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"Testing is not about preventing errors anymore in the complex world is to learn about what is working and what is not working." - Jean-Francois Riverin
With Jean-Francois Riverin I get into a question that bothered him for over 20 years: why are there still bugs in production even when you tested as well as you possibly could? His answer is that software stopped being a complicated problem, like building a bridge, a long time ago. It is now complex, more like medicine or meteorology, and that means the whole idea of finding the right answer through testing is the wrong goal. We talk about what it looks like to switch that mindset, what "safe to fail" means in practice, and how to make that argument to a manager who still expects predictable budgets and zero surprises on Friday afternoons.
Jean-François Riverin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zentelia, a Canadian consulting and training firm specializing in software quality, testing, quality engineering, and continuous improvement. With more than 25 years of experience in information technology, he helps organizations improve the way they build, test, and deliver software in complex and rapidly evolving environments. His work focuses on aligning quality practices with business objectives, enabling teams to make better decisions through meaningful metrics, pragmatic processes, and collaboration. Jean-François is an active contributor to the international software testing community. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Software Testing Board (CSTB), where he leads initiatives related to volunteering and technical excellence. He also contributes to the evolution of software testing certifications and is currently involved in the working group developing the next generation of the ISTQB® Certified Tester Foundation Level syllabus. A frequent speaker, trainer, and facilitator, Jean-François regularly shares practical insights on software quality, testing, metrics, DevOps, and organizational transformation. He is passionate about helping organizations move beyond compliance and control toward a vision of quality as a strategic capability that supports innovation, informed decision-making, and sustainable business performance.
Highlights:
- Software is not a complicated system like a bridge; it is a complex one, meaning outcomes are unpredictable and only observable after the fact, not calculated in advance.
- Blaming testers for production failures misunderstands the nature of complex systems, where exhaustive pre-release prediction is structurally impossible, not a skill gap.
- Testing in a complex environment is a learning activity: deploying small changes frequently generates knowledge about what works, rather than confirming a known correct answer.
- Safe-to-fail experiments, feedback loops, and monitoring metrics replace the engineering goal of finding one right solution with continuous adaptation based on real production data.
