This Week in Quality

With Simon 404, Rosie steps in to host the latest edition of This Week in Quality, catching up on new MoTaverse content, vibe coding experiments, AI-assisted workflows, and the evolving idea of quality orchestration.
Gary reflects on his journey from quality leadership into engineering management, while Eamon celebrates his new Senior QA Engineer role, being cited in a book, and delivering a collaborative testing party workshop with Lisa Crispin at MoTaCon.
The conversation explores how community participation can build confidence, professional reputation, and career opportunities, alongside the importance of authenticity, mentorship, and bringing joy into testing. Judy also shares her experiences of challenging assumptions in a new role, using AI as a learning companion, and recognising the value of asking questions rather than jumping to conclusions.

Simon and Ady co-host the latest episode, looking back on MoTaCon festival week: from Leading with Quality and the main conference day to socials, workshops, 99-second talks, Brighton walks, and the flood of community Moments shared afterwards.
Heleen, Louise, Preeti, Neil, and Rosie reflect on standout sessions, new connections, useful swag, first-time meetings, quality conversations, and the value of turning in-person energy into ongoing community contributions. The episode captures how MoTaCon extends beyond a single event: it becomes a catalyst for learning, collaboration, profile-building, and keeping the Motaverse alive long after everyone has gone home.

Ady and Simon host a special pre-MoTaCon episode, reflecting on the history of TestBash, the growing MoTaCon festival week, and the many ways people can connect before, during, and after the conference.
The conversation covers community stars, first-time attendee nerves, travel stories, karaoke, professional headshots, workshop plans, and the power of meeting online friends in person. Guests share what they are looking forward to, from reconnecting with familiar faces to meeting new people, while Rosie gives a sneak peek at the event’s tote bags and the plan to turn friends, Moments and swag into a key part of the MoTaCon experience.

Simon and Demi return after the TWIQ summer break with a packed 'this month in quality' catch-up, covering MoTaCon festival plans, workshop spoilers, karaoke, community profiles, chapters, and the many ways members are showing up across the MoTaverse.
Demi shares a painful-but-funny demo-day story where a last-minute deployment broke the application minutes before a major walkthrough, leading to a stronger 'demonstration, not demolition' rule for future demos. The episode also brings in Nadja’s team update, Gokul’s return to the community and reflections on learning/unlearning around AI, plus wider discussion on human connection, evergreen learning material, communication style, and the enduring principles of quality.

Judy and Simon host a thoughtful 'This Week in Therapy' episode, with Judy reflecting on her first few weeks in a new role and the difference between building quality from scratch versus stepping into processes someone else has already shaped.
The conversation explores mistakes, AI responsibility, risk versus reality, impostor syndrome, writing, MoTaCon reflections, and how asking questions can be one of the most valuable things quality professionals do. Shawn and Heleen join to discuss shift-left mandates, team context, terminology, and the relief of realising that asking questions is not a flaw but a core part of the quality role.