How do you built quality champions within your team?
In the fast-paced world of agile development and continuous delivery, the responsibility for testing and ensuring quality is no longer confined to a select few—it's a collective effort. For that reason it is important to foster a culture of quality within the team. But what does it take to create these champions for quality, and why are they important?
Defining a Quality Champion: Before delving into the 'how,' let's understand the 'what.' A Quality Champion advocates for quality in every aspect of the software development lifecycle.
Why Quality Champions Matter
Championing Quality: Obviously. Quality Champions lead the charge in upholding high standards, ensuring that the team is thinking about quality, testability, fast and safe delivery, and that the team's deliverables meet the mark.
Continuous Improvement: They are the driving force behind the team's journey of improvement. Quality Champions don't settle; they constantly seek ways to enhance ways of working, practices and outcomes.
Distributed Responsibility: Relying on a single person to carry the torch of quality is a risky business. Quality Champions distribute this responsibility across the team, ensuring that it becomes a collective ethos and something embedded in the team culture.
Creating Quality Champions
1. Create Excitement with Ideas To foster quality champions, lead with exciting and new ideas. Encourage team members to bring forward innovative ideas for improving quality. Whether it's a new testing approach or a streamlined process, make it a collaborative effort. By involving the team from the outset, you're creating a culture of ownership!
2. Lead with the benefits Different team members have different priorities. A software engineer might be concerned with technical aspects, while a product owner may be more focused on customer satisfaction or speed of delivery. When sharing new ideas on quality improvement, always kick off discussions by highlighting the benefits, tailored to resonate with each team member's perspective.
3. Listen and Solve Together Pay attention to your team's concerns regarding quality, testability, and other related issues. Work together to find solutions. A collaborative problem-solving approach not only resolves issues but also empowers team members to actively participate in the quality journey.
4. Knowledge Sharing is Key Don't be a knowledge hoarder. Whether it's insights into product intricacies or expertise on testability, share your knowledge openly. The more everyone understands the nuances of quality, thinks critically about edge cases, and comprehends testability and testing frameworks, the more ingrained these principles become in day-to-day work.
5. Create a Safe Space Building quality champions requires a safe and inclusive environment. Ensure that everyone feels comfortable expressing their opinions and concerns. A culture of openness fosters collaboration and ensures that diverse perspectives contribute to the team's quality initiatives.
Creating a team full of quality champions is a journey that involves sparking enthusiasm, understanding diverse perspectives, and fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment. As we embrace agility and continuous delivery, the role of Quality Champions becomes indispensable in steering the team towards excellence in quality.