Kicking off QA team meetings can feel like opening Pandora's box—you never know what topics and challenges will spill out! From software demos to production incidents to simply building team camaraderie, these meetings can serve many purposes and take many different shapes.
The topic of QA Team Meetings was explored in a popular discussion thread on The Club forum where KimBley Griffin asked, "What topics are discussed in your regularly held QA team meetings?" The post generated many responses, revealing the wide range of activities and approaches test teams take during their regular gatherings.Â
This Community Thoughts article summarises that discussion, and you can still contribute to the conversation. Feel free to read this summary or jump straight to the topic!
Aligning on Projects and Priorities
For many test teams, a core purpose of the QA meeting is to sync up on the current state of projects and testing activities. This often includes status updates from each team member on what they worked on recently. As Steve described for their fully remote team, “We each talk for a minute or two about what we did work-wise in the last week.”
Beyond individual updates, the meetings allow teams to discuss upcoming project needs, potential bottlenecks, and how to prioritise QA's focus areas for the next sprint or couple of weeks. Having this shared understanding helps the whole team row in the same direction.
Building Testers’ Technical Know-how
In addition to project coordination, many test teams use the meetings for continual learning and skill development. Popular learning activities include:
- Demos of new test automation solutions or other tools
- Case studies of interesting bugs or test scenarios
- Technical workshops on tools, techniques, coding practices etc.
- "Bug of the sprint" walkthroughs to collectively analyse severe issues
- Pair programming sessions to collaboratively solve test code challenges
As Alex Shamrai commented, "The main goal is to ensure these meetings are not just a routine catch-up but a tool for continuous learning, sharing, and improvement." By embedding learning into their cadence, QA teams expand their technical skills.
Additionally, seasoned software testers often use the meetings to share important context around business objectives, production incidents, automation strategy and more. This business knowledge sharing ensures the whole team understands the "whys" behind their testing efforts.
Check-Ins and Bonding Over Gripes
Team meetings also serve an important human element beyond just technical topics. For remote teams, the meetings provide a virtual water cooler to bond over personal life updates and chat before getting down to businesss.
And as Corry Littlefair mentioned, meetings can be "a sort of welfare check” to make sure everyone is doing OK in addition to their project responsibilities. This is especially important for remote teams who may rarely interact in-person.
The meetings can also provide a safe space to air "gripes and grumbles" about processes, tools or other frustrations in a constructive way. While retros may be preferable for tackling systemic issues, sometimes QAs just need an understanding shoulder to vent about that maddening defect.
Putting It Into Practice
With so many potential topics on the table, effective QA team meetings require judicious planning and strong facilitation. Having a clear agenda, time boxes, and participation from all attendees is key, as Michael H advised.
Additionally, the regularity and time length must align with the team's needs and ability to remain engaged. While some teams meet once a week for 2-3 hours, others prefer briefer bi-weekly sessions based on their team's context.
Regardless of the specific structure, the software testing community confirmed that regularly bringing test teams together provides immense value. The meetings reaffirm QA's shared mission, strengthen technical know-how, build team cohesion, and ultimately improve the quality of the products they work on.
Join the Conversation
Have additional insights to share about topics discussed in QA team meetings? The discussion continues on The Club forum, so feel free to jump in. You can also browse other topics the community is talking about or create new ones - either way, you'll gain valuable perspectives from software testing professionals around the world! Access to the Club forums is free with a Club level Ministry of Testing membership.
