Welcome to episode 136 of the Testing Peers podcast.

In this episode, David, Chris, Russell and Tara dig into a question from #PeersCon25 speaker, Stuart Pates: what’s the difference between a test strategy and a quality engineering strategy?

The peers explore:

• Whether strategies are rigid documents, living guides, or something in between
• How context drives whether you need a test strategy, a quality strategy, or both
• Why language and labels (“test” vs “quality”) can help or hinder collaboration
• The role of purpose and value in defining strategies that actually work
• Strategies as empowerment tools versus “one-way to do things” policies
• How to avoid strategies becoming shelfware and instead keep them living and relevant

As always, there’s plenty of banter (including revelations about everyone’s oldest open browser tab!) before diving into the topic.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, what does strategy mean in your organisation, and how do you approach the balance between quality and testing?

#PeersCon26 Tickets for the event are now live too, starting at £15 until December 2025, when they increase to £30.
And as always, we are looking for sponsors to make this event the success it has been for the last 2 years, get in touch if interested

Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)

We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores

If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Thanks to our sponsors – NFocus Testing.

nFocus are a UK based software testing company. They’ve been supporting businesses for 24 years by providing services that include burst resource, accelerated test automation, performance testing and fully managed testing services. In 2021, they launched a Test Automation Academy to create amazing testers and they’ve now created jobs for 48 people in our industry in just under three years!

nFocus were a big part of PeersCon in 2024 and 2025, really grateful for all they do to support the Testing Peers.

www.nfocus.co.uk and [email protected] for anyone wanting to get in touch.

Support the show