https://smallsheds.garden/enContents © 2026 <a href="mailto:site@joep.slmail.me">Joep Schuurkes</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> <img alt="Creative Commons BY-SA License" style="border-width:0;margin: 0px 0px 4px 0px;" src="https://licensebuttons.net/l/by-sa/4.0/80x15.png" /> </a> Sat, 19 Sep 2026 09:30:31 GMTNikola (getnikola.com)http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttps://smallsheds.garden/blog/2026/if-developers-have-autonomy-mastery-purpose/Joep Schuurkes<div><p>At the latest <a href="https://frogsconf.nl/">FroGS conf</a> open space, I hosted a session around the question:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>If developers have autonomy, mastery and purpose, what do you need testers for?</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Not because I believe that obviously in that case you don't, but I thought exploring the question would clarify the different roles a tester might have in <a href="https://smallsheds.garden/blog/2025/we-do-not-all-have-the-same-job/">different organizations</a>.</p> <p>After briefly sharing my own answers and my critique on the premise of the question, we had a great discussion with the group. As this post is based on the session as a whole (without claiming to cover everything that was discussed), I want to give a big thank you to everyone who participated in it.</p> <p><em>Sidenote: for a post about a different session at the latest FroGS conf, read Elizabeth Zagroba's post <a href="https://elizabethzagroba.com/posts/2026/09_08_tortured_fish_metaphors/">"Tortured Fish Metaphors"</a>.</em></p> <p><a href="https://smallsheds.garden/blog/2026/if-developers-have-autonomy-mastery-purpose/">Read more…</a> (7 min remaining to read)</p></div>careerconferencesmanagementquality engineeringsoftware developmentsoftware testingsystem thinkinghttps://smallsheds.garden/blog/2026/if-developers-have-autonomy-mastery-purpose/Fri, 18 Sep 2026 22:00:00 GMT