Where Does QE Fit In? A Love Letter to a Misunderstood Discipline

Lately, I’ve found myself reflecting a lot on life, love, parenting, and work. It’s been one of those seasons where everything feels connected, like the threads of my life are finally being woven into a clearer pattern. And in all of this, I keep coming back to one thing: how much I love what I do.

Right now, I work in what is possibly one of the best places I’ve ever worked. That’s no small statement! There are challenges, of course. But challenges mould you. This place, and the people in it, have shaped me in ways I didn’t expect. I feel like there is space for me to grow and be valued. And yet… something lingers. A recurring question: Where does Quality Engineering really fit in a business?

It’s funny to look back now. QE wasn’t even on my radar a decade ago. Back then, I was a social media manager, a job I adored, until parenting changed my view entirely. As a mum to my son and step-mum to my stepson, I began to see the darker sides of social media… the toxicity, the pressure, the harm it can cause to young, developing minds! That role no longer aligned with who I was becoming.

I was lost. Staring at a career crossroads with my head in my hands, unsure of what to do next. Enter: my husband, who casually said, “You have a tester’s mindset. You should look into quality engineering.” And as always, he wasn’t wrong!

I threw myself into it. I went to my first TestBash in Brighton, and everything clicked. I met incredible people… people I still lean on to this day - who mentored me, supported me, and helped me understand what this weird, wonderful world of testing was really about.

My first role was at The App Business. A dream start. The kind of environment where you’re not just allowed but encouraged to grow. I was all in. And I thrived, until redundancy hit, during COVID, despite my high performance and everything I’d done for the company. It broke me. Genuinely. I had given everything, and I was gone.

My first redundancy was personal. My second, after Wiggle collapsed, was painful. But I was more prepared. Or at least, I told myself I was!

You see, being in QE isn’t just about doing your job well. It’s about constantly proving your value, constantly justifying your presence. I’ve sat in rooms where everyone else gets recognition, rewards, weekends away, and QE? QE gets mentioned… if we’re lucky!

And that’s the problem. Because QE isn’t just testing. It never has been!

In my current role, I don’t just verify software. I evaluate risk. I optimise processes. I influence how teams collaborate. I advocate for a better product, a better experience. I get involved early. And when I’m allowed to do all of that? The business wins. Every time.

So why do we still bolt testing on at the end?

Why is QE still misunderstood? Still seen as the team that finds bugs, rather than the team that prevents them from happening in the first place?

When I joined my current company, I knew I had to change that. I embedded myself earlier in the process. I earned the trust of teams. And while we’ve gained respect and visibility… recognition still feels out of reach. That’s what I’m wrestling with right now.

I recently saw a post about a hotel group flying their sales team out for a team-building retreat. Great! But here’s the thing: it’s always the customer-facing, revenue-generating teams who get the spotlight. Meanwhile, the people executing the work—the ones sweating the details, safeguarding the product, and raising critical risks remain in the background.

This isn’t a “woe is me” moment. This is a call for balance.

I don’t want a medal. I don’t want fanfare. But I do want QE to be seen as what it truly is: a strategic asset, not a safety net. We’re not here to pick up the pieces when things go wrong. We’re here to make sure things go right in the first place.

And maybe that means I need to keep speaking up.

Maybe it means I keep shouting (passionately!) about how much QE matters. I know that sometimes my passion is misunderstood. I’ve been told I’m too much. But I won’t apologise for caring. I won’t shrink myself to make others more comfortable.

What I will do is keep advocating. Keep mentoring. Keep educating those around me on why QE belongs in the room, not just as an afterthought, but as a vital contributor from day one.

I want to belong. I want to thrive. I want other QEs coming up behind me to walk into companies that already get it, because people like us did the hard work of making it make sense.

So, where does QE fit into a business?

Everywhere!!!

Especially where quality matters.

I would love to hear from anybody who has overcome these challenges and has any suggestions. This is my personal challenge right now. I want To overcome this so badly!

Swanny xx