From QA to quality engineering

They explore the journey from “tester” to QA, quality engineer, and quality coach, and why job titles still shape perception, influence, and when people are invited into the room.

KEY THEMES

• Why quality is not just testing at the end, but shaping ideas from discovery through to delivery
• How different titles like tester, QA, quality engineer, and quality coach change expectations and behaviours
• The power of early involvement, questioning, and exploring unknowns before code is written
• Why exploratory testing still matters, even with strong automation and pipelines
• The role of QA as enablers and coaches, not gatekeepers or sign-off roles
• Lessons from teams that removed QA roles, and why many later reintroduced them
• How communities like Ministry of Testing helped shape modern quality practices
• Why humans still matter in a world of automation and AI, especially when it comes to curiosity, judgement, and risk
• Practical ways teams without dedicated QA roles can improve quality today

Neil also shares real-world stories from his career, including the impact of renaming testing roles, the long-running “test is dead” debate, and why discovering what you don’t know is where quality really adds value.

This episode is for engineering managers, developers, testers, and anyone thinking about how teams build better software together.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 – Risk, ladders, and an accidental intro to quality thinking
• 03:00 – From testers to QA to quality engineers – why names evolved
• 07:30 – Why job titles change behaviour and influence
• 12:00 – Testing early, discovery, and reducing risk before code
• 15:20 – Ministry of Testing and the power of community
• 19:10 – From tester to quality coach – an evolving role
• 24:00 – “Test is dead” and what it really meant
• 28:20 – Do modern teams still need dedicated QA roles?
• 32:10 – Exploratory testing and finding the unknowns
• 42:00 – Practical ways teams can improve quality today

LINKS

• Ministry of Testing https://www.ministryoftesting.com/
• Exploratory Testing – Martin Fowler https://martinfowler.com/bliki/ExploratoryTesting.html
• Explore It! by Elisabeth Hendrickson https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/explore-it/9781941222584/
• Agile Testing Quadrants (Lisa Crispin) https://lisacrispin.com/2024/10/11/the-agile-testing-quadrants/
• “Test Is Dead” talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1jWe5rOu3g
• “Test Is Dead” – 8 years later https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLpmtSS9JQM
• What is a Quality Coach? (Anne Marie Charrett) https://www.annemariecharrett.com/what-is-a-quality-coach/
• Modern Testing Principles https://www.moderntesting.org/

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