Five Principles for Quality Engineering Consultancy That Drives Change
A few years ago, I had a valuable conversation with Dr. Vera Baum about what it really takes to lead quality engineering in a consultancy. It wasn’t just about delivering testing services. It was about how a consultancy should approach quality as a whole – how it builds expertise, delivers value, and integrates quality into everything it does.
That conversation led to a presentation where I outlined my initial approach. Since then, my thinking has evolved through experience, challenges, and seeing first-hand what works (and crucially, what doesn’t). These five principles still hold true, but my understanding of them has deepened.
1. Passionate People build quality
A consultancy’s real product isn’t its frameworks or tools – it’s the people. Hiring for curiosity, adaptability, and a deep technical understanding of quality makes a bigger impact than just hiring for specific skills. The best consultants don’t just deliver work; they ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and help clients build stronger teams long after the engagement ends. Investing in people’s growth is non-negotiable. Continuous learning, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing should be embedded in the culture, ensuring that expertise doesn’t just exist in pockets but is cultivated across the organisation.
2. Focus on Outcomes, Not Just Activity
Metrics can tell a story, but only if they’re providing information about something that actually matters. It’s easy for consultancies to get stuck in delivering predefined services, but real impact comes from understanding what clients actually need. Sometimes that’s automation or test strategy, sometimes it’s a shift in mindset. Quality engineering in consultancy should always be about solving problems, not just fulfilling contract terms. The ability to measure success in a way that aligns with business objectives, rather than just technical metrics, is what separates transactional engagements from meaningful partnerships.
3. Visibility Matters
It’s not enough for quality teams to do good work behind the scenes. If stakeholders don’t see the value, it won’t be sustained. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make quality efforts visible in a way that resonates with decision-makers. This is why dashboards, storytelling, and clear narratives are so important. Quality professionals need to be able to articulate not just what they’re doing, but why it matters. Turning customers into advocates isn’t about pushing a message, it’s about making the benefits undeniable.
4. Quality Isn’t Separate from the Business
Quality is often treated as an isolated function, something that gets ‘checked’ rather than something that is woven into how a company operates. The best consultancies embed quality thinking everywhere – from sales conversations to delivery teams. If an organisation isn’t thinking about quality at every level, it won’t get the results it wants. Quality engineering leaders must advocate for quality in business terms: cost, efficiency, and risk mitigation, so that it resonates with decision-makers. When quality is seen as an enabler rather than an afterthought, it fundamentally shifts how businesses approach it.
5. Collaboration Over Silos
Quality engineering should never be a separate function. It needs to work across disciplines, development, product, operations, and leadership. The best teams are transparent, adaptable, and able to navigate complex environments without getting stuck in rigid roles. This is where context-informed approaches shine. It’s not about enforcing one way of working, it’s about finding the right approach for each organisation.
Bringing people together to solve problems collaboratively, rather than throwing work over the fence, is a key part of making quality engineering successful in a consultancy setting. This means fostering cross-functional relationships, encouraging shared accountability, and ensuring that quality isn’t just the responsibility of a single team but something that everyone takes ownership of.
Looking Back and Looking Forward
That initial conversation with Vera was the spark, but the journey since then has reinforced how critical these elements are. Leading quality engineering in consultancy isn’t just about delivering services, it’s about shaping how organisations think about quality at every level. It’s about investment in people, a commitment to real impact, and embedding quality thinking into the DNA of how businesses operate.
