How to Build QA Culture in Your Company

Most organizations confuse ad-hoc testing under pressure with a quality culture—and the gap costs them thousands in late-stage bug fixes. Building real QA maturity starts with uncovering how different roles define quality, then translating those expectations into a shared language that wins management approval. The strategy relies on calculated baby steps: visibility through communication, quick wins that prove value, and phased rollouts that engage rather than overwhelm teams. When testers position themselves as feedback providers across the entire development cycle rather than final gatekeepers, quality becomes a company-wide responsibility with measurable business impact.

Podcast Episode: How to Build QA Culture in Your Company

In this episode, I talk with Filip Barszcz about what most companies get wrong when they claim to have a quality culture. Filip reveals why stakeholders, developers, and product owners all speak different languages when they say "quality" and how he translates between them to build actual buy-in for testing strategy. He walks through his playbook for introducing change without burning out the team: small wins first, honesty about short-term productivity drops, and color-coded tables that make executives eager to invest in QA. If you've ever struggled to get testing taken seriously beyond "just click through it before release," this conversation gives you the roadmap.

"The truth is that we are feedback givers for all the development teams." - Filip Barszcz

Filip Barszcz is a full-time QA Chapter Leader with over 10 years of experience in the IT industry.Throughout his career, he has collaborated with renowned organisations such as SCIB (Santander Corporate & Investment Banking), T-Mobile, Capital.Com, and IQVIA.He specialises in building and refining quality assurance processes, mentoring QA professionals, and fostering close collaboration between QA and development teams.As a strategic QA leader, he has driven major organisational transformations — from building QA departments from the ground up to restructuring teams for greater efficiency and alignment with business goals.He has successfully defined test strategy, designed automation architecture, and implemented multi-level testing — from unit to end-to-end coverage.

Highlights der Episode

• QA's real job is being brutally honest feedback givers, not just testers stuck at the end.
• Share colored tables weekly—stakeholders love metrics and invest when they see QA's actual value.
• Start change with quick wins: better communication and information flow costs just hours weekly.
• Engage everyone impacted before big changes—consultancy beats shock therapy, even when you want speed.
• One major change per quarter maximum—tired teams resist everything when stability disappears.

Building a QA-Driven Culture: Practical Lessons from the Frontlines

Beyond Testing—Redefining QA’s Role

Software Quality Assurance (QA) is often misunderstood outside specialist circles. The thought persists that QA teams are solely focused on finding bugs and running test scripts. Yet, as Filip Barszcz discussed with Richie on Software Testing Unleashed, the true value of QA lies in feedback, advocacy, and acting as both a shield for the company and a champion for the customer. Creating a strong QA culture in an organization isn’t just about implementing new tools or more tests—it’s about transforming communication, perspective, and teamwork.

Recognizing the Status Quo: Spotting the Signs of a Weak QA Culture

Companies lacking a strong QA culture tend to fall into ad hoc patterns: frantic bursts of testing ahead of releases, over-reliance on manual testers, and hardly any thought given to long-term process improvement. QA teams might be battling burnout as unrealistic timelines push them to do more in less time, while quality is narrowly viewed as a bottleneck or a box to check.

Filip Barszcz’s experience shows that every company is unique in its QA maturity. Some excel at unit testing but lag in exploratory or end-to-end checks; others push all quality burdens onto manual testers. Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward change.

Laying the Foundations: Understanding Perspectives Across the Company

True change begins by mapping how different roles view quality. Stakeholders, business analysts, developers, and product owners each carry distinct expectations and priorities. Filip Barszcz recommends gathering these views formally—through interviews, tables, and documentation—so that a roadmap reflects what matters to everyone. Stakeholders might care most about uptime and revenue windows, while business analysts focus on seamless user experiences. Developers want maintainable, efficient pipelines. Only by translating these perspectives into the language of QA can a strategy take shape.

This foundational step isn't just about information gathering. It’s a chance to build empathy and ensure that new processes respond to real needs, not just textbook best practices.

Small Steps, Big Gains: The Power of Incremental Change

Attempting sweeping changes overnight risks overwhelming teams and fostering resistance. The more effective route, as described by Filip Barszcz, is to make targeted, incremental improvements. Consider simplifying priority schemes, providing clear definitions for issue severity, or introducing regular updates on testing stage and environment stability. Even small acts—like adding richer content to release notes or sharing regression checklists—can have immediate, noticeable benefits.

Transparency and communication are crucial. When information flows freely among teams, everyone stays aligned and can anticipate issues before they become blockers. Making these small wins visible, via reports or dashboards adapted to the audience, encourages buy-in and highlights the value of QA beyond bug reports.

Gaining Management Buy-In: Show, Don’t Just Tell

Convincing leadership to invest in quality means speaking their language. Filip Barszcz has had success by benchmarking against competitors, highlighting certifications, and, most powerfully, quantifying the business cost of late-stage bug fixes. Estimating and contextualizing these costs shifts quality from an abstract benefit to a concrete investment. Running proof-of-concept (PoC) pilots with willing teams, then sharing the results, is an effective way to build a compelling case for broader adoption.

Making Change Stick: Ownership, Communication, and Timing

Lasting cultural change happens when everyone feels included in the process. Filip Barszcz advocates for involving impacted teams early, gathering feedback, and making them partial owners of the process. Volunteering teams for pilots, iteratively adapting based on feedback, and progressively rolling out changes ensures adoption feels organic rather than imposed.

There’s also wisdom in patience. Space out major changes—one significant initiative per quarter allows teams time to adapt, stabilizes expectations, and builds momentum. For smaller shifts, it can be easier to just implement and then seek feedback, trusting that visible gains will win over skeptics.

The Evolving QA Role: From Tester to Strategic Partner

The myth that QA is only about “just testing” still lingers in many organizations. But as Filip Barszcz emphasized, modern QA professionals are active feedback providers, guiding development in real time. Their work impacts team stress, customer satisfaction, and the overall health of the product. Embracing this broader vision empowers QA to become not just a department, but a transformative force in any development organization.

Building a QA culture isn’t about upending everything at once. It’s about finding clarity, building bridges, making small, visible improvements, and engaging every stakeholder in the journey. With patience, communication, and strategic thinking, quality moves from being a goal to becoming everyone’s shared responsibility.