Michael Bernat, CSM CSPO

“This is the book I wish I had 30 years ago.” “Clear, practical, and grounded in experience.” “Helped me level up as a developer and a thinker.” That’s what readers are saying about The Software Developer’s Guidebook, a Leanpub book I wrote to share what I believe are the core principles of professional software development. This isn’t a book about trendy frameworks or coding tricks. It’s about the ideas that last: engineering discipline, fast feedback, clean design, reliable delivery, thinking in systems. It’s a guide for software developers who want to build better software consistently, predictably, and professionally. If you’ve ever felt frustrated by broken processes, unclear priorities, or code that’s hard to trust, this book might have the advice you're looking for. The link to the book is in the comments, so check it out. Thanks to everyone who’s already read it, and if it’s helped you, I’d love to hear what stood out most.

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QA isn’t dead - but it could be if we quit this fight. I've seen a lot of people wanting to call it quits in QA lately on LinkedIn. Which tells me; the real enemy isn’t AI or automation. It’s despair. It’s the silence after rejection that convinces too many testers to give up. 🔹 Roles vanish mid-process. 🔹 Recruiters ghost after final rounds. 🔹 “Overqualified” labels block talented professionals. 🔹 Applications disappear into black holes. 🔹 The industry starts whispering: “Maybe QA is done.” I’ve sat on both sides of the table; leading QA teams through layoffs, been ghosted myself during interviews (more times than I care to remember), and watching brilliant testers walk away. The difference between those who return and those who don’t isn’t talent. It’s survival. If too many testers give up, the discipline itself loses ground. QA doesn’t die because AI replaces us. It dies if we retreat quietly. Hold the line. Stay sharp. Stay visible. Every post you write, every skill you sharpen, every connection you make keeps QA alive. Because when the market rebounds - and it will - those who endured won’t just fight again. They’ll win and I want that for all of us. Please don't give up. #QualityAssurance #SoftwareTesting #QAJobs #QALeadership #TestAutomation #SoftwareQuality #QualityEngineering #CareerGrowth #JobSearch #TechCareers #AutomationTesting #Leadership #TestingCommunity #CareerResilience 

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Online help is simply a format, not a deliverable. Don’t be misled! Technical documentation deliverables such as user guides, API documentation, and quick start guides each serve unique purposes, target different audiences, and have distinct structures. I’ve put together a detailed overview to clarify these differences and their significance. Take a look to better understand the context of each deliverable and enhance user assistance. #TechnicalWriting #TechComm #UserExperience

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I won't be pushing for Unit Tests on Flows moving forward. I reviewed the roadmap today and don't see any dev time carved out this year to address a foundational automation need. Instead, we are seeing a focus on agent-built Flows and other enhancements. And while these are undoubtedly productivity savers, they don't address the very real risk of building automation without a way to identify regressions. As more agent-built automation features are rolled out, we will see a decrease in headcount to support orgs. Rather than build unit tests, which would allow teams to do more with less, we are seeing a focus on automation of automation with no safety net. And there are no team resources to support manual QA efforts. I've cautioned this before: without scalable testing, we will see Flows (especially agentic ones) bog down orgs and continue to build debt. I am not sure why Salesforce, in its infinite wisdom, started with advanced concepts without having core functions in an SDLC, especially ones required for SOX and SOC2 compliance. I brought this issue up at True to the Core at Dreamforce and watched the executives' eyes glaze over, including Parker. #salesforce #tttc #dreamforce #flow #awesomeadmins

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WCAG is a spec. It is not a definition of done. If you're a VP of #Product, Director of #Engineering, or #Compliance Manager hiring someone to “own #accessibility,” this message is for you. We need to talk about the myth that “meeting WCAG” means something is "done". #WCAG is a library of philosophical success criterion — it’s not an instruction manual, not a checklist, and definitely not a substitute for policies, training, or process change. It’s like saying your app is #secure because your team reviewed the #OWASP Top 10 that one time. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines were never meant to be your only tool. It's not even a floor, and definitely not the ceiling. It's like referring your teams to a legal policy document. If you’re hiring someone to build an accessibility program, give them the authority and structure to do more than recite WCAG. - You need plain language rules they understand - You need accessibility acceptance criteria baked into each Jira ticket - You need frictionless training that matches team roles - You need policies with monitored (and enforceable) targets - You need leadership to hold teams accountable with objective data Without strategy, policies and tactics, an accessibility program is just a team of firefighters — solving the same problems but not fixing the system — but with the right programs in place, accessibility is an innovative asset.

