. Cross-functional reviews with Product, Firmware, SQA, and Hardware helped surface ambiguous expectations, coverage gaps, and unresolved risks.

The resulting practice gave teams a shared way to ask: which requirement is being evaluated, which test addresses it, what evidence supports the result, and what remains open?

The traceability path

RequirementDefine the expected system behavior.

Linked testSpecify how that behavior will be evaluated.

Execution evidenceConnect results to the test and requirement.

Readiness decisionMake coverage, gaps, and risks visible.

Sanitized summary and conceptual reconstruction; no internal artifacts or customer data shown.

Field validationOperational evidence

Validating connected systems beyond the test bench

I combined planned test coverage with extended field observations to understand connected-device behavior under operational conditions. The work connected device, firmware, gateway, and platform evidence so teams could investigate issues across system boundaries.

Field study: 19 test devices / 3-week field soak.
Badge validation: 32 test cases / 19-badge soak.

How field evidence informed the work

I organized observations against the test scope, reviewed device and system records, and examined environmental and infrastructure conditions alongside firmware behavior. Findings supported cross-functional investigation and release-readiness discussions.

The two studies demonstrate the scale and duration of the validation work. Proprietary performance results, customer details, firmware identifiers, and internal thresholds are not included.

Healthcare systems designJohns Hopkins capstone

WholeMom: connecting the maternal-care journey

I developed a conceptual system for more coordinated support across pregnancy, postpartum recovery, mental health, infant care, and return to work. Research and stakeholder input informed operational requirements, functional models, system design, risks, and a test plan.

Deliverable: A traceable concept and system specification, including a focused evaluation plan for connected health devices. This was a conceptual capstone, not a deployed clinical product.

Read the WholeMom case study

PDF · 7 pages

How I approached it

I mapped stakeholder needs to requirements, functions, and proposed components in Innoslate; compared healthcare-team interface options; and considered coordination, clinical oversight, privacy, accessibility, and implementation feasibility. A focused test plan defined how connected health-device integration would be evaluated.

The case study follows that path from the care journey through architecture, risk, trade-offs, and planned verification. It also identifies the stakeholder review, usability testing, and pilot work needed before implementation.

The throughline

What I bring to a healthcare systems team

My experience is strongest where connected technology meets operational reality: clarifying expectations, validating end-to-end behavior, and giving teams usable evidence.

Translate across teams

Work with product, firmware, hardware, software, and quality teams to clarify requirements and connect technical behavior to operational needs.

Validate the whole path

Evaluate hardware, firmware, messaging, APIs, applications, and field behavior as parts of one connected system.

Make readiness visible

Link requirements, tests, and evidence so teams can discuss coverage, open risks, and release decisions with the same facts.

Experience

Engineering rigor, healthcare purpose

July 2025–present

Systems Test Engineer · Cognosos

Built a requirements-to-validation practice for connected IoT/RTLS systems across hardware, firmware, software, APIs, and field deployments. Established traceability and operational-validation frameworks, developed requirements-based automation integrated with TestRail, and translated field and soak observations into evidence for cross-functional release reviews.

2021–2025

Systems and Quality Engineering · SOLTECH client engagements

Validated IoT asset and GPS solutions for Cox2M across devices, APIs, data pipelines, and web/mobile applications. Healthcare software engagements at ABA Toolbox and symplr added experience with platform changes, requirements, defect investigation, and release quality. Built repeatable API and Playwright checks and introduced structured test management.

2012–2021

Quality Assurance · The Coca-Cola Company

QA Lead (2013–2021); QA Tester (2012–2013). Led validation across software, hardware, and mechanical systems from development through field trials and production. Reduced test time by 75% by removing redundant coverage; improved test and defect auditing and authored a technical field manual.

2010–2012

Validation Test Engineer · GE Transportation

Built an earlier foundation in verification and validation of complex engineering systems.

2005–2010

Earlier engineering experience

Applications Engineer · Schlumberger (2008–2010). Controls System Engineer · Cummins Inc. (2005–2008).

About

A systems view, grounded in people

I’m a systems engineer with a background in systems test, verification and validation, and quality engineering. My work spans embedded systems, IoT/RTLS, APIs, and hardware/firmware integration. I bring requirements, test coverage, operational conditions, and evidence together so teams can understand reliability and readiness.

My MS in Healthcare Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, electrical engineering degree with a computer engineering minor from Auburn University, and UX design training connect that technical foundation to healthcare workflows and human impact. I’m focused on applying systems thinking to technology that clinicians, patients, and care teams can depend on.

Methods and tools

Systems engineering
Verification & validation
Requirements traceability
Systems integration testing
Operational validation
Field and soak analysis
RTLS and IoT
Workflow analysis
Release readiness
Python
Postman and API testing
Playwright
TestRail
Jira and Confluence
Azure DevOps
SQL Server

Contact

Let’s connect requirements, evidence, and healthcare impact.

Based near Atlanta, Georgia · Exploring systems engineering, systems test and validation, and healthcare technology opportunities.

Discuss an opportunity Connect on LinkedIn