I missed parts of This Week in Quality today because my toilet seat broke and I don't like sitting on porcellaine. So I had to go buy a new one.
With the MoTaverse being the MoTaverse, it's no surprise that the following question emerged:
What does quality look like in a toilet seat?
Let's look at the functional requirements. When closed, I need it to keep the nasty things in the toilet while also serving as a storage space for towels and my phone when I'm under the shower. When opened, I need it to be comfortable enough to sit on it for a couple of minutes. That's all the functions I need.
What about nonfunctional requirements, you ask? Well, there's a bunch: Durability, maintainability, aesthetics and compatibility with standardized European toilet bowl dimensions, to just name a few of them.
But you know how toilet seat developers are - always trying to sell you that extra feature, right? You can get them with an automatic lowering mechanism, LED night lights, and fancy 3D visuals. For a price, obviously: In the local toilet seat store, the very cheap plastic ones start at €12 and look the part, but you can easily pay up to €120 for your favorite morning activity. Or you go all in and buy the "Automatic Intelligent Heated & Bidet Toilet Seat with Sanitary Wares" for €10,165.36 online. I didn't like the color options, though.
Ultimately, I ended up buying the same model that just broke into pieces under me. A modern wooden design with chrome-plated fittings and an automatic lowering mechanism that will most probably be the first thing to break again. Humans like to come back to things that work, even if they don't.
So, what did I learn? Do not go toilet seat shopping during a TWiQ episode. You'll miss out for sure, and all you have to show after is a pretty basic toilet seat.
With the MoTaverse being the MoTaverse, it's no surprise that the following question emerged:
What does quality look like in a toilet seat?
Let's look at the functional requirements. When closed, I need it to keep the nasty things in the toilet while also serving as a storage space for towels and my phone when I'm under the shower. When opened, I need it to be comfortable enough to sit on it for a couple of minutes. That's all the functions I need.
What about nonfunctional requirements, you ask? Well, there's a bunch: Durability, maintainability, aesthetics and compatibility with standardized European toilet bowl dimensions, to just name a few of them.
But you know how toilet seat developers are - always trying to sell you that extra feature, right? You can get them with an automatic lowering mechanism, LED night lights, and fancy 3D visuals. For a price, obviously: In the local toilet seat store, the very cheap plastic ones start at €12 and look the part, but you can easily pay up to €120 for your favorite morning activity. Or you go all in and buy the "Automatic Intelligent Heated & Bidet Toilet Seat with Sanitary Wares" for €10,165.36 online. I didn't like the color options, though.
Ultimately, I ended up buying the same model that just broke into pieces under me. A modern wooden design with chrome-plated fittings and an automatic lowering mechanism that will most probably be the first thing to break again. Humans like to come back to things that work, even if they don't.
So, what did I learn? Do not go toilet seat shopping during a TWiQ episode. You'll miss out for sure, and all you have to show after is a pretty basic toilet seat.
Nadja Schulz
Project Manager
she/her
Loves ducks and cheese, doing what she wants & solving problems 🦄
Simon Tomes
One of the greatest posts I've ever read! Thank you for this, Nadja.
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Into the MoTaverse is a podcast by Ministry of Testing, hosted by Rosie Sherry, exploring the people, insights, and systems shaping quality in modern software teams.