As software delivery accelerates and AI driven tooling reshapes how teams approach testing, many QA leaders are facing the same challenge: how to evolve quality practices without losing the fundamentals that keep teams effective, scalable, and trusted.

This tension shows up in real leadership decisions every day. framework selection, automation trade offs, skill development, and responsible adoption of emerging tools. The conversations are rarely just about tools. They are about judgment, mindset, and how to guide teams through constant change without sacrificing long term quality.

In this reflection, Lyle Smart, Director of Quality Assurance and Test Automation (SDET) at Continued, shares perspective shaped by real world leadership decisions. His experience offers practical guidance for QA and engineering leaders navigating speed, complexity, and sustainability in today’s delivery landscape.

When a technical decision becomes a leadership one

One defining moment for Lyle came during a new platform build, when he was faced with choosing a test automation framework.

On the surface, the decision appeared technical. In reality, it carried significant leadership weight.

That choice would influence how the team collaborated, how quickly engineers could onboard, and how quality practices would scale over time. For Lyle, the decision was less about picking the “best” framework and more about setting the foundation for how the team would work and grow together.

Framework decisions shape culture. They signal what a team values, how approachable quality is for new contributors, and whether testing becomes a shared responsibility or a bottleneck.

Excitement, innovation, and the need for discipline

Lyle describes QA leadership today as genuinely exciting. The pace of innovation, especially with AI, has opened up new possibilities for how teams think about testing and quality engineering.

At the same time, strong fundamentals still matter.

From his perspective, leading QA requires balancing innovation with discipline. Skilled QA professionals remain essential to guide quality decisions, apply context, and ensure tools are used intentionally rather than for novelty. AI can accelerate workflows, but it cannot replace judgment.

The role of QA leadership is increasingly about knowing when to lean into new capabilities and when to slow down and ask harder questions.

What really keeps QA leaders up at night

For leaders like Lyle, the biggest concern is not adopting the next tool. It is ensuring the department has the right mix of skills, both technical and interpersonal, to succeed in the future. This matters at a leadership level because it directly affects sustainability.

Teams need more than expertise with tools. They need communication skills, critical thinking, and the ability to adapt as systems, products, and expectations evolve. Without those skills, even the most advanced tooling can become a liability rather than an advantage.

Fast adoption, thoughtful use

Lyle points to real world examples where new capabilities required careful leadership, not just enthusiasm. When new features such as cy.prompt were introduced, adoption needed to be fast but thoughtful. The challenge was ensuring teams understood not only how the feature worked, but when it should be used and when it should not. As a leader, he felt responsible for helping the team avoid unnecessary complexity or misuse that could reduce effectiveness instead of improving it. Clear guidance, shared standards, and open conversations became just as important as documentation.

Slowing down to move forward

These experiences shaped how Lyle approaches leadership today. Pressure can push teams toward fast solutions, but rushed quality decisions often create more work later. He now places greater emphasis on evaluating broader impact and long term consequences, especially when introducing new tools or practices. Slowing down is not resistance to progress. It is a way to protect teams from churn, burnout, and fragile systems.

A final reflection for QA and engineering leaders

If Lyle could leave other QA or engineering leaders with one reflection, it would be this:

Keep learning. The future is exciting, and new tools and skills are essential. Just do not lose sight of the core principles of quality that make those tools effective in the first place.

If you are looking for leadership content that keeps you and your team ahead of the curve, register for CypressConf 2026 and learn from industry leaders defining success in modern software development.