Why automation is holding back continuous quality: Finding balance in modern testing
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Talk Description
Continuous Quality practices are vital for building software that truly meets user and business needs. Yet, the drive for automation first or 100% automation can overshadow deeper insights into quality. In this talk, Philippa Jennings challenges the myth that automation alone guarantees speed and confidence, showing how it can actually hinder quality.
Watch Philippa explain how overreliance on automation can create blind spots, reduce collaboration, and shift focus away from user outcomes. She shares practical ways to restore balance using two models, Dan Ashby’s Information Model and Stuart Day’s 6Qs of Quality, to help teams ask better questions, explore risks, and align testing activities with what really matters.
By the end of the talk, you’ll understand how to embed Continuous Quality practices that value learning, curiosity, and collaboration just as much as tooling.
By the end of this session, you'll be able to:
- Apply the principles of continuous quality to balance automation with exploration and human insight
- Use Dan Ashby’s Information Model to identify knowns, unknowns, and areas that need deeper investigation
- Adopt Stuart Day’s 6Qs of Quality to guide conversations and align testing with desired outcomes
- Evaluate automation goals to ensure they support, rather than replace, broader quality practices
- Demonstrate how to shift from “automation first” to “quality first” thinking within your team
I love talking about how building Quality in continuously from the start can help us to deliver great software through a strategic blend of exploratory testing, automation, and quality coaching.
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