QI Roles
The field of software testing is evolving. AI is transforming the way we develop and ensure the quality of digital solutions. At the same time, IT landscapes are becoming increasingly complex, and quality must be more closely aligned with business objectives, risks, technology, and day-to-day operations. This is also changing the skills and competencies that organizations need.
Drawing on our experience and the needs we encounter among our clients, we have developed our vision of what future roles in software testing and quality assurance could look like. We call them QI Advisor, QI Architect, QI Analyst, and QI Engineer.
Four distinct roles, each with its own focus, but all sharing one common goal: to create stronger alignment between business, technology, and quality.
Quality IntelligenceThe field of software testing is evolving. AI is transforming the way we develop and ensure the quality of digital solutions. At the same time, IT landscapes are becoming increasingly complex, and quality must be more closely aligned with business objectives, risks, technology, and day-to-day operations. This is also changing the skills and competencies that organizations need.
Drawing on our experience and the needs we encounter among our clients, we have developed our vision of what future roles in software testing and quality assurance could look like. We call them QI Advisor, QI Architect, QI Analyst, and QI Engineer.
Four distinct roles, each with its own focus, but all sharing one common goal: to create stronger alignment between business, technology, and quality.
Quality IntelligenceSoftware quality is not achieved solely through the testing performed shortly before a release.
It begins taking shape much earlier, when decisions are made about strategy, requirements, architecture, risks, data, and technology. This is why we see a growing need for roles that address quality at different levels of an organization.
Some professionals need to advise senior management and challenge decisions. Others need to design the overall approach to quality. Some must bridge the gap between business and development, while others need the technical expertise to turn ambitions into practical solutions.
This is the thinking behind our four Quality Intelligence roles.
They should not be viewed as four isolated profiles. Together, they form an interconnected chain of competencies, where specialization is essential, but the greatest value comes from collaboration and interaction between the roles.
QI Advisor
The QI Advisor works closely with the client’s business and key decision-makers, focusing on integrating quality into the processes where strategic decisions are made.
The role may involve addressing quality in areas such as procurement and tender processes, vendor management, risk assessment, and governance. This means that quality becomes part of the decision-making process much earlier, rather than only being considered when a solution is ready for testing.
As AI plays an increasingly important role in the development of digital solutions, we also see a growing need for independent quality assurance and advisory services. Here, the QI Advisor plays a central role in providing an overview, challenging assumptions, and ensuring that quality and risk are addressed at the appropriate strategic level.
QI Architect
The QI Architect designs the structures needed to turn an organization’s quality ambitions into practical solutions.
This may include test strategies, quality metrics, test automation architecture, data strategies, and the tool platforms required to support quality assurance activities.
The QI Architect typically works across projects, products, and programs, creating alignment between strategic decisions and how quality is managed in practice.
While the QI Advisor helps define the direction, the QI Architect translates that direction into a practical, consistent, and coherent quality framework.
QI Engineer
The QI Engineer is responsible for the technical delivery of quality assurance solutions.
The role involves tasks such as test automation, integration testing, performance testing, data testing, and other technical quality assurance activities, working closely with development teams and the broader IT landscape.
AI will make certain aspects of this work more efficient, but it will not eliminate the need for technical quality expertise. On the contrary, increasingly complex IT environments, integrations, and emerging technologies mean that skilled professionals are still needed to understand, build, test, and validate technical solutions.
The QI Engineer therefore translates quality strategy into technical execution.
QI Analyst
The QI Analyst works at the intersection where business needs must be translated into a clear understanding of quality and risk.
The role involves activities such as requirements analysis, product risk analysis, AI-assisted test design, test coverage analysis, and ensuring quality throughout user journeys and business processes.
The QI Analyst works closely with both business stakeholders and development teams, making the role an important link between strategic advisory services and technical quality assurance.
A key objective is to ensure alignment between business requirements, risks, and technical solutions, while preventing valuable knowledge from being lost as business needs are translated into implementation.
AI is becoming an increasingly important part of both software development and testing.
This means that certain tasks can be completed more quickly, while new opportunities are emerging in areas such as test design, automation, analysis, and data.
However, we do not believe that AI will replace professional testing expertise. AI is an enabler, not a replacement.
As development accelerates and technology becomes more complex, the ability to understand risks, ask the right questions, and assess actual quality becomes even more important.
We therefore see competencies such as AI-assisted testing, risk-based testing, prompt engineering, business understanding, governance, and compliance as essential parts of the skills landscape that future quality professionals will need to navigate.
These new roles are closely connected to the principles behind Quality Intelligence.
For us, the future of quality assurance is not about performing as many tests as possible. It is about using the right competencies, data, and technologies to understand quality and make better decisions.
This represents a shift away from primarily focusing on the volume of testing towards a stronger emphasis on confidence, reliability, and strategic value.
The Quality Intelligence roles represent our vision of the competencies needed to make this possible.
Not every organization needs all four roles to the same extent.
Your specific needs depend on factors such as your IT landscape, organizational structure, maturity level, and the quality challenges you face.
Some organizations primarily need stronger strategic advisory capabilities and governance. Others need better alignment between business and development, or additional technical expertise in areas such as test automation and integration testing.
Ultimately, it is not just about finding the right job title.
It is about understanding which competencies are required to deliver the level of quality your digital solutions demand.
Get in touch with TestHuset, and let us explore which competencies and roles best match your organization’s needs and quality requirements.
Contact us by phone at +45 44 979 979, by email at salg@testhuset.dk, or through our contact form.
Content