A Conversation on Quality Engineering Strategy and the Role of Leadership

Infosys Quality Leadership Forum: QE strategy for disruption or disruptive QE strategy – the choice leaders make

A fireside chat between Minal Shah – Director, Software Development and Engineering at Charles Schwab, and Arvind Sundar – Practice Engagement Manager, at Infosys

As part of our ongoing effort to enable insightful discussions among experts and shed light on the latest trends in the industry, Infosys Quality Engineering conducted the second edition of Infosys Quality Leadership Forum on June 22, 2023. In the series of client-led conversations themed around quality engineering, this edition saw Arvind Sundar, Practice Engagement Manager at Infosys, in conversation with our distinguished guest, Minal Shah, Director, Software Development and Engineering at Charles Schwab. They conversed on a range of topics such as technological progression in quality engineering, moving forward with agility, and Infosys’s approach to quality, among others.

The crucial role of quality engineering today

Arvind starts the conversation by asking Minal about her vast professional experience. Minal in turn elaborates on the advantage of adopting a quality-oriented mindset and how it has helped her evolve professionally. She also speaks about the necessary skills that quality engineers should adopt today in order to remain relevant in the dynamically changing technological landscape.

Aligning quality with organizational goals

Arvind steers the conversation toward the need to change the generic erroneous perception of quality engineering being a bottleneck and invites Minal’s view on this. In her reply, Minal emphasizes the importance of understanding the organization’s goals and aligning them with quality engineering. She also highlights the relevance of knowing the exact business value right at the beginning, when any innovative initiative is implemented in the organization. She focuses on the significance of having a vision not only for the quality engineering strategy but for quality as a career too.

Infosys’ futuristic approach to quality engineering

Taking the discussion ahead, Minal asks Arvind about Infosys’ approach to quality and the measures Infosys is taking to maintain agility with quality. Arvind presents Infosys’ forward-looking approach to quality. Later in the conversation he also underlines the importance of innovation at Infosys and points out our offerings such as Infosys Cobalt and Infosys Topaz that are at the forefront of our quest for innovation. Arvind then talks about various learning initiatives at Infosys and the role they have played in making Infosys a digital-first organization.

Leadership advice for new-age leaders

In the last part of the conversation, Arvind asks Minal to speak about her leadership experience and offer some guidance to the new-age quality leaders. In response, Minal points out the significance of having the right mentor. She also narrates how creating a strong foundation helped her in this journey. Talking about the qualities of a competent leader, she highlights the ability to understand the team as well as the organization’s vision and the openness to own mistakes.