WHAT HAPPENED TO QUALITY, USABILITY AND DOGFOODING? - The Engineering Discipline of Quality and Trust

In this episode of The Agile Software Engineering Deep Dive, Alessandro Guida reflects on a question many of us quietly experience as users:

What happened to quality?

In the race to release faster, ship AI features, and stay ahead of competitors, software increasingly “almost works.” Small usability irritations, fragile integrations, and premature releases are becoming normalized.

This episode is not about blaming a specific product or technology. It is about examining a broader cultural shift in engineering priorities.

Alessandro revisits the discipline of “dogfooding” - the practice of using your own software before releasing it - and reflects on why reliability, usability, and professional testing rigor are not nostalgic ideals, but foundational responsibilities.

The conversation also expands beyond apps and web platforms. As software moves into appliances, vehicles, and physical systems, quality becomes more than convenience. It becomes trust.

This episode sets the stage for a deeper exploration of what Alessandro defines as the four pillars of software quality: Security, Reliability, Usability, and Performance.

If you care about building systems people can truly depend on, this conversation is for you.

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