"Shift-Left: How to Reduce Defects and Speed Up Releases"

"Why didn't testers catch that bug?" 🐛 It's the wrong question. Here's why: When something breaks in production, it's rarely about testing. 🚫🧪 It's about learning & collaboration. 🧠💡 After years leading QE teams, I've realized: Most failures stem from missed learning, not missed tests. Yet the instinctive question remains: "Why didn't testers catch it?" 🤔 The real reflection should be: • Did we truly understand the change and its impact on users? • Was refinement focused on exploring risks, not just scope? • Did QE, Dev, and Product align on user value? • Were edge cases practically explored & discussed in collaboration? Quality issues often reveal gaps in shared understanding, not skill. When teams collaborate early with deliberate structure — combining technical insight with product intent — quality becomes a design principle, not a gate. 🏗️🤝 The conversation shifts: From "Did we test enough?" To "Did we learn enough before building?" Quality isn't the end result of testing. It's the outcome of shared understanding. 🌟 How does your team ensure conversations lead to shared learning — not just ticket updates? #QualityEngineering #ProductThinking #AgileLeadership

𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘵. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝟯𝟬𝟬+ 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 One day, our team agreed: we needed test automation. But when we gathered to discuss where to start, we hit a wall. The manager, the frontend lead, the backend lead, and another tester were all sure: "We should cover new features first to avoid falling behind." I was the only one with a different opinion. I argued we had to start with the critical scenarios—the core paths our users depend on every single day. My crucial argument was simple: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Covering the core scenarios first mean: ✅ Immediate time savings: We performed regression testing twice a week. Automating these paths provided instant, recurring value. ✅ Foundation for growth: Building the necessary infrastructure (fixtures, locators) for our core features created a stable base for future tests. ✅ Stability confidence: It ensured our most important functionalities were always protected. The team agreed. The result? 𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟯𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀. Can you imagine how much time we've saved in a year and a half? What do you think? Where would you start: new features or critical paths? #QA #TestAutomation #SoftwareTesting #QualityAssurance #ProcessImprovement #Leadership

Why fast releases don’t always mean better products Somewhere along the way, “move fast and break things” became the tech motto. But here’s the uncomfortable truth speed without quality isn’t progress it’s chaos on a deadline. I have seen it firsthand: i) Features pushed out too soon just to meet sprint goals. ii) Bugs caught after release instead of during QA. iii) Teams burnt out fixing what could’ve been prevented. Yes, fast releases feel great in the moment they make metrics look good. But when quality debt piles up, users lose trust faster than we can deploy fixes. Here’s what i have learned: i)Delivering value fast is good. ii)Delivering broken value fast is not. A better product isn’t the one released first, it is the one that still works weeks, months, and versions later. Let’s stop glorifying speed, let’s start celebrating reliability, user trust, and thoughtful testing. What is one time you saw “rushing to release” backfire in a project? #QA #SoftwareTesting #QualityAssurance #Agile #ProductManagement #ContinuousImprovement #TechLeadership

“The Best Product Decision I Ever Made Was About QA” 🔍🚀 In product management, we talk a lot about speed ⚡. But speed without reliability kills trust ❌🤝. Our early releases had both — velocity and chaos 🏃♂️💥. We shipped fast, but we broke faster 🛠️😬. Then we rethought QA 🧠✅. 🔸 Automated 60% of our test cases 🤖 🔸 Built low-code validation flows for business teams 🧩 🔸 Created a feedback loop that caught issues before they reached customers 🔁🛡️ Feature velocity didn’t just rise — predictability did 📈🔄. If your QA doesn’t move at the same pace as your roadmap, it’s not a process issue. It’s a strategy gap 🎯📊. #ProductManagement #QualityAssurance #ProductStrategy #TechLeadership #Agile #DevOps #Automation #BuildBetter #ScalingProducts #StartupLife

#Product leaders live in a maze of pressure: tight #deadlines, unpredictable users, and the constant fear of one bad release wrecking reputation. Who's the first line on the battlefield? Testers. We're the early-warning system that spots risks before they explode. The biggest battles we help fight: 1️⃣ Reputation on the line One hidden flaw can kill #trust. Testers catch it before it reaches users and thus protect credibility. 2️⃣ Deadline chaos Leaders want speed and stability. #QA blends automation + regression testing, making releases fast without becoming reckless. 3️⃣ User blind spots Roadmaps never cover every "weird" user journey. Testers simulate the unexpected so frustration never makes it to production. 4️⃣ #Scaling stress Growth exposes weak spots. Load & stress testing gives leaders confidence that the product can actually handle the scale. #Testers make invisible risks visible👀 We don’t just find bugs: we give product leaders the confidence to move fast without breaking trust. Smooth releases. Happy users. Roadmap intact.

