Part 1: What Quality Engineering Is and Why Testing at the End Is No Longer Enough

Quality as Something We Address Only When It Is Too Late

Until relatively recently, it was completely common for software quality to be addressed only once a system was practically finished. A project would go through analysis, design, and implementation, and only then would the question arise: “Does it work?” In this model, testing served as the final checkpoint before release.

This approach is typical of waterfall development, yet its traces remain with us to this day. Even after the adoption of agile methods, more frequent releases, and continuous testing, the underlying mental model often stayed the same. We analyze, design, and develop first, and only afterward do we verify quality, just in shorter cycles.

The issue with this setup was not the testers or the testing techniques. The problem lay in the very concept of quality itself. Testing was still positioned as a safety net intended to catch defects created during earlier phases.

The more complex the systems we build today and the faster we are expected to deliver changes, the less realistic it becomes to assume that everything important can be caught during testing alone.

When Problems Appear but Their Root Causes Are Not Addressed

Anyone who has experienced the intense final phase of a project knows how it typically unfolds. Tests uncover defects, developers fix them, tests are run again, regression issues emerge, and deadline pressure increases. Some defects stop being perceived as defects and are reclassified as change requests because fixing them would require changes to the architecture or design.

At this stage, the question of where the problem truly originated is rarely addressed. There is neither time nor space for it. The focus shifts to finding the quickest workaround or minimizing the impact. Yet the root cause often does not lie in the code itself, but in unclear expectations, poor early decisions, or missing communication between roles.

A Manufacturing Analogy That Still Applies

Imagine a car manufacturing process in which all quality checks took place only after the entire vehicle had been assembled. If it were discovered at the end that the steering or brakes did not work, the company would face disassembling the finished product, costly repairs, and delays across the production line. Such a model would be unsustainable in the long term.

In software development, however, we have learned to tolerate a similar approach to some extent. Instead of physical components, we rework finished code, architecture, and system behavior. The cost is the same, high expenses, stress, and an uncertain outcome.

What Lies Behind the Term Quality Engineering

Quality Engineering is not a new name for testing nor just another buzzword. It represents a shift in how we approach quality. Rather than focusing on inspecting a finished product, it emphasizes deliberate work with quality from the earliest stages of software development.

What changes is not only when we test, but primarily how we think about quality. We do not ask solely whether the system meets the specification, but whether the right solution is being built, in the right way, using appropriate development and organizational processes, and within the context of real-world usage.

Quality therefore stops being addressed in isolation within a testing phase or a testing team. It becomes the responsibility of all roles, from business stakeholders and analysts, through developers and architects, to testers and operations.

Why We Encounter Quality Engineering More and More Often

The reason Quality Engineering is discussed so frequently today is not a matter of trend. It is a response to the reality of modern software development. Releases are more frequent, changes come faster, and a production defect has a far greater impact than it did in the past.

At the same time, competitive pressure is increasing dramatically. Most products today have several alternatives, and users have little reason to tolerate poor quality or unstable solutions. Quality thus becomes one of the key factors determining whether a product succeeds or fails.

In such an environment, the model of develop first and test later is no longer viable. Quality Engineering offers a way to combine speed with quality, not through compromise, but through a fundamental change in approach.

Summary of Part 1

• Testing at the end does not allow problems to be addressed in time.
• Many defects originate long before development even begins.
• Quality Engineering embeds quality throughout the entire software development process.
• It is not just about techniques, but primarily about mindset.
• The goal is a long-term sustainable, stable, and controlled development process.

In the next part, we will explore the principles of Quality Engineering and how quality is truly built.