My goals for 2026

Jan 13, 2026

Create Memory
A photograph looking at one of the platforms at Brighton Station.   There is a wooden platform on the left hand side of the picture.  To the left of this you can see two carriages of the arriving train.  To the right of the wooden platform there is a tarmac road with a double yellow line along the left hand side of it.  To the right of the road you can see a series of blue bollards and the carriages of another train.   
Above you can see a blue and cream canopy across the top of the station, this is supported by tall blue posts underneath the canopy.  The platform and road terminate in the distance.
In this memory: Neil Taylor

For me the most important goal in 2026 is to be healthy and happy. If I can start my year with this small but positive objective then for sure good things will follow!

I feel I am still on the journey I embarked on back in 2024 to get involved in the testing community once again having been away for quite a while. For me this all started with my stop off at Brighton Station for TestBash in October of that year. Since then its been rather a cool journey with two MoT conferences, many editions of This Week in Testing/Quality, writing new blogs, getting to know other testers in the community and finally getting on stage again to do a 99 second talk!

I perhaps wish I'd done more but I'm pleased with all these things I have done in this time.

So what are some of my aspirations for the year 2026? Here are a few of my thoughts....

1. Share more about myself - both related to testing and more generally.
2. Encourage myself to more actively contribute to the MoT Lean Coffee events and This Week in Quality podcasts over the year.
3. To have more direct connections over the year with the MoT team (i.e. give more feedback and work out how I could contribute more) and other testers within the community.
4. Get stuck into the excellent training courses now available through my MoT subscription. I know the challenge for me will be setting aside enough time on a regular basis to do this!
5. Continue writing but mix it up a bit. Whilst I plan to continue writing entries on my blog this year I'd also like to write more memory posts and possibly have a go at writing an article for MoT which is something new I've not done before.

If I'm able to find the time I would also like to target an MoT certification later in the year but I think this honestly depends on how I get on with the training courses and other activities I mentioned above. I will however be very much looking forward to attending both the Leading With Quality and MoTaCon in person events in October!

Neil Taylor
QA Lead
I've been testing for 20+ years with experience in Exploratory Testing and tools such as CI/CD, Bruno and Postman. I'm a self-taught pianist and enjoy writing and recording my own music.
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