How Informal Connections Drive Success in Software Development and Testing

Tip: This is how much money is saved by testing 👈🏻

"Anytime we get to some team, we get to some group of people, we become a part of that informal network and that also influences our behavior." - Yuliia Pieskova

In this episode, I talk with Yuliia Pieskova about informal networks in software teams. We explore how spontaneous ties lift trust, speed, and quality in remote and hybrid setups. Formal charts set limits, people move work through friends. Yuliia shares stories from startups, hackathons, and product discovery where cross team groups watch users, swap ideas, then return with shared context. Remote work exposes old cracks yet levels locations and opens doors for new links.

Yuliia Pieskova is the co-founder of Alpha Affinity, a data startup, as well as a Certified Agile and Organizational Coach and consultant with over 13 years of IT experience in operational and leadership roles. She has successfully guided startups through scaling journeys, building distributed international product teams from the ground up, and has collaborated with corporations like SimCorp and SAP on complex transformations and change management initiatives. As a contributor to Agile Alliance and a keynote speaker, Yuliia drives forward-thinking discussions on Agile practices, remote work, and emerging technologies. She also designs and delivers AI workshops and training sessions, empowering leaders and coaches with practical tools to seamlessly integrate AI into their workflows.

Highlights:

• Informal ties boost trust, speed, and quality in remote and hybrid teams.


• People move work through relationships, not reporting lines.


• Testers act as connectors across teams.


• Remote work reveals gaps and creates new connections.


• Design spaces and align communication styles to support informal links.