As a Head of Software, Head of Quality, or Head of Testing, you know QA matters. Your team works hard to prevent bugs, keep releases smooth, and deliver reliable software. But for the C-suite, testing often isn't a priority.
If there aren't any big issues in production, leadership assumes quality is fine. If there are issues, they wonder why testing didn't catch them. Either way, QA doesn't get the attention it deserves.
So how do you get executives to take quality seriously?
This article will help you make the case for QA in a way that gets leadership on board, without making it feel like another cost or delay.
What is a quality assurance mindset?
A quality assurance mindset recognizes that software quality isn't just the job of QA engineers or testers. It's everyone's responsibility, starting at the top. When the entire team, including leadership, gets on board, quality becomes part of every step, rather than a final hurdle to clear.
While 39% of professionals see software quality as a shared responsibility, the C-suite often takes it for granted. They prioritize fast development, expecting quality assurance to fall into place without extra investment. This drive to scale development frequently ignores the need to scale QA alongside it.
C-level leaders who back this mindset foster a culture of teamwork and accountability. For instance, when developers address bugs as they arise rather than pushing them downstream, it saves the entire team from firefighting later on. Leaders who push this approach make quality a goal everyone shares from the start, leading to sustainable success.
According to the World Quality Report, 38% of organizations are prioritizing continuous improvement by changing their business mindset and driving incremental change to be better positioned to adapt, thrive, and achieve their long-term goals.
Why Quality Engineering Needs to Be Seen as a Strategic Driver
Quality engineering is often overlooked as just another operational task instead of being treated as a core part of business strategy.
In the World Quality Report 2024, 56% of respondents admitted that their organizations don't view quality engineering as strategic. That's a problem. Without recognizing its value, companies miss out on the bigger benefits quality can bring: like happier customers, faster delivery, and stronger market positioning.
Even with software testing automation becoming more common, many organizations fail to connect quality efforts to the results leadership cares about: growing revenue, keeping customers, and staying ahead of competitors. When that connection isn't clear, quality engineering is stuck in the background, seen as just a checkbox.
To change this, businesses need to take a different approach. Instead of talking about processes and tools, show the outcomes. Did QA save time? Did it prevent a launch disaster? Did it help deliver a product that customers loved? These are the kinds of results executives want to hear about.
Quick guide to building a QA mindset in the C-level
Building a quality assurance mindset at the C-level isn't just about testing—it's about making sure quality is prioritized at every step of software development. The challenge? Executives focus on efficiency, growth, and customer impact, so QA needs to be framed in those terms.
Here are some quick ways to position QA as a key business driver:
- Connect QA to the bigger business picture
- Highlight the risks of neglecting QA
- Frame QA as an enabler of innovation
- Get them involved in the process
- Position QA as a competitive advantage
- Emphasize the customer perspective
- Reframe QA as a leadership responsibility too
- Show how QA improves efficiency
- Use KPIs that matter to leadership
1. Connect QA to the bigger business picture
C-level executives often think in terms of growth, revenue, and customer satisfaction. To make them more aware of the importance of quality, frame QA as a critical driver of these outcomes. Explain how high-quality products lead to stronger customer loyalty, better reviews, and fewer costly fixes down the line.
When leadership sees that quality impacts things like market share or brand reputation, it stops being a "testing team problem" and becomes a business priority.
2. Highlight the risks of neglecting QA
Executives often don't realize the financial implications of neglecting QA until it's too late. This is where you need to make the risks tangible. Share real numbers or examples of what happens when quality is overlooked.
For instance, you could talk about how a single production issue cost the company tens of thousands of dollars to fix or how customer churn increased because a buggy product didn't meet expectations.
Beyond monetary costs, there's the toll on team morale and productivity when developers are forced into firefighting mode to fix last-minute problems. Explain that investing in QA up front may seem like a higher cost, but it actually saves money by preventing these issues from spiraling out of control later.
3. Frame QA as an enabler of innovation
A common misconception among executives is that QA slows down the development process, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Explain that thorough QA actually speeds things up in the long run by preventing last-minute issues and reducing the need for constant rework.
For instance, if a critical bug is caught early, the development team can address it before it affects the entire project, saving time and resources. Quality also frees up teams to focus on innovation because they're not constantly distracted by urgent fixes.
QA also allows the company to move forward with confidence and invest in new features or ideas without worrying about breaking what's already been built.
4. Get them involved in the process
Executives are more likely to value QA if they see it in action.
