Rethinking Testability

Before summer, I had the chance to share my new talk:
Improving Quality of Life Through Testability at GreaTest Quality Convention
It’s a topic that still doesn’t get enough attention — which is why I’m bringing it here, in a 4-part blog series.
Over the years, I’ve collected lessons, stories, and patterns from my own work and from teams I’ve worked with. My goal is to show a different way of thinking about testability — one that’s built for people, not just systems.
When most people hear “testability,” they think about code.
But in my 25 years in software, I’ve learned it’s about much more than that.
Poor testability shows up as slow feedback, missed bugs, fragile automation, and even burnout.
And it’s everywhere — sometimes in ways we don’t notice, because we’ve accepted them as “just how things are.”

Here’s what’s coming up in the series:
1️⃣ Testability Is About People, Not Just Code
→ A more human-centric definition and why it matters.
2️⃣ Poor Testability Is Everywhere — But We Don’t Always See It
→ The recurring patterns and the invisible friction that holds teams back.
3️⃣ The Triangle of Perception
→ Why different roles see the same system’s testability in completely different ways.
4️⃣ Changing the Conversation About Testability
→ How reframing gets people to listen — and the risks that come with it.