Kari at Podcast Software Testing

Happy New Year 2025!

Last autumn, I had the pleasure of being a guest at Richie Seidl's Podcast Software Testing. That was a fantastic experience. He was such a professional podcast host and a fun person to chat with on top of that. Now, I'm happy to share the podcast with you. Listen to it here.

We discussed software testing leadership, as I had recently published, with my co-author, Marko Rytkönen, the well-received ACT2LEAD software testing leadership handbook. I introduced a heuristic (or a framework) of leading software testing that suits even the busiest CEO or CTO. The key is to lead the software testing effort actively and have someone like a Head of Testing looking over the testing.

The eight letters of the framework are described https://www.act2lead.net/p/what-is-act-2-lead.html, but here I summarize them to you in "CEO talk".

Integrate Testing: Ensure that testing is embedded in every aspect of the development process. Lead the organization to view testing as an integral part of all functions and processes.

Contextual Leadership: Understand the unique context of your organization and tailor your testing leadership accordingly. Recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to testing.

Promote Transparency: Create and demand visibility into all testing activities, whether they are conducted in-house or outsourced. Greater transparency leads to better management and outcomes.

Dual Testing Approach: Ensure that your products are tested by both humans and machines. Leverage the strengths of human exploratory testing and automated checks to achieve comprehensive coverage.

Foster Learning: Encourage a culture of continuous learning in testing. Use insights gained from testing to improve both the testing process and the product itself, driving business improvements.

Enable Quality: Cultivate a quality-focused culture where the importance of testing is well understood. Reinforce this culture through your daily actions and decisions.

Risk-Based Adaptation: Adapt your testing efforts based on risk. Prioritize testing in high-risk areas to mitigate potential issues early on.

Embrace Diversity: Ensure that your testing practices are diverse. Diverse testing approaches yield diverse information, leading to more robust and reliable products.

The book is currently available in English at Leanpub as an e-book and in Finnish as a softback and e-book. Either way, get it, read it, share it, and buy it for your whole team (ask more from me)!



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