QA Process Rant

I've worked in development and implementation for almost 15 years now and because of that I am always critiquing products.  I can do that because I have been both a QAT and a QAC so I have the background and knowledge to know what I'm talking about when venting about something that makes no sense.  With my job, sometimes the push back works in my favor and other times it doesn't work in my favor.

Today was one of those days.   I have been leasing vehicles from one of the big three automobile manufacturers for about 5 years now and have told them on more than one occasion that one of these days I will be working in their QA department.

One of the main reasons I lease is because I want a new car every 2 years.  Yes, I will always have a car payment but that's the price you pay when you want a new vehicle every 2 years and I've accepted that fact.  Anyway, the vehicle I have now is only 1 1/2 years old and has less than 25k miles on it.

Today, when taking one of the twins to work a light came on and the following conversation commenced.

Me:  "What in the world is that supposed to mean"? (Image with no words)

His smart little self:  "Mom, it's the check engine light".

Me:  "I know what it is but what part of the engine am I supposed to check? "

He just shook his head after that and then my rant started. 

Me:  "This is the 21st century ya know and I'm not driving a 20 year old vehicle.  My vehicle is smart enough to have features that tell me when I need an oil change, when my coolant is low, when I need washer fluid, can read my text messages to me, tell me when a door is open, blah blah blah.  Yet, when it wants to tell me that something is wrong with the engine all it can say is "Check Engine".   Ummm, really?  What part of the engine would you like me to check?  There are many parts to an engine so if you (my car) are smart enough to detect that something is wrong with the engine you should also be smart enough to tell me WHY you feel I need to check the engine.  Because all I am going to do is open the hood, check the engine out and close the hood.  At that point I did exactly what you told me to do.  I checked the engine. "

I have dealt with the same sales rep for as long as I have been leasing vehicles and every time I go for a new one I always tell him things that they could have done better, features that don't really make sense or don't work the way I (as the end user) feel they should and the features that should replace some of the useless ones.  He is such a cool guy and knows me well so we always joke about it but in the end his response when I say "One of these days I am going to be working in the QA department here" that it's probably going to happen.

For now, I just really wish they would get some 'real' end users in these vehicles when they are testing them.

The End.