Testing Needs Leaders and Not Just Testers - Kari Kakkonen

Software Testing Unleashed - Better Teams. Better Software. Better World.

From Chaos to Clarity: Organizing Testing in Complex Environments

"The more you understand about testing, the better you can lead it, the more you can enable people to do good quality and you can expect good quality." - Kari Kakkonen

In this episode, I talk to Kari Kakkonen about his Act 2 Lead model and why testing leadership is often missing in software testing. We unpack the reality that while grassroots testing within teams works well, the higher levels of organizations often lack a real understanding and leadership around quality. Kari lays out his model, a memorable eight-letter heuristic, as both a guide and a checklist for leaders at any level. It made me reflect on how companies approach testing - sometimes leaving it solely to autonomous teams but missing the big picture. I found myself wondering: is strong leadership the missing link for better quality software?

Kari Kakkonen has worked in software testing for almost 30 years. He is the Service Owner of Customer Expertise Development at Gofore, the author of Dragons Out software testing book and co-author of ACT 2 LEAD Software Testing Leadership Handbook. He’s won awards, e.g. 2021 EuroSTAR Testing Excellence Award. He works mostly with agile testing, lean, test automation, DevOps and AI. He’s active in ISTQB, TMMi and FiSTB.

Highlights:

• Leadership in testing is often missing and needed at higher organizational levels.
• Act 2 Lead provides a clear structure for effective testing leadership.
• Transparency in testing helps prevent quality issues and builds trust.
• Both automation and human creativity are essential for strong testing.
• Diversity and context-driven approaches lead to better quality outcomes.

บท

1. Leadership Lacking in Testing (00:00:00)

2. Testing Beyond Code Execution (00:03:33)

3. Prioritize Quality and Testing Culture (00:08:31)

4. Adaptive Risk and Testing Diversity (00:10:54)

5. Need for Centralized Testing Leadership (00:13:10)

6. CEO-Centric Summary Guide (00:16:52)