Go for Gold 🥇

What is the purpose if you’re not working to build a quality product? As a digital professional, you should care about this more than anyone else. Quality is the thing you’re selling. How can you expect others to love your product if you can’t love what you’re building?

Why Quality Is Your Problem

Being a digital professional means setting a gold standard and committing to it.

Here’s why:

• Users Leave: Nobody tells you they’ve stopped using your product. They just stop. If what you’re building is clunky, inefficient, or poorly designed, users will quickly lose interest, and the product’s potential will crumble, ultimately eroding your job opportunity.
• Client Trust: Clients expect you to deliver something that meets and exceeds their needs. Consistently delivering high-quality work builds trust and gets you asked back.
• Pride in Craft: If you don’t love the product you’re working on, it’s unlikely others will either. Being passionate about the quality of the result inspires the team and ensures you’re delivering something you’re proud of.

Built-In Quality Checks

Quality doesn’t happen because you delegated it and hoped. You have to actively build quality into the process. Here’s how:

• Be Present During Concept Phases: Be involved in the product’s early stages. Don’t just rely on designers and developers; review prototypes, assess designs, and consider how the product will feel and function. Early involvement gives you a sense of ownership and insight into the core aspects of the product.
• Partner with QA: Your QA team is the last person to see the product before your users do. Treat them that way. Ensure your QA team is not only testing but doing so methodically, catching bugs, inconsistencies, and inefficiencies before they become more extensive.
• Regular Reviews: Schedule frequent reviews of the product and processes to ensure you uphold quality at every stage. Spot-check builds, discuss product performance with the team, and ensure alignment on what “gold” looks like.

You, as Quality Champion

As the catalyst for the project, you also need to care about its quality. You’re overseeing every aspect of the project, so you have a bird’s eye view. You know when something isn’t up to par, and you need to be the one to call it out. Don’t shy away from diving into details:

• Understand the Product: You don’t need to be a developer or designer, but you should have a solid understanding of what your team is building, how it works, and why it matters. The more you understand, the better equipped you’ll be to spot issues or ask critical questions.
• Validate Feedback: Part of being a quality advocate is knowing how to handle feedback. Not all (client) feedback is valid, and sometimes it’s up to you to determine whether it’s helpful. If you know the product inside out, you’ll be more able to differentiate between meaningful input and noise.

Be the voice of quality within your team. If you won’t call it out, nobody downstream of you will.