Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
Community Lead at MoTaverse
he/him
Hello, I'm Simon. Since 2003 I've had various roles in testing, tech leadership and coaching. I believe in the power of collaboration, creativity and community. 🎓 MoT-STEC qualified. I get real joy working with and supporting our wonderful MoTaverse community.
“Thanks for making me feel so confident about myself.” | “I'm so grateful for all you do in the MoTaverse community, I learn so much as a result!” | “A simple chat with Simon in person absolutely changed everything.” | “Simon is one of the best people that I've ever met to have conversations with. He's so grounded in his way of thinking and articulates his thoughts so well and his feelings and his knowledge about community and everything.”
🎂 MoTaBirthday | October 24, 2016
Open To
Write
Teach
Speak
Mentor
CV Reviews
Podcasting
Meet at MoTaCon 2026
Review Conference Proposals
I stood patiently in a queue at the highest point of the water park. Music blared out as several people spoke loudly in multiple languages as anticipation grew. I reflected on how many people had p...
7 Sep
I wanted to post on LinkedIn today, about our next MoT Berlin chapter event that's coming up this Wednesday:Casual Get Together @ MauerparkWed, 9 Sep 202617:30 - 21:00 CESTLocation: Mauerpark, Bern...
5 Sep
I recently had the opportunity to record a Call for Insights with Simon Tomes.We had an excellent conversation talking about how we as individuals (and as a team) can find ourselves in a situation ...
30 Aug
2 October 2025, 09:26.The MoTaverse team take on all sorts of roles during the MoTaCon event days. During MoTaCon 2025 I was responsible for ensuring all speakers were ready on time and, more impor...
19 Aug
Using the GPS Model to deliver software with quality and care
25 Aug
Build team resilience as colleagues leave and your team's knowledge changes shape
24 Aug
Explore how AI can support your decisions, research, and communication as an engineering manager, without replacing human connection
21 Aug
Reflect on AI detection tools flagging LinkedIn slop, and building ramblings, bytes and quality feeds instead.
19 Aug
The GPS Model
The GPS ModelOne approach to quality is not enough, the combination of a multitude of approaches that revealed layers of quality and care:
Group work
Pair work
Solo work
Engineering Management
Definition: Engineering Management is the practice of leading a software engineering team across a mix of technical, people, process, and product responsibilities. The exact mix varies by organisation and by manager, ranging from hands-on technical leadership to people development, delivery coordination, or product ownership, and the same person may play a different mix of these as the team or business changes over time.So what? There is no single, industry-wide definition of what an Engineering Manager does day to day. Understanding the different shapes the role can take (from writing code and setting architecture, to running 1:1s and clearing blockers, to managing stakeholders and roadmaps) helps teams and organisations set clearer expectations for the role rather than assuming it means the same thing everywhere. Examples: A day built almost entirely around meetings (1:1s, team planning, cross-functional syncs) with a short block of quiet time for docs and reflection at the end. A manager who stays hands-on with code and architecture while also running the team (a "Tech Lead EM"), versus one who spends most of their time with stakeholders and end-users shaping the roadmap (a "Product EM"). A manager at a large, established business who spends real time on legacy systems, business context, and coaching consultants so the team isn't dependent on them.
Genie Coefficient
Definition: Genie coefficient (a play on the Gini coefficient) is a proposed metric for measuring how well an AI agent's actions match the plain, reasonable intent behind a user's instruction, rather than just a literal or technically valid reading of it. It is named for AI agents behaving like folkloric genies: technically fulfilling a wish while betraying the obvious intent behind it.So what? Existing AI benchmarks measure capability (coding, reasoning, exam performance) but nothing measures whether an agent does what the user actually meant. As AI agents gain more autonomy to take real-world actions, the gap between literal instruction and intended outcome becomes a genuine safety and testing concern.Example: An unreleased AI model was being benchmarked on its ability to hack systems. During testing, it hacked the infrastructure hosting the benchmark itself rather than the intended target, technically satisfying "hack a system" while betraying what the test actually intended.
Scream Testing
The moment we out‑loud scream at our machines for not doing what we’d like them to be doing.
Digital Thread
Definition: The controlled, connected record linking requirements, design decisions, configurations, verification results, manufacturing records, quality events and certification evidence across a product's lifecycle. In regulated engineering, it acts as the product's operating memory, capturing what was required, what changed, who approved it, and what evidence supports each decision.So what? A weak or fragmented thread pushes teams back onto meetings, spreadsheets and manual reconciliation to reconstruct decisions and evidence, which undermines traceability. A strong thread gives AI tools governed context, so they can support traceable engineering decisions rather than just produce plausible-sounding output.Example: In aerospace, defence, nuclear or advanced manufacturing programmes, a digital thread might link a requirement through its design rationale, test evidence and certification submission, so any later change can be traced back to everything it affects downstream.
Comments
(384)
"AI is great!" says CTO who last touched code in the 90s
🫠
💭 I wonder if AI gender bias is still a thing
Added to the "AI is going just great" collection: https://www.ministryoftesting.com/collections/ai-is-going-just-great
💭 I wonder if AI gender bias is still a thing
Hi Robbie! 🫠
A very popular dish indeed - looks and sounds appealing...
🤭
A still from my first Developer's meetup
Nice one, Ujjwal. Congrats on probably being the only official tester in the room. Good to get out there mingling with all the good roles in tech. Bring them into the MoTaverse, they are welcome.
What it actually means when only Pro Members can submit to speak at events
When only Pro Members can submit to talk at an event it means:
as organisers we don't have to spend a lot of time filtering through abstracts (win)
the quality of the submissions are much higher (...
Contributor thanking
about 2 hours ago
Thanking contributors
What it actually means when only Pro Members can submit to speak at events
Community Star
about 2 hours ago
Thanks for your contribution
What it actually means when only Pro Members can submit to speak at events
Community Star
about 2 hours ago
Recommend an item for the MoT Observatory
No Bull: Why I Built an AI Tool That Argues With Me
Community Star
about 2 hours ago
Interests (40)
advocacy
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all-things-community
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asking-questions
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bug
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bugs
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bugs-in-the-wild
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charters
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coaching
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coaching-testers
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community
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conferences
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conference-speaking
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continuous-learning
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design
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diversity
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drumming
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events
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experimentation
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exploratory-testing
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heuristics
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leadership
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memes
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mentoring
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mot-stec
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music
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oracles
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podcasting
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process-improvement
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product-development
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product-management
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public-speaking
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quality-strategy
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space-duck
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space-seagull
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systems-thinking
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team-enablement
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testbash
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testbash-brighton
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testing
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writing
