The Paradox of Progress: Why the IT Industry’s Relentless Pursuit of Speed Is Undermining Quality

As the IT industry has evolved, we’ve witnessed a remarkable transformation of skills, methodologies and tools. This evolution has been driven by the drive towards faster innovation. Yet, as we celebrate these advancements, it’s important to address a pressing question: Has the pursuit of speed come at the cost of quality?

The Evolution of Quality Assurance

From the outside, quality assurance seems to be moving in the right direction. We’ve progressed from reactive testing in the waterfall model, where quality was an afterthought, to proactive testing embedded within the sprints of agile and DevOps. This shift was a significant step forward because it enabled us to identify and address issues earlier in the development process. Now, the rise of AI and machine learning could be the start of predictive QA, in which developers aim to anticipate and prevent defects before they occur.

A chart showing how quality has progressed from Reactive QA, where quality comes in after the product is made, to proactive QA, where QA occurs while the product is being made, and is now shifting to Predictive QA, where qulaity assurance takes place even before the product is made.

While the methodologies and tools have evolved, the fundamental driver behind this evolution, the need for speed, has remained constant. There is no denying the existence of an early-mover advantage. You only have to take Amazon as an example. Though they launched as a platform to sell books, by the time others in the market caught up with them, Amazon had already diversified their product offering to sell all kinds of things. And we all know what the situation looks like right now.

The Rise of the ‘Comb-Shaped’ Developer and the Decline of Expertise

As development methodologies have evolved, developer skill sets have, too. Over the years, companies have prioritised finding and training multi-skilled developers, whose expertise is compared through different shapes. We’ve gone from “I-shaped” developers to “T-shaped,” “Pi-shaped,” and now “comb-shaped” developers. Take a look at the image below.

I-shaped developers have core expertise in a particular technology or domain. T-shaped developers are specialists in one area but can also handle other tasks. Pi-shaped developers have multiple specialties, while still being able to take on general work. Comb-shaped developers are like specialists and generalists combined—they’re experts in many areas and can do almost any job.

The software development industry’s gradual pivot towards multi-skilled developers is a consequence of the push for speed. The ability to tackle various tasks across the development lifecycle makes developers with broad skill sets very valuable in the eyes of hiring managers. However, their versatility often comes at the expense of deep expertise in specific areas. Today, expertise tends to be most lacking in quality assurance, which used to be carried out by specialist testers. The result is a widening gap between the pace of development and the ability to ensure the quality of the software being produced.

This phenomenon is a symptom of a broader trend known as cognitive offloading. This describes how humans have become deskilled at certain tasks thanks to a reliance on technology. Just as we rely on calculators for complex calculations, developers increasingly rely on automated tools and frameworks to handle quality assurance tasks. As a result, they lose sight of the underlying principles and best practices of testing. The ability to think critically about the “why, what, and how” of testing is gradually eroded.

The Toll on Quality and User Experience

Development teams may celebrate their ability to release software faster, but the reality is that these releases undermine the user experience. The pressure to deliver features quickly, often at the expense of comprehensive testing, means that releases are often riddled with frustrating bugs and glitches. This is a disconcerting trend in the industry.

You only need to go to the app store on your mobile and look at the reviews of any app to see what I mean. Often, popular apps have great reviews… until they don’t. So many users write things like: ‘this app was great until they did a new release.’  After a while, the app developers fix all the post-release issues and the app starts to generate positive reviews again — at least until the next release, when the cycle starts over. While development teams may dismiss these complaints as the inevitable price of progress, they fail to grasp the long-term implications of sacrificing quality for speed. 

Redefining Success: Balancing Speed and Quality

To overcome this paradox, the IT industry must re-evaluate its definition of success. We must move beyond the narrow focus on speed and embrace a more holistic approach that prioritises both speed and quality. This involves several key actions:

1. Investing in Specialized Quality Assurance Professionals: Recognizing the importance of deep expertise in quality assurance is essential. Companies should invest in hiring and training specialised QA professionals who can provide comprehensive testing and ensure that software meets the highest standards of quality.
2. Fostering a Culture of Continuous Learning and Improvement: Quality assurance is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Developers and QA professionals alike should be encouraged to continuously learn and improve their skills, staying abreast of the latest testing methodologies and technologies.
3. Empowering Developers to Take Ownership of Quality: Quality should not be relegated to a separate QA team but integrated into the development process from the outset. Developers should be empowered to take ownership of quality, writing testable code and conducting thorough unit testing.
4. Leveraging Technology Strategically: While automation and AI can be valuable tools, they should be used strategically to augment, not replace, human expertise. Developers and QA professionals should understand the limitations of these tools and use them to enhance their ability to deliver high-quality software.

By embracing a more balanced approach that prioritises both speed and quality, the IT industry can break the cycle of rushed releases. We can build products that not only meet the demands of the market but also delight and retain users. In the long run, this approach will not only lead to greater customer satisfaction but also to sustainable growth and success for companies in the digital age. The future of the IT industry depends on our ability to reconcile the pursuit of speed with the unwavering commitment to quality.