Quality Coach vs Software Tester - Vernon Richards

“Quality Coach” seems to be a role that is becoming more prominent in orgs and teams across the globe. It’s something that many testers have naturally evolved into or aspire to become.

These days, many Testers seem to have a decent enough grasp on the “Quality” part of the job title. These days, most Testers understand that testing is more than test cases, that automation does not solve all problems, that having some technical skills & appreciation augments their work, that testing can occur before a product is built and after it has been released in production and so on & so on.

Being able to ship products of high enough quality is not just a matter of following instructions. It takes people, working together, in uncertain conditions to achieve the goal. Let’s break that down:

• People - Which means relationships, emotions, value systems, personal goals, skills thoughts, ideas and probably a whole lot more!
• Uncertain conditions - What do we know? What do we know we don’t know? What do we need to know? Do we perceive the situation in the same way? Is there a common cause? How is disagreement handled? What about conflict?

That’s where the “Coach” part of the title comes in.

Coaching can help overcome these challenges by supporting individuals, groups, teams and organisations to understand themselves and their work from new perspectives. It’s not “just soft skills” either! Coaching is a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires people to maximize their personal and professional potential.

In this talk I will talk about what the work of a professional coach looks like and how it might manifest itself in the Quality Coach role.