Tanmay Vora: #QUALITYtweet interview

Today I’m delighted to share Tanmay Vora with you, someone who is amazingly insightful that I was introduced to you by our mutual friend Rajesh Setty, and someone I am now proud to cal my friend. Tanmay wrote a nifty book on QA, quality and leadership called #QUALITYtweet. I devoured it when I got it, and I needed to know more about the man behind the book.

Phil: What’s your background?

Tanmay: I am a software quality management professional based out of India. I have been working in IT for over 12 years and have worked in diverse areas like software development, methodologies, quality management, software testing and process improvement initiatives. I specialize in pragmatic process implementation, building independent software testing teams from scratch and exploring importance of leadership in the quality equation. I speak and consult on Software Quality Assurance and host QAspire Blog. I tweet as @tnvora

Phil: Why did you write #QUALITYtweet?

Tanmay: We are living in a world where attention span of people is getting shorter and shorter. On top of that, most books on Quality tend to focus too much on heavyweight processes and models. I wanted to offer lightweight and practical insights on building quality culture through effective leadership, people and processes.

Phil: Who do you think can benefit most from #QUALITYtweet?

Tanmay: #QUALITYtweet is a useful collection of ideas for

• Business Owners (because if there is not commitment from the top, a quality culture never evolves).
• Quality Managers (because they are the ones who implement quality improvement strategies and drive change in the organizations).
• Project Managers and Leaders (because they manage people who deliver products and services).
• Team members (because unless they don’t do their job right the first time, quality is difficult to attain).

Phil: That sounds like a LOT of the people who read my blog. Outstanding!

Phil: As you know, my mantra is Make It Great!, and I believe everyone needs a mantra. What’s your personal mantra?

Tanmay: My personal mantra is – Spreading Happiness Through Quality, Excellence and Leadership.

I strongly believe that quality is not just ‘conformance to requirements’ or ‘degree of excellence’. Quality is happiness. Happiness of people who produce, people who lead them, internal customers, stakeholders and the end-customers who use the products/services.

Phil: I know you are a lifelong learner, so I’m curious…What are you reading these days?

Tanmay: I recently read “The Leadership Test” by Timothy R. Clark, a fantastic book that can kick start some soul-searching and self-assessment for aspiring leaders. (NOTE from Phil: This is on my list to read soon too)

I am re-reading Nicholas Bate’s book “Instant MBA” which is an excellent resource for accessing fantastic MBA thinking without going to management school.

Mike Friesen has written a book titled “Expected End” which is a brilliant book on building great organization culture. The basic premise of the book is “Culture drives Results”.

Phil: Is there anything else you’d like to share with the folks who read Make it Great!?

Tanmay: I would like to share a few selected tweets from my book #QUALITYtweet that emphasizes importance of leadership in the quality equation:

“How NOT to deliver total quality: focus on quality of product without focusing on quality of relationship and communication.”

“People work for a leader who works for their people.”

“QUALITY = HARD + SOFT.

Hard = data, statistics, and information.

Soft = human attitudes, beliefs, and motivations.”

Phil: Fantastic stuff Tanmay! Thanks for making time for my readers.

In case you missed them, here are the ways to learn more from Tanmay:

• #QUALITYtweet – A nifty little book about quality
• Follow Tanmay Vora on Twitter
• Read the QAspire blog

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