63% of you were not aware of the existence of the Staff Quality Engineer role

This debate explored the role of quality coaching, how it differs from quality engineering and where it is most effective

Also known as "Tech Debt" in the context of Continuous Testing, Holistic Testing and DevOps. Tech debt is a metaphor for the engineering quality trade-offs developers, testers and business stakeholders make to meet schedules and customer expectations.  Types: There are various different types of tech debt, such as intentional vs. unintentional tech debt.  Intentional debt is taken on knowingly to meet deadlines. Unintentional debt arises from poor practices, time constraints or lack of knowledge.  Morale impact: Tech debt can also affect the development team's morale and productivity. Working with a codebase that is difficult to maintain, or in a team where value being delivered is ignored, can be frustrating and demotivating.Financial costs: Over time, tech debt can lead to increased costs due to the need for more extensive refactoring or even complete rewrites. This can impact the overall budget and financial planning of a project.Examples of tech debt: hard-coded values, lack of the right level of documentation, no test automation frameworks or poor architecture decisions.Strategies for managing tech debt: This should include ways to manage and reduce technical debt, such as regular code reviews, refactoring sessions, and adopting best practices, risk storming, shifting left and right where appropriate can make the domain or teams definition more actionable.

Remit: Someone who is proficient across various testing methodologies, such as exploratory testing, performance testing, security testing, and automation. This versatility allows them to tackle a wide range of challenges and adapt to different situations. Not just having read about different types of testing - but has active experience doing them.Hiring skills: broad technical knowledge, adaptability, problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, basic project management, attention to detail, continuous learning, collaboration, flexibility. Pros: Being proficient in diverse methodologies equips you to tackle any challenge that comes your way. The need to stay updated across multiple fields encourages continuous learning and professional growth, keeping generalists engaged and knowledgeable about the latest trends and technologies. This can signal roots in leadership potential. Value: Generalists are particularly valuable early on because they can speak to and work on different types of testing, which is great for setting out a holistic strategy for testing. IMO, many of the better senior testers tend to be generalists as this allows them to help in many different areas. It’s about knowing when to go deep, when to go wide and when to have the sweet spot.Cons: Some can have a lack of deep expertise - this can be a disadvantage when tackling complex, niche problems that require in-depth understanding. However this is not always the case. Should be measured via the individual.  Difficulty in staying updated or potential for overwhelm. You may hear or see the term "jack of all trades, master of none". 

Recovery testing (see System Reliability Testing phases) is about restoring normal operations after a failure. People often confuse it with Failover testing - which is about maintaining continuous operation during a failure.Recovery = afterFailover = duringRecovery testing and failover testing both focus on system reliability, but they address different aspects: Recovery Testing: This tests a system's ability to recover from unexpected failures, such as crashes or hardware malfunctions. It ensures that the system can return to normal operations, maintain data integrity, and prevent data loss after a failure. Failover Testing: This specifically tests the system's ability to switch to a backup system or redundant hardware when a failure occurs. The goal is to ensure that the transition is seamless and that the system continues to operate without interruption. Good practices sample for recovery testing: Automate repetitive scenarios Integrate with Disaster Recovery plans Test under real-world conditions Test regularly Document everything Evaluate results

Text saying "look out world going to QA..." Image used is Kendrick Lamar at the 2025 super bowl looking smug.

Text saying "testing in prod be like..." Image used is Taylor swift giving side eye at the 2025 super bowl.

Some time's getting something right and being sly is very satisfying.

Real-World Examples: Agile Development - teams practicing Agile methodologies often incorporate shift-left testing to ensure continuous delivery of high-quality software. DevOps Practices -  integrating testing into the CI/CD pipeline to catch issues early and ensure smooth deployments. Common Misconceptions: Shift-Left means less testing later - while `Shift-left` emphasises early testing, it doesn't eliminate the need for thorough testing in later stages. Only for large teams - shift-left testing can be beneficial for teams of all sizes, not just large organisations. Benefits of Shift-Left Testing: Earlier detection of defects - identifying issues early reduces the cost and effort required to fix them. Improved collaboration - encourages collaboration between developers, testers, and other stakeholders from the beginning. Enhanced quality - builds quality into the product from the start, leading to more reliable and robust software.

In testing, QA engineers often encounter bugs that seem severe or exaggerated, leading them to prepare for worst-case scenarios and tackle every potential problem like it’s a huge threat (the "fier...

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