There are two types of #developers when it comes to #speed and #quality: 1.The #Developer Who Promises Speed: They tell the Product Manager, "If I skip the unit and integration tests, we'll deliver faster." This creates an illusion of speed now, but guarantees #techdebt, #bugs, and panic later. They trade hours today for weeks of pain next month. 2.The #Developer Who Delivers Speed: They don't talk about skipping #tests because writing them is a non-negotiable part of the work. They deliver stable, tested #code the first time, which makes #refactoring, pivoting, and fixing #bugs trivial. They are the ones who achieve sustainable speed and predictable delivery. The difference isn't who works harder; it's who understands what truly drives long-term velocity. #seniordeveloper #softwaredevelopment #seniormindset #productowner #unittest #integrationtest #qa

🔄 Embracing Shift-Left & DevTestOps: Building Quality from the Start 🚀 Testing is no longer the last step — it’s the first conversation. Over the past few years, I’ve seen a clear transformation in how teams view QA. When I began working on automation frameworks, testing usually came after development — almost like a separate phase. But as projects scaled and release cycles shortened, it became obvious that this approach led to delayed feedback, repetitive fixes, and missed business deadlines. That’s when Shift-Left truly made sense to me. By integrating QA right from sprint planning, we were able to: ✅ Identify edge cases before code was written ✅ Build automation scripts in parallel with development ✅ Reduce regression cycle time drastically ✅ Increase developer ownership toward quality Now, in 2025, this mindset has evolved even further — introducing DevTestOps 🔁 Unlike traditional DevOps where QA was a gatekeeper, DevTestOps embeds quality gates directly inside CI/CD pipelines. This means: Tests trigger automatically with every commit Failures are reported instantly to Slack or Jira Self-healing scripts adapt to UI or API changes Observability tools provide real-time health metrics across environments In one of my recent projects, integrating automated smoke tests into the Jenkins pipeline helped detect environment-level issues even before QA cycles began. That single change improved release confidence and reduced hotfix frequency by nearly 30%. To me, that’s what modern QA is about — building quality, not just testing for it. As QA engineers, our role is transforming from “bug finders” to automation architects and quality enablers — ensuring every release passes through intelligent, automated quality gates. 💡 I believe the future of QA lies in collaboration, observability, and early automation — and the sooner we embrace Shift-Left and DevTestOps, the more value we deliver. 👉 How is your team adapting to the Shift-Left culture? Have you tried embedding automated quality gates in your CI/CD pipelines yet? #ShiftLeft #DevTestOps #QualityEngineering #AutomationTesting #ContinuousTesting #SoftwareTesting #DevOps #CICD #TestingCommunity #QATrends2025

Day 116 : Most teams say they do continuous delivery. Few have a test strategy built for it. When deployments move from quarterly → weekly → daily, the old “test everything before release” model collapses. You don’t need more tests — you need smarter ones, aligned with delivery flow. Here’s what worked when we rebuilt our test strategy for true CD: ✅ Test pyramid, not test pile. Unit → API → UI layers had clear ownership and measurable purpose. ✅ Fast feedback over full coverage. Critical-path tests ran on every commit; extended suites ran nightly. ✅ Risk-based regression. Each change carried a risk tag that decided test scope dynamically. ✅ Shift-left + observability-right. We paired testers with devs for earlier validation and added monitoring hooks post-deploy for real user impact. ✅ CI gates = collaboration, not punishment. If a test fails, the conversation starts with “why” — not “who.” Continuous delivery isn’t just a tooling upgrade; it’s a mindset shift where testing evolves into continuous confidence. How is your QA strategy adapting to faster release cycles? Follow for more pragmatic quality leadership insights. #QualityEngineering #ContinuousDelivery #RobotFramework #CICD #SDET #TestStrategy #SoftwareTesting

✨ Chaos doesn’t have to be chaotic. At Agile Testing Days, Sonja Nesic will share the real story behind three years of running Chaos Day, and why success depends less on the tech and more on the people, preparation, and purpose. If you’ve ever: - Wondered how to build real confidence in your systems, - Needed a way to rally teams across dev, ops, and test, - Struggled to make resilience more than a buzzword, …this talk will give you the roadmap, lessons learned, and critical pitfalls to avoid. Spoiler: It’s not about breaking things, it's about building better humans and healthier systems. Let’s tame the chaos together 🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e8H5EkMW #ChaosEngineering #DevOpsCulture #AgileTestingDays #ResilienceEngineering

In my latest blog post with MuukTest, I delve into the intriguing question: does team size truly impact outcomes when a multitude of tools and strategies are available? I argue that Quality transcends mere headcount; it hinges on the framework and accountability within the team. Small QA teams can surpass their larger counterparts when every member—be it developers, product owners, or analysts—embraces quality as a shared responsibility. Key Points: - Embrace a hybrid QA model to seamlessly integrate quality throughout the development cycle. - Focus on critical aspects: high-risk features, high-impact areas, and recent modifications. - Foster resilience through cross-training, streamlined automation, and continuous upskilling. Efficiency lies not in doing more but in concentrating on activities that authentically deliver value. Quality doesn't expand by merely increasing personnel; it flourishes by empowering individuals. 💡✨ Read the article here: 👇 https://lnkd.in/g4bhub-J #BlogAlert #QualityAssurance #TeamSize #HybridQAModel #Efficiency #Empowerment