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A little more detail on my AI in QA workshops: Please reshare to help get out the word. These are free and I want to keep doing them if there is interest. The goal is largely meant to inspire and encourage learning. They will point you in the right direction. 1. An intro to Cursor, Playwright & LLMs This hour-long session will focus on getting you comfortable with Cursor and the tips and tricks that are key for QA engineers using it. I’ll walk you through model selection, how to set context, how to use rules, and more. This is great for anyone who is fairly new to Cursor and wants to start using it. Calendly: https://lnkd.in/gJthqa7b 2. Using Cursor to build your POM This session will leverage Cursor to build out a basic page object model. I’ll show you how to do this using both the DOM and code. Additionally, we’ll cover adding test IDs to the codebase and look at strategies for handling test data. Calendly: https://lnkd.in/gp9M6Gn9 3. Directors only: How can Cursor help your team? These are ad-hoc sessions any manager, director, CTO, etc., can book. I’ve already done several and really enjoy them. They tend to be conversations about your current approach, with me demoing whether or not Cursor can be helpful. They are often fascinating discussions about QA and usually offer a nugget or two that people take away. Calendly: https://lnkd.in/guRf6Cu2 #qa #ai #cursor #learning

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If you’re a technical writer applying for roles right now, this is one you’ll want to watch. I had a great chat with Michael where we talked about documentation interviews, what hiring managers look for, how to present your work, and how to stand out. Watch the recording: https://lnkd.in/dEB-hiyb #technicalwriting #documentation #jobsearch

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Being a Jira admin is easy... Just: ↳ Set up a project ↳ Create the right issue types ↳ Add custom fields (but not too many) ↳ Build automations ↳ Set permissions ↳ Break permissions ↳ Get yelled at by legal ↳ Fix it ↳ Build reports ↳ Hear “these dashboards are wrong” ↳ Rebuild them ↳ Then… someone makes a spreadsheet instead Anyway, how has Jira been treating you lately? #AtlassianCreator #Jira Atlassian

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You’ve probably heard the promise of “faster testing” before. But what happens when your Playwright suite doubles in size? 🤔 Suddenly, it’s not writing the first test that’s the challenge. It’s keeping hundreds of them alive and reliable. This session with Ryo Chikazawa dives into how AI-powered agents are changing that. We’ll show you practical ways to reduce test debt, prevent brittle scripts, and boost coverage without burning out your team. You’ll also get a live look at Autify Muon, an AI agent that lets you create, fix, and explain Playwright tests using natural language. If scaling automation is on your roadmap, this is the playbook you’ve been waiting for. Join our webinar. 👇👇👇 https://lnkd.in/ewPRajMf #AITesting #TestAutomation #SoftwareTesting #QAAutomation #TestingTools #TestingAtScale #ContinuousTesting #TestingEfficiency #ModernTesting #AutomationEngineers #TestGuildWebinar #WorkWithTestGuild #Autify #Playwright #AutifyMuon #AIagent

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"𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁" 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻. It’s how I learned to influence without authority As a mid-level QA woman in tech. Waiting for permission wasn’t going to cut it. A colleague who was great at this stuff shared the basics: 🔸 Understand what’s really bugging them 🔸 Bring solutions that help the business 🔸 Show up prepared (always) 🔸 Do what you say you’ll do 🔸 Pick your moments to speak up But here’s what really moved the needle: 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. Coffee chats with devs. Checking in on product managers’ side projects. Remembering what stressed people out. So when crunch time hit, I wasn’t just “that QA person” I was someone they trusted. And it worked: ✅ I heard about issues early ✅ Devs shifted priorities when I asked ✅ My meetings actually worked because I’d already invested in listening 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱... A critical customer project. I had to convince leadership to shorten a risky freeze window. They said yes, not because of my job title Because of the trust I'd earned. And because I was clear about the risk and the business impact. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁. People who influence without authority: 1️⃣ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 – They invest in people, not just projects 2️⃣ 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 – They understand what matters to others 3️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 – No jargon, just clarity 4️⃣ 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀 – They know when to push and when to pause They’re not tricks They’re how real leaders show up. Keep showing up this way, and people will start listening. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? Start with coffee chats - not PowerPoints. Drop a 👍 if you're trying it. Go book that chat this week.

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You don’t need more tools. You need a map. In late 2022, I was called into a large U.S. bank. The QA team was missing sprint goals. Releases were late. Budgets? Blown. Everyone was frustrated; no one knew why. The work looked fine on paper. But something was off. So, we did one thing that changed everything: We used Value Stream Mapping (VSM). Not to track tasks. But to see the flow. To surface what no dashboard could show. We mapped 7 QA processes. Here’s what jumped out: 1. Vague user stories 2. Late reviews 3. Too many handoffs 4. Quiet rework piling up Tiny issues were creating massive waste. The team saw the truth and owned it. They simplified. Streamlined. Collaborated better. The impact? 1.    100% of sprint goals delivered 2.    Less than 1% defect leakage 3.    Teams felt proud again No new tools. No heroics. Just clarity. If your team feels stuck, don’t start with solutions. Start with a map. What would your value stream reveal?

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None of them said “bad grammar.” I surveyed over 100 developers across teams, projects, and tech stacks. Here are the top 5 complaints: 1. No real-world examples 2. Outdated endpoints 3. Too much marketing, not enough substance 4. No versioning context 5. Auth flow is broken 6. Images are not annotated to help clarity and focus If your docs aren’t answering real dev questions, they’re just pretty brochures. As a tech writer, I believe documentation is UX. What’s something you’ve seen in docs that instantly made you trust (or hate) a product?

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No QA! #CollegeVine is able to perform releases w/o the need of QA. It is definitely doable. But notice what Chris says: they have CICD pipelines, each piece of work should be deployable in Prod in 2 days or less, they have automated tests and feature flagging to control what is being used. This echos my previous 2 articles that essentially says: don't hire QA unless you have a clear business need for it and look at alternatives first. Thanks to Matthieu McClintock for pointing me to this. #softwarequality #softwaretesting #softwareengineering

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