Invite them to attend QA reviews, sprint demos, or product testing sessions to give them a firsthand look at how quality is maintained. For example, you could walk them through how a particular bug was identified and resolved before it reached the customer, preventing a potential crisis.
Seeing the process in action makes QA less abstract and shows its critical role in delivering a successful product. The focus isn't about turning executives into testers, but about helping them understand that QA isn't just a line item in the budget, but a key part of protecting the company's reputation and ensuring smooth operations.
5. Position QA as a competitive advantage
Data is great, but it doesn't always stick. Stories, however, can show the competitive edge QA provides. Share specific examples of how QA didn't just prevent disasters but positioned the company ahead of its competitors.
For instance, “Last year, we caught a critical bug two days before launch that could have caused X amount of downtime. Instead, we delivered on time and earned glowing reviews while our competitor faced delays with a buggy release.”
Or, “Remember that outage our competitor had that cost them X in revenue and a PR nightmare? We avoided the same fate because our QA process caught the issue early.”
Stories like these make it clear that QA isn't just about avoiding mistakes, but about gaining an advantage in the market. They're easier to remember and harder to dismiss when they're tied to winning against competitors.
6. Emphasize the customer perspective
C-levels may not always connect the dots between QA and customer satisfaction. Share stories of how quality (or the lack of it) has affected your customers. Highlight positive outcomes, like how a bug-free release led to glowing feedback, or cautionary tales where issues caused frustration.
Putting QA in terms of customer impact makes it more relatable. When executives see the direct line between quality and happy customers, they're more likely to prioritize it.
7. Reframe QA as a leadership responsibility too
Quality starts at the top. If leadership doesn't prioritize it, no one else will. Help executives understand that QA isn't just a task for testers.
The QA mindset needs to be championed at the highest level. This could mean allocating proper budgets, setting clear expectations, and even including QA metrics in business reviews.
When QA is treated as an afterthought, it shows in the product and in customer feedback. But when it's prioritized, it sets the tone for the entire organization.
Leaders need to see QA as part of their responsibility, not just something the testing team handles.
8. Show how QA improves efficiency
C-level executives care about speed and resource allocation. QA isn't just about catching bugs, it's about making development more efficient. Automated testing reduces the need for repetitive manual work, freeing up engineers to focus on building new features. Prioritizing risk-based testing ensures teams aren't wasting time on areas with low impact.
When QA is built into the process early, teams avoid last-minute scrambles before release. Instead of fixing issues under pressure, they can work on improvements and ship faster. This shifts QA from being seen as a bottleneck to a way of keeping projects on track.
At TestResults, we offer a tool that automates software testing to ensure your systems run smoothly and deliver reliable results. Our tool eliminates flaky tests and false positives, so your team can trust the outcomes.
TestResults is designed to test entire processes, not just individual features, helping you catch issues early and keep your software performing at its best.
9. Use KPIs and metrics that matter to leadership
Leadership doesn't care about the number of test cases, they care about what impacts the business. Show them how early defect detection reduces expensive fixes after release. Highlight how automation speeds up testing, shortening development cycles.
Another key metric: how many issues QA catches before customers do. If executives see that testing prevents real-world problems, they'll be more likely to invest in it. Frame QA in terms of cost savings, faster releases, and customer retention, things that directly affect the bottom line.
Frequently asked questions
What motivates quality assurance professionals?
Quality assurance professionals are driven by the goal of making sure products work as they should. They enjoy solving problems and catching issues early, knowing their work helps deliver something better to the end user. The teamwork, learning new skills, and constantly improving processes keep things interesting.
But deep down, what really drives them is the satisfaction of seeing a product run smoothly, knowing they had a hand in making it reliable and high quality. It's that "I helped make this awesome" feeling that keeps them going.
What is the main goal of QA in software testing?
The main goal of QA in software testing is to make sure the software actually does what it's supposed to. It's about hunting down bugs, squashing them, and making sure everything's running smoothly before it hits users.
How to be successful in QA?
To succeed in QA, it's important to have the right mindset and go beyond just running tests. A great QA engineer works closely with the whole team, making sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to quality.
Effective communication also plays a huge role. Sharing feedback, pointing out potential problems early, and keeping everyone informed keeps things running smoothly.
It's time to drive success with a QA-driven approach!
Building a quality assurance mindset means getting everyone on board with testing and quality right from the start.
When testing becomes second nature and your decisions are driven by real data, you'll dodge those big headaches down the line and end up with a way better product.
If you're ready to improve how your team approaches testing, we're here to help you make it happen. Let's get in touch!
