Why Managers Don't Listen to Testers - Vitaly Sharovatov

How Testers Can Use Economics to Influence Quality Decisions in Software Development

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"We are paying with efforts and time for things which don't occur, which is very, very strange to do." - Vitaly Sharovatov

In this episode, I talk with Vitaly Sharovatov about the economics of testing. We ask how testers can sell quality to managers who think in money, risk, and time. Vitaly frames testing like insurance. You pay now to lower the chance or impact of pain later. He shows where to find numbers that speak. Churn, support hours, rework in Jira, failed handoffs, and regulatory risk. Start small. Pair with developers, cut waste, count saved hours, and share clear wins. Then aim bigger. Shorter time to market, better UX, fewer angry users.

As a quality enthusiast, Vitaly Sharovatov believes that people should take pride in their work and companies should aim to produce high-quality products. He has spent the last 23 years in IT, focusing on engineering, QA, and mentorship. He is also a huge animal lover and has saved and raised more than 50 cats and dogs.

Highlights:

• Testers and managers speak different languages; framing quality decisions in economic terms builds credibility and prevents conflict.
• Start small: reduce wasteful rework with one developer, prove savings in man-hours, then scale improvements company-wide.
• Testers know users better than product managers because they see bug reports and churn reasons daily.
• Ask marketing and sales why customers leave; connect quality issues to lost revenue for management buy-in.
• Win-win collaboration beats authority; help managers report better numbers and they'll value your quality initiatives.

More Links with Insights:

• QA collaborative community