Together, We Find Solutions

09 Jul 2026

This is a photo of Melissa and Suman after a talk at SiGIST. image
In this moment: Suman Bala
Earlier this year I had 8 weeks to deliver a project and the pressure started to hit.  I spent an awful lot of my time giving feedback and felt like the bottleneck.  We don't often talk about the "forming, storming, norming, performing" cycle we can go through.  This cycle is from the Tuckman team development model where it talks going through the stages of how a group of people go from strangers to a cohesive unit.  There is that moment of friction that needs to be worked through.

I shared the challenge with Suman Bala and we realised that we had a lot of similar and contrasting experiences when it comes to creating quality partnership with team members.  This is when we decided to do a joint talk at BCS SiGIST together on this topic.  The photo below is a photo taken after we had done the talk.  I was so honoured to collaborate with Suman.  She has a wealth of experience and knowledge.

I'm so glad I was open and shared the challenge with someone.  This is where you can realise you're not alone.  Teams are going through similar challenges and there are tactics you can use to smooth the transition.  

Have you experienced this cycle in teams that the Tuckman team development model describes?
What challenge are you experiencing that other teams might be experiencing too?


Melissa Fisher profile image
Melissa Fisher
Quality and Test Leader
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Hi, I'm Melissa! I'm a Quality and Test leader specialising in owning and delivering end to end testing across complex programmes, transformations and start up or enterprise environments. You can find me on here or Linkedin. Feel free to reach out. I am happy to have conversations about quality & test topics.

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Deborah Reid
I was sad to miss your talk but hope to watch when they share the videos!

Simon Tomes
Awesome, Melissa. Glad you got to pair with Suman on this. Ash Winter and I discussed the "forming, storming, norming, performing" cycle on this Insight: Quality Engineers do their best work when a team is forming >>> https://www.ministryoftesting.com/insights/quality-engineers-do-their-best-work-when-a-team-is-forming

Rosie Sherry
It makes me wonder how that model can apply to community. :)

Frederick Vandenbosch
Hadn't heard of that cycle before, thank you for sharing, Melissa! I'll start by watching the Insight linked by Simon :)

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