Learn how to match software quality to your company culture, and why this alignment is important for your success. Find out how to define, measure, and improve software quality in a way that reflects your organizational values and beliefs.

It all starts with adjusting the mindset of the organization. When focusing more on quality, that means that we are focusing less on delivering new functionalities. I suggest increasing the focus of teams to resolving technical debt and ensuring we have more managable codebase. Adding e2e, unit and integration tests helps a lot with that. Also adding more documentation and refactor parts which are less understandable.

How can you match software quality to your company culture?

Software quality is not only a technical matter, but also a cultural one. How you define, measure, and improve the quality of your software depends on the values, beliefs, and practices of your organization. In this article, we will explore how you can match software quality to your company culture, and why this alignment is important for your success.

1 Why culture matters

Software quality is not an absolute or objective concept. Different stakeholders may have different expectations and preferences about what makes software good or bad. For example, customers may care more about usability, reliability, and security, while developers may care more about maintainability, performance, and testability. Moreover, software quality is not static, but dynamic and evolving. As your software grows and changes, so do the requirements and standards of quality. Therefore, software quality is a cultural phenomenon, influenced by the shared assumptions, values, and norms of your organization. How you communicate, collaborate, and learn as a team affects how you design, develop, and deliver software.

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Gregor Ojstersek

CTO | Founder of Engineering Leadership newsletter (106k+ subscribers) - Helping you become a great engineering leader!
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Culture plays a big role in overal software quality. A Fintech company should focus a lot more on the quality than a company that is from an industry that doesn't need to provide so much certainty and trust. Also what is important to mention is the stage the company is in. A startup focusing on achieving product-market fit should have the culture where speed and iteration is a lot more important than quality. More mature companies should have it the other way around. But what's truly important to say is that every company needs to find the right balance of the quality that fits their needs.

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2 How to define software quality

Before you can match software quality to your company culture, you need to have a clear and shared definition of what software quality means for your organization. This definition should reflect your vision, mission, and goals, as well as the needs and expectations of your customers and users. One way to define software quality is to use a framework or model that identifies the key attributes or characteristics of software quality. For example, you can use the ISO 25010 standard, which defines software quality as the degree to which a software product satisfies the specified or implied needs of its stakeholders under specified conditions. The standard also provides a list of eight quality characteristics: functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability. You can use these characteristics as a starting point to define your own software quality criteria and indicators.

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3 How to measure software quality

Once you have defined software quality, you need to measure it. Measuring software quality helps you monitor and evaluate the performance and outcomes of your software development processes and products. It also helps you identify and address the gaps and issues that affect software quality. To measure software quality, you need to use software quality metrics. Software quality metrics are quantifiable indicators that capture some aspect of software quality. For example, you can use code metrics, such as cyclomatic complexity, lines of code, or code coverage, to measure the maintainability and testability of your software. You can also use product metrics, such as defect density, customer satisfaction, or user retention, to measure the usability and reliability of your software. However, not all metrics are equally relevant or useful for your organization. You need to select and prioritize the metrics that align with your software quality definition and goals, as well as your company culture.

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Gregor Ojstersek

CTO | Founder of Engineering Leadership newsletter (106k+ subscribers) - Helping you become a great engineering leader!
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There are many ways to measure software quality, but what's really important to mention is that software is built for users, not for people that are building it. That being said, customer satisfaction is really important. Another important metric is how fast we can deliver the adjustment from getting feedback to delivering the solution. A lot of times this two metrics alone can tell us that we are on the right track!

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4 How to improve software quality

Measuring software quality is not enough. You also need to improve it. Improving software quality means implementing changes and actions that enhance the value and performance of your software for your stakeholders. It also means fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your organization. To improve software quality, you need to use software quality improvement methods. Software quality improvement methods are systematic and structured approaches that help you plan, execute, and evaluate the changes and actions that improve software quality. For example, you can use agile methods, such as Scrum or Kanban, to deliver software in short iterations, gather feedback, and adapt to changing requirements. You can also use lean methods, such as Kaizen or Six Sigma, to eliminate waste, optimize processes, and reduce variability. However, not all methods are equally compatible or effective for your organization. You need to adopt and adapt the methods that suit your software quality definition and goals, as well as your company culture.

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Gregor Ojstersek

CTO | Founder of Engineering Leadership newsletter (106k+ subscribers) - Helping you become a great engineering leader!
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It all starts with adjusting the mindset of the organization. When focusing more on quality, that means that we are focusing less on delivering new functionalities. I suggest increasing the focus of teams to resolving technical debt and ensuring we have more managable codebase. Adding e2e, unit and integration tests helps a lot with that. Also adding more documentation and refactor parts which are less understandable.

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5 How to match software quality to company culture

Matching software quality to company culture involves aligning your software quality practices with your organizational values and beliefs. It requires creating a shared understanding of software quality among your team members and stakeholders, as well as leveraging your cultural strengths and addressing weaknesses to improve software quality. To do this, you must assess your current software quality and company culture through surveys, interviews, or observations. Then, analyze the data to identify gaps and opportunities between software quality and company culture. Finally, implement and monitor changes and actions that match software quality to company culture. This could include revising your software quality definition and metrics, adopting new software quality improvement methods, or training and coaching your team members on software quality. Monitor the impact of these changes and adjust them as needed.

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6 How to benefit from matching software quality to company culture

Matching software quality to company culture can bring many advantages to your organization, such as increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, enhanced team performance and morale, and improved competitive advantage and innovation. By providing software that meets or exceeds the needs and expectations of your customers, you can foster positive word-of-mouth and referrals. Additionally, creating a positive and supportive work environment for your team can enhance their performance and reduce turnover and absenteeism. Finally, differentiating yourself from competitors by creating a unique value proposition for your software can help you attract new customers and markets.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you match software quality to your company culture?

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1 Why culture matters

2 How to define software quality

3 How to measure software quality

4 How to improve software quality

5 How to match software quality to company culture

6 How to benefit from matching software quality to company culture

7 Here’s what else to consider

Software Development

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How can you match software quality to your company culture?

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3

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6

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1 Why culture matters

2 How to define software quality

3 How to measure software quality

4 How to improve software quality

5 How to match software quality to company culture

6 How to benefit from matching software quality to company culture

7 Here’s what else to consider

Software Development

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