Shift-everywhere testing

“Shift-Everywhere” isn’t another buzzword — it’s an evolved mindset for how testing fits into continuous, distributed, and AI-driven systems.

It’s the acknowledgment that quality can’t exist in one stage of the SDLC anymore.
It has to exist throughout it.

A shift-everywhere methodology is an approach to software development that addresses issues throughout the entire software development lifecycle, from development and testing to deployment and operation. This approach involves integrating testing activities throughout the development process, which helps to create a seamless connection between development, testing, and operation.

In a similar way to shift-left and shift-right strategies, shift-everywhere proposes looking at both the software development and test lifecycle (SDLC/STLC) from the outside. This is to ensure a full view of the system and consider testing and quality throughout.

Scott Kenyon posted a video in which he discussed shift left, taking away from customer focus, and shift right being removed from early quality opportunities. He first suggested we need to 'shift-in' and later refined it to 'shift-everywhere'.

Since then, the term has been used in relation to continuous quality, has been referenced in talks and articles and specifically mentioned in the testing trend, 'Do you understand what is meant by Continuous Quality?' where the following was said:

"The testing community generously shared their thoughts on Continuous Quality, there was definitely a vibe of moving away from the idea of shift-left and more towards:

Shift everywhere encompasses and guides both shift left and shift right actions. This core approach promotes the integration of quality throughout the entire SDLC, rather than confining it to specific phases. It embodies a holistic view of quality, recognising that every step, from ideation through to ongoing maintenance and monitoring, is an opportunity to build quality in and reduce risks. This continuous integration of quality practices makes Continuous Quality an achievable ambition of Quality Engineering. QE professionals champion this approach to ensure quality is continuously considered and engineered.