Humans use digital products. While AI and automation have made great strides in the last few years in accelerating tasks that people would otherwise manage, the human perspective is just as important as ever in building and validating digital products. In a job market that seems to increasingly devalue that human perspective, some QA professionals argue it’s time to reprioritize the power of people in software. Mark Kalet, a quality assurance leader, joins the podcast to discuss how people...

Over the first full year of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, we’ve been privileged to welcome expert guests across a variety of disciplines. As organizations grapple with the multi-faceted challenge of crafting a comprehensive approach to digital quality, these experts provided insights that can give dev, test and product professionals an edge. Let’s listen back to some selected snippets from past Ready, Test, Go. episodes to provide a high-level overview of digital quality strategies. Hosted...

Success is less a strike of lighting than a commitment to organizational excellence. Enabling greatness means alleviating unnecessary challenges, which sometimes means pumping the brakes to unravel tangles and inefficiencies, even — and especially — in times of fierce competition and economic uncertainty. Gene Kim has spent years researching the habits of successful organizations. He joins the Ready, Test, Go. podcast to discuss some of the findings in his latest book, including the concepts...

We are the subjects of data — but, too often, fail to understand or influence how it is used. Humans must make trade-offs to enjoy the luxury of digital products while also maintaining a sense of decency and privacy. So, what does that mean for the companies who collect this data and the AI that interprets it? Author and professor Wendy Wong joins the podcast to discuss why consumers must take an active role in their data sharing choices, and how organizations should adapt to the needs of...

Payment transactions are anything but simple -- yet users expect them to be intuitive, reliable and friction-free. How do businesses manage this task in a global marketplace fraught with local payment preferences and challenges? Zeb Winzenried, Director of Testing Services in Payments at Applause, joins the podcast to explain how organizations can navigate this complicated space. About the guest: Zeb Winzenried manages the testing request delivery with a global team, helping big companies...

Irene Pereyra, discusses concepts from her book, Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology, to shed light on how digital products can delight or frustrate users. You can find Irene’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Strategies-Interactions-Technology/dp/0760378045 About the guest: For more than 10 years, Irene Pereyra has led program management and UX initiatives as the co-founder of Anton and...

Software testing is important, but why exactly do we do it? And how should we examine our digital quality efforts over time? These are necessary questions that many QA organizations don’t ask. James Mortlock, Lead UAT Test Manager at Vodafone, joins the podcast to discuss what should go into a software testing strategy — and why. We also talk about delivering better value with digital quality initiatives, and why efficiency ultimately benefits everybody. You can also see James in a recent...

Many businesses have immature data governance processes reminiscent of bad diets — garbage in, garbage out. Insights gleaned from data, whether by human eyes or AI, are only valuable if the data is readable and relevant. For too many businesses, it’s not. Civic tech service designer, author and lecturer Lauren Maffeo joins the podcast to discuss where organizations miss the mark on data quality, a problem that costs businesses millions of dollars per yet. She’ll discuss findings from her...

Technology solves some of the problems in our society today, but it exacerbates others, such as discrimination based on a person’s race, gender, income level or disabilities. As companies continue to invest heavily in AI/ML technology, they must take caution to ensure new products don’t fall back on old, problematic patterns that cause harm to users or others. Meredith Broussard, author of the book More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech, joins the podcast to...

Even if you live in a galaxy far, far away, many of the cybersecurity and digital quality concerns that cause product releases to fail are relevant. Even the mighty Death Star is left vulnerable by one tiny flaw that should’ve been discovered and patched — and this is just the start of what we can learn about digital quality from the world’s favorite sci-fi universe. Security consultant, expert and author Adam Shostack shines a light on the Star Wars series to reveal cautionary tales about...

As companies look to maintain lean budgets or even cut them, how can organizations make sense of their digital quality investments, and optimize them moving forward? It takes full organizational commitment and a clever approach to take advantage of all resources — internal and external to the business. In this episode of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, software development and testing expert Matt Heusser of Excelon Development discusses the importance of efficient testing that delivers value....

Feature-rich products don’t necessarily lead to widespread customer adoption. In fact, the everyday user likely prefers a stripped-down, easy-to-understand product to one that offers all the functionality under the sun. Striking a balance between speed to market, inventive products and an emphasis on digital quality can sometimes lead to a push-pull that sinks innovation initiatives. Turns out a diverse background can go a long way toward substantive innovation — just as Gary Larkin, the...

Software testing attracts people with a variety of backgrounds and skills. But the ones who thrive in today’s fast-paced, oft-evolving digital world manage to strike a balance between deep domain knowledge and a curiosity to expand their repertoire of skills. Learn from QA expert Kristin Jackvony how to avoid becoming Job Security Jim and Conference Connie, and instead forge a career path poised for growth. Kristin is the author of the book The Complete Software Tester: Concepts, Skills,...

When brands focus too heavily on the product — and not on whether customers actually want that product — they potentially miss some huge blind spots that can sink the launch. Innovations that focus on the customer’s perspective are more likely to succeed. As we will discuss with guest Adonis Celestine, there’s evidence dating back to the Industrial Revolution to help prove this point. About the guest: Testing expert and advocate Adonis Celestine is the Director of Automation at Applause. He...

From technical lead to CEO of Coveros, Jeff Payne has made a 35-year career of helping solve digital quality concerns. On this episode of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, Jeff Payne, CEO of Coveros, discusses what real Agile testing looks like. It’s not a ceremonious approach to a Waterfall way of working — it’s about substantive organizational change. About the guest: Jeff Payne is the CEO of Coveros, a consultancy, which also owns TechWell, the host of popular STAR and Agile + DevOps...

Some businesses have absolutely no clue how to measure the user experience — and it shows. Inge De Bleecker, Principal UX & Conversational AI Consultant and Founder at outriderUX, has seen the best and worst of it. In this episode of the Ready, Test, Go. podcast, she talks about how to build UX awareness from the ground up. About the guest: For three decades, Inge De Bleecker has designed, developed, managed and consulted on the user experience. She is the Principal UX &...

For testers, it’s always crunch time. Yet quality can never come at the expense of speed. Amy Reichert, veteran testing professional and freelance QA SME/writer, joins the podcast to discuss how to fit all of your testing into increasingly tight windows, efficiently and comprehensively. She also explains the characteristics that make for an effective tester. About the guest: Amy Reichert has nearly two decades of experience in software testing, as an analyst, team lead, engineer and tutor....

In this introduction, we launch the Ready, Test, Go. podcast and explain how we'll take a different approach to covering digital quality topics.