Build quality in
Lean philosophies of work have always promoted a ‘build quality in’ approach to quality. But, what does this mean in practice?
It means that you spend time up front on the processes and practices that will assure quality exists in your product every day. It means being clear about what tests might pass before writing code or building your product. It means that everyone has a shared and collective responsibility to ensure product quality is kept high.
It does not mean that when asked ‘who is responsible for quality’ everyone looks around blankly and then finally settles on the test manager. It does not mean that functional, performance and non-functional testing at the end of a development and delivery process is sufficient.
There have to be standards, checks and balances every day from the start of a development project.
Consider
Who is responsible for your product quality? What practices and processes exist to ensure quality is being attended to every day?