Today, January 12th 2023, I checked LinkedIn and saw a comment from Misma Silfer, underneath the Testing Peers Podcast post for Episode 57 – Testing Models

I actually came to comment was I was interested where is the text if anywhere to read in full that was read out loud around half way in? About teaching fishing, sustainability and what not. 🙂

Misma Silfer, Quality Analyst
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/testing-peers_podcast-episode-57-testing-models-testing-activity-6939685190659145728-Vyo2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

As soon as I read this, I realised that I hadn’t publicly shared the text yet, I’m sorry, here it is.

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I passionately believe that software is about people first and that software is a team sport, with software quality being owned by the whole team.
Many places wanting to operate as thought leaders in this space have often linear models that are built to solve problems, which is great, but they aren’t going to be applicable in others’ contexts.

Rather than utilising models or ‘best’ practices, I believe as leaders in this space it is our responsibility to be at the forefront of the conversations and tooling in an ever evolving industry.

The analogy of giving a fish to feed someone for a day or to teach them to fish so they can feed themselves is ultimately a story of sustainability.
Sustainable relevance in software quality is what must drive us. That means no egos, it means a quality culture that promotes learning, humility, accountability, celebration, creativity, discipline, experimentation and at its core, agility.

This industry is flooded with some amazing ideas, stories of problems overcome, models, heuristics and definitions.

I would champion understanding context, celebrating diversity and inclusion, finding your unique quality culture, and measuring success.

In the Testing Peers podcast, it is a running joke that I respond to many questions with ‘it depends’, and that can be perceived as non-committal and unhelpful, if it comes without a plan. However, the importance of context reinforces the need to draw on our collective experiences and perspectives to utilise the most relevant solution for each problem.

Education around testing, software development, deepening our understanding of quality and risk, identifying and providing the right tools for the job are essential.

The industry is fluid and ever evolving, therefore values and practices must continue to evolve, not just to remain relevant as a reaction to change, but to be a driving force in positive change.

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Blog post title lyrics from: Backaround – by Elevator Suite

Find all the songs from my blog posts at this Spotify playlist.