We talk about software quality. But what does it really mean? Software quality is more than simply trying to reduce the number of bugs that are found in production. Or an increase in testing and automation coverage. True quality in a product can only be derived from the software that we are working on successfully meeting the objectives of an organization, both functionally and commercially.
True quality leads to the software contributing and improving the customer experience and should also help a company achieve its overall objectives, both immediate and long-term. Doing so requires us to rethink our testing approach and requires some different strategies to make our testing achieve greater value across every aspect of a company.
In this talk, I will unpack the different facets that makeup quality from a testing, company, customer, and technical perspective and how we can work as testers to align our testing strategies to meet the different needs of quality across every area of a development team.
Talk Takeaways
A man of many talents, but no sense of how to use them. Craig could be out changing the world but would prefer to make software instead. Probably the reason why Nick Fury refused to take his calls. He possesses a passion for software design, but more importantly software quality and designing systems that can achieve this in a technically diverse and constantly evolving tech world.
Craig has over 20 years’ experience across the development, testing and management disciplines in a variety of software industries, but still feels he learns something new every day. It’s that continued change and evolution of the software industry which motivates him to keep learning and finding ways to improve. More than just playing with tech though, its people that make software come together – and so Craig believes in developing people and empowering them to make a success out of the software they build.
When not playing with software he can often be found spending time with family, writing, designing board games, or running long distances for no apparent reason. He is also a massive fan of comic books and Star Wars, so if you see him concentrating intensely, he is probably just trying to use the force.
Craig is also the writer of the book, Quality By Design, and writes regular articles on his blog sites and various other tech sites around the world. He is also international speaker on a wide range of different software development topics, though these experiences only make him even more excited about the future of the industry in South Africa.
