Quality Engineering doesn’t mean that much to me anymore — unpublishing my book

Quality Engineering doesn’t mean that much to me anymore — unpublishing my book

I’m sitting outside on a meditation cushion with the autumn sunshine on my skin pondering on this Sunday afternoon. This year I have not been creating as much content on this blog or speaking at events. It has been good to sit back and observe.

I did attempt to write a book this year called Quality Engineering — A pocket handbook and I failed to fully complete it. In real honesty I have struggled to write it and feel that it’s the term ‘Quality Engineering’. Deep down I’ve known that I am not aligned to this terminology anymore. I don’t believe that we are engineering ‘quality’ at all. Along with that I feel that it has funnelled me away from what I’m good at and that’s all things related to testing. I could sit here and feel sorry for myself that I haven’t managed to write a book, yet I am seeing it as growth and an opportunity to be realigned on what matters to me. After posting this I will unpublish the book and have a moment to celebrate this new trajectory.

At the time Quality Engineering terminology meant a lot as I was working in an organisation that struggled to find its feet in the IT landscape and it attempted to elevate the discipline to new heights. I was aligned to this and wanted to see our function elevated, however the question I reflect on now is, did it work?

My personal viewpoint is that terminology can matter at times, yet others it does not matter at all. I’ve always felt you demonstrate more by doing. Less talking and more actions. This still holds true many years later since I originally thought of this.

For me I’m interested in leading teams in test strategy and approach, quick feedback, team camaraderie and having fun as we building something and experimenting as we go to see what works and what doesn’t.

If there is any takeaway from this post is that change happens with the way you think about things. Your past thoughts are not your current or future ones. Change your mind. Be brave. That’s OK.