They often say that getting started is the hardest bit. Even more so with something as personal as a blog, where we wear our hearts on our sleeves and put ourselves out there for the world to see. What will people think? Will they like it? Will they think more — or less — of me? It’s time to find out!
There’s a line from A. A. Milne that captures this better than I ever could:
When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it
- A. A. Milne
I didn’t set out to work in testing. I came to it mid-career, and the transition was intense. Within months I found myself leading teams in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by people whose expertise I deeply respected. It triggered a very real sense of imposter syndrome — and a powerful urge to learn, quickly.
Given the context I was working in, I became convinced there had to be a better way to approach testing. That realisation triggered a path of learning and discovery unlike anything I’d experienced before. With testing, learning felt different. I wasn’t doing it because I had to — I was doing it because I wanted to. Books, blogs, talks, conference videos… I couldn’t get enough. For the first time in my career, learning felt like play.
I discovered I was quite happy to sit down of an evening and read a heavy textbook about testing. In many ways it was a cathartic experience. With the turn of each page I was discovering that I wasn't alone in the challenges I was facing in my new role at work; that others had gone before me, faced similar challenges and, thoughtfully, documented their solutions in nicely packaged books, blogs or videos.
Over time, I realised something important: I wasn’t just learning — I was forming a perspective. And that's why now feels like the right moment to start sharing it.
And, ultimately, that’s what this blog is about: learning, reflecting, improving. Making sense of the industry - its past, present and future - sharing what I’m discovering, and creating the space to think — so that my movement is purposeful, not just reactive.
That idea — of slowing down in order to move with intent — is captured neatly by James Clear:
Reflection requires stillness.
If you never pause, you confuse activity with effectiveness.
Make time to think. Create space. Then move again — but this time on purpose.
- James Clear
Thankfully the imposter syndrome has long since subsided and I'm now significantly more self assured in my abilities. I know that I can hold my own in most discussions about quality and testing. And that confidence gives weight to my perspective. This confidence has also helped me engage with testing communities which I found hard in the early days. Over the last year I've become active with the Ministry of Testing community, having been to five of their London meetups, going on stage at their weekly 'This Week in Quality' live podcast and I gave a my first 99-second talk at MoTaCon in Brighton. Engaging with the community like this has been as energising as it is inspiring. Now I don’t just have textbooks for guidance — there are real people across a range of industries I can learn from too.
Over the years, my perspective has evolved and continues to do so. And I feel the journey is worth sharing: one shaped by two decades as a professionally qualified engineer, working across a wide range of roles and domains — with testing and quality at the heart of much of that experience.
The work I’m doing today is part of a future where I imagine our industry could be different — where customer outcomes guide everything, quality is genuinely collaborative across organisations, and quality professionals play a fundamental role in shaping strategy, influencing design, and providing the insight needed to make better choices as ideas are developed into valuable products. I know I’m not alone in holding this vision — and if it already exists in places, the mission now is to help it spread more widely.
So here I am. Opening up about something I’ve cared passionately about for nearly half my working life. Maybe you’ll like it; maybe you won’t. If you do, I’d love to hear from you. And if you don’t, I’d still value your thoughts. Feedback is one of the most generous gifts we can give each other.
If anything resonates, let's connect! My inbox is always open.