Many of us are risk averse, but what about when it comes to championing quality software? When you have to have a challenging conversation or consent to a decision maker when you know that quality user experiences are on the line, sometimes taking a risk is the best choice. Learning from others’ mistakes and experiences is helpful when defining the battle for quality and challenging the status quo.
In a recent conversation with a few Association for Software Testing conference speakers, we discussed testing strategies. We also shared quality war stories and explored ways to bring peace to teams and users. Read on to learn more about our top three tips for gearing up for the battle for quality.
Lead More Authentic Conversations
Failing to listen to cross-functional teams makes the work harder for everyone in the software delivery lifecycle. While you may have the best intentions in championing quality, you must balance business requirements, user experience, and velocity. When everyone pushes for their ideas to be heard rather than for quality, becoming insular and not reaching out for context during 1:1 and team meetings is almost inevitable. Jenny Bramble shares a lesson from when she decided not to connect fully with the team she was working with.
“I realized the value of having authentic conversations with people and understanding that just because I think a way is the right way to do something, it’s not always the best way, and you have to look at the context,” she said.
In the same way, we carefully collect intel from our users to continuously improve our delivery. We must do the same with our internal teams and decision-makers.
Find Your Allies
Allies are essential when one is trying to effect positive change. The first thing Tariq King encourages people to do as they walk into an organization to affect change, especially around quality, is to find their allies. Who are the people that you can collaborate with? You have to connect with the people who also want to affect change. To find allies, you must intentionally look for them. Understand their team goals and find common ground to achieve results together. Future allies might not always have a title or official position, but the best allies are those who take action.
If you have recently joined an organization and are tasked with championing quality software while scaling test automation, pay attention to async communication channels, Jira ticket comments, and delivery times. Reach out to cross-functional leaders, connect authentically, and learn what they need from you to support their work.
Advocate for What’s Right
Choosing what, when, and how to advocate is vital in the battle for quality, which means sometimes you must become the sprint’s villain.
“If I’m in a role as a tester, everyone is pushing towards being done. I put myself in that position of being the villain, because I’m seeking out the ways that we are done, and I’m sharing with other people about, how we are not done, how we are not ready,” states Ben Simo.
Upper management may want you to take fewer steps to reach the end goal, developers might resist adopting unit tests, and product owners may push for deadlines that compromise your quality standards. However, advocating for quality involves pushing back with facts and raising any concerns you have.
The battleground for championing quality is often filled with deadline casualties, surrendered compromises, and unlikely alliances. We all have a role to play, and whether you are the villain for pushing for more testing, seeking out allies, or choosing to have authentic conversations, you are fighting for quality.
Our Provar Community is everywhere, and we are delighted to be a sponsor of CAST. We encourage you to listen to our whole community conversation here and consider joining Jenny, Ben, Tariq, and many other quality warriors at the CAST Conference November 7-8, 2022, in San Diego, CA.
To learn more about the Provar Community and to join the forum, join us using the Provar customer email associated with your Customer Success Portal!
