Quality is Dead. Rebranding is in order.

This a bold statement from someone who works in the software engineering industry. And although my generally sunny disposition finds this troubling, I can’t deny this statement seems to be proven true more often than not.

Heck! Our company is founded on the premise that every engineer wants to build something of good quality, that will last the test of time.

Unfortunately, this premise only resonates mildly across industries and stakeholders. Although everybody agrees in principle, few are willing to make the required commitment to realize the material benefits. Most are talking the talk, but few are walking the walk. 

Sadly, the importance and value of quality are overshadowed by the fast pace of consumerism. Over the years, we see the proliferation of this in both our private and professional lives and in the products or services we buy. Organizations like Morgan Cars and Boeing, we see them favouring market growth and financial returns, where quality was once the standard. 

Software Engineering seems to be no exception.

The rapid growth in software has led to a range of fast and increasingly scalable solutions to cope with the ever-growing demand. Peer behind the curtain, and you witness a massive surge in feature requests which can mean the business can be frustrated by engineering. Why? Because engineering is forced to protect the integrity of their product (quality) and has to push back on the speed of delivery.

If we conclude that ‘Quality’ as a driver does not align the different stakeholders across an organization. It is time to change the game!

Let’s express the principle of quality in a way that connects with the people around us.

It’s time for a rebrand.

• We need to talk about business continuity and how the organization will continue to generate revenue in three years? 
• We need to talk about risk/governance and how to protect the organization from losses? 
• We need to talk about acceleration and how to support the business in hitting business objectives sooner?

Quality as a term might be dead, but what it represents is not by a long mile.

As engineers, we need to adapt to protect our industry from following those that have gone before. We should do our best to stay away from short-term consumerism and keep fighting for a healthier digital world.