Implementing a Whole Team Quality Approach to Software Development in a Startup Environment
Most startups are working within tight budgets and timelines. Getting the product working and out the door is the main goal, while quality tends to fall by the wayside. This can cause a backlog in needed testing, automation, and even added tech debt. Even when QA exists, there is often a “throw it over the wall” mentality. In order to tackle this issue early on at Highlight, we focused on a Whole Team Quality approach of software development. By looking at everything through a lens of quality, including business requirements, it has helped to ensure that we are releasing high quality products and features from the start, which means we have happier clients and a high-functioning team. Through this presentation, attendees will learn how to implement a Whole Team Quality approach to software development, especially in an early-stage startup. Brianna Roby will discuss the processes put into place such as the creation of Working Agreements, doing “Desk Checks,” and “Quality at Every Step of the SDLC”, as well as the ways we got buy-in from the whole team in order to ensure we were successful in releasing high quality software.
Brianna Roby is a Senior Quality Assurance Automation Engineer at Highlight Inc. Her past experience includes time as a backend developer working in Golang, Python, and Elixir. She moved into Quality Assurance when given the opportunity to build a QA Team in a company lacking one, and fell in love with the QA world. Brianna spent two years within a FinTech startup, helping to grow and build the Quality Engineering team from seven QEs to 20 while integrating them into feature teams and getting buy-in from the Engineering team. She is currently working at an early-stage startup, implementing Whole Team Quality and ensuring clients get the highest quality software features available.