Testing Needs Leaders and Not Just Testers - Kari Kakkonen

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"I think there is not enough leadership in testing." - 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:

• Testing lacks leadership: teams test well, but companies don't actively enable quality culture from the top.
• ACT2LEAD means add testing everywhere, use context, show transparency, balance automation with humans, learn continuously, enable culture, adapt to risks, embrace diversity.
• Testers have the broadest software understanding because they learn it deeply from multiple angles and risks.
• Diversity in testing beats "best practice": use multiple techniques, people, approaches, tools, and environments simultaneously.
• Companies need a head of testing role to ensure consistent quality across autonomous teams, not just grassroots efforts.