Undervalued QA? Time to Rethink Your Company

The Perception Problem
Quality Assurance (QA) often struggles with an identity crisis within companies. Many see QA as a “secondary” discipline, a support role that cleans up the mess instead of a key player in creating a quality product. To some, QA is a stepping stone rather than a career path. This mindset often overshadows its true value.

Why QA is Often Undervalued

Common perceptions perpetuate the undervaluation of QA:

• Developers are celebrated as the builders and heroes.
• Product Managers are lauded for their vision.
• Many see QA as the team that “breaks” things or slows down progress with excessive nitpicking.

My Lightbulb Moment:
When QA is undervalued, it’s not just a role-specific issue; it reflects a deeper cultural or systemic problem within the company. A business that doesn’t prioritize quality likely undervalues its users, which leads to poor customer retention and increasing technical debt. This realization helped me see that undervaluing QA was more than just frustrating—it was a fundamental misstep for any team claiming to aim for excellence.

The Root Causes of QA Being Undervalued

1. Lack of Awareness
Many teams fail to understand the full scope of QA’s impact. It’s not just about finding bugs; QA ensures that the product meets technical, business, and user expectations. Without QA:

• Broken features and bugs slip through to production.
• Inconsistencies in user experience damage trust.
• Businesses lose both revenue and credibility.

2. Poor Processes
When processes break down, it’s time to step up and fix them. Often, QA becomes an afterthought due to rushed or incomplete processes, including:

• Missing acceptance criteria or vague user stories.
• Requirements so unclear that QA has to guess what to test.
• Features rushed to release, leaving QA with insufficient time to test thoroughly.

3. Power Dynamics
Developers and Product Managers often dominate discussions, leaving QA sidelined. Without a strong voice at the table, QA becomes reactive rather than proactive.

4. Misalignment with Agile Principles
Many companies claim to follow Agile, yet QA is often excluded from planning stages. The focus shifts to delivering features quickly rather than delivering features right. This misalignment results in:

• QA scrambling to test at the last minute.
• Higher defect rates due to lack of collaboration during development.

5. The QA Mindset
There’s a critical distinction between testers and engineers that’s often overlooked. When the title “QA” is added to any role, it’s perceived as a downgrade—a mere annoyance rather than a necessity. This perception fails to recognize the strategic mindset QA engineers bring to the table.

When I started, I approached projects with a broader perspective, analyzing designs and pointing out missing or incorrect features based on the current framework. This mindset isn’t just about finding bugs—it’s about aligning the product vision with the end-user experience and catching flaws early. This proactive approach differentiates QA engineers from mere testers, demonstrating our indispensable value.

The Impact of Undervaluing QA

For Teams:

• Friction arises between QA and development. Instead of collaboration, QA is seen as a bottleneck.
• Blame culture emerges, with QA becoming the scapegoat for delays or issues.

For Products:

• Higher bug counts and poor user experiences.
• Frequent hotfixes and patches that erode user trust.

For Businesses:

• Increased costs due to technical debt.
• Lower customer satisfaction and retention.
• Damage to brand reputation from poor product quality.

Shifting the Perception of QA: What Can You Do?

When I first stepped into a QA role, I was lucky to have mentors who guided me toward the right processes and mindset. A Senior QA and PM encouraged me to think strategically, while a Senior Developer told me, “When devs complain about QA, it means you’re doing your job right.” This advice became the foundation for my growth.

1. Advocate for QA Early in the Process
To avoid being sidelined, involve QA from the start. This means:

• Join sprint planning sessions to understand feature requirements.
• Ask clarifying questions to fill in gaps in acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate with developers and product managers to ensure quality is baked in, not bolted on.

2. Embrace the Role of an Educator
Many misunderstand QA’s value simply because they don’t know what it entails. Take the time to:

• Explain how QA aligns technical, business, and user needs.
• Share data-driven insights, such as defect trends or user feedback.
• Use retrospectives to highlight QA’s role in preventing costly errors.

3. Build Better Processes
If processes are broken, it’s time to fix them. For me, learning Scrum principles was transformative. It taught me how to:

• Improve ticket creation by including detailed acceptance criteria and scenarios.
• Advocate for clear definitions of “done” that go beyond just development completion.
• Push for iterative testing rather than a last-minute rush.

4. Foster Collaboration, Not Competition
One of the biggest shifts in my career was realizing that QA isn’t just about pointing out flaws; it’s about partnering with teams to create solutions. To foster collaboration:

• Approach testing as a shared responsibility rather than QA’s sole burden.
• Celebrate successes as a team, recognizing everyone’s contributions to quality.
• Use tools like TestRail or JIRA to maintain transparency and accountability.

5. Adopt the QA Mindset
Finally, shift from simply “testing” to engineering quality. This means:

• Think about the product holistically and identify risks early.
• Analyze user stories and wireframes to spot inconsistencies.
• Design tests that simulate real-world scenarios, not just happy paths.

The Result: From Undervalued to Indispensable

When QA is embedded into the development lifecycle, its value becomes undeniable. For me, gaining autonomy and building better processes helped me grow—not just as a QA professional but as a leader. I became someone the team relied on to drive clarity, collaboration, and quality.

The turning point wasn’t just about fixing perceptions; it was about redefining my role. By taking ownership of processes, advocating for quality, and thinking strategically, I moved from being seen as a bottleneck to being recognized as an essential partner.

The takeaway? QA isn’t just a job; it’s a mindset. It’s about thinking critically, advocating for users, and ensuring that every product reflects the best of what a team can achieve. With the right approach, QA can transform from undervalued to indispensable.

• To dive deeper into how we can elevate the value of QA in our teams, be sure to check out my post on Why Gaming is a Necessity for QA Teams, where I discuss how gaming can enhance problem-solving and collaboration in QA.
• For those interested in understanding how personal development impacts QA, my journey from a full-stack developer to QA expert sheds light on how different perspectives can strengthen your approach to quality assurance. Learn more in From Full-Stack Developer to QA Expert.