Communication is essential for maintaining quality in any project — and software development is no exception. Once teams understand why something is required to maintain software quality, and they’re given a chance to discuss it, they’re far more likely to stick with it.
For example, if teams find themselves questioning some of the more laborious aspects of the quality testing process, like dev box testing or writing tests at different layers, they’ll see them as a chore, stop owning them and eventually not engage with them unless directly mandated or monitored.
Every time I join a new team, I have an open session to discuss quality-related topics. We often document and share key practices, so we can look back on them and ensure they’re accounted for, if our team changes. I also make the effort to impart relevant knowledge to business stakeholders, encouraging them to make decisions that put quality first.
But this knowledge sharing and conversation shouldn’t be a one-off exercise. It needs to be a continuous process, with teams regularly meeting to discuss and catch up on quality-related items. I frequently invite QAs and developers to talk about the tools or methods they’re experimenting with and share articles about testing with the team, even if they’re not immediately relevant to the project. Every one of these discussions or touchpoints serves a purpose: keeping quality at the front of the team’s mind and giving them a voice in how it’s upheld.
Source: “The Quality Advisor: catalyst for a quality-first mindset”, Gayathri Mohan. https://www.thoughtworks.com/en-es/insights/blog/testing/quality-advisor-catalyst-quality-first-mindset