Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)

@theproductmindedqa

Mama. Sci-fi reader. Baker of delicious pies. Lover of naps, sunshine, and macarons (not in that order). Always learning. I write about quality-as-a-system and the sometimes invisible work of making software less awful at

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Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir theproductmindedqa.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· 19d

today’s evergreen wisdom courtesy of John A Shedd

A lock screen widget shows the John A. Shedd quote “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”, next to a Thursday, July 23 calendar widget reading “No Events Today” and a Spotify widget showing the track “Asibe Happy (Trinix Remix)” with album art of two people

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· 25d

today’s wisdom courtesy of Robert M. Pirsig and InsightTimer

iPhone lock screen on a purple background. A Robert M. Pirsig quote at the top reads “The place to improve the world is first in your own heart and head and hands.” Below it, a calendar widget reads ‘Friday 17, No Events Today,’ next to a Spotify widget playing ‘Raindance (feat. Tems)’ by Dave and Tems, showing the single’s angel-wing cover art.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· 29d

and look it’s dedicated to me 🥰

Photo of an open copy of “The Psychology of Software Teams” held open with sparkly pink glitter nails, showing the dedication page: “To everyone who chooses building over breaking.”

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· 29d

It’s here!

Photo of the paperback book “The Psychology of Software Teams” by Dr Cat Hicks, resting on a granite countertop. Red cover art shows a mountain range fading into overlaid bell-curve graphs, dashed vertical lines marking peaks - data and terrain blended into one image.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Jul 12

Right now I’m listening to a mockingbird mimic this house sparrow’s every chirp (like, sparrow chirps twice in fast succession then mockingbird chirps twice back, then once, etc etc). Kind of like an annoying little sibling who won’t stop copying your every word. This app brings me great joy lol

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Jun 28

Chilaquiles for brunch (linner?) after yesterday’s taco night Not sure how authentic the recipe was but yum

Two blue speckled ceramic bowls of chilaquiles rojos on a granite countertop. The left bowl is topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and a dollop of guacamole. The right bowl is topped with a fried egg, sour cream, and guacamole.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Jun 2

Nostalgia or self-loathing?

A can of Chef Boyardee ravioli beside a glass bowl on a granite kitchen countertop. A metal utensil holder full of utensils, white salt and pepper shakers and a sugar bowl are in the background in front of a black tile backsplash

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· May 31

how it started how it’s going

Prep ingredients laid out on a granite countertop: two yellow onions, whole spices in a small glass bowl, raw beef in a metal bowl, uncooked rice in a small glass bowl, and a large metal pot with spiced yogurt

A freshly cooked pot of white rice on the stove beside a countertop with a bowl of spiced beef curry, fresh lime wedges, diced tomato, cucumber, and onion in a small white plate, and cooking utensils in a metal holder against a black tile backsplash.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· May 31

I'm pretty sure I'll never build that original idea (goodreads is pretty popular and there are some cool alternatives already out there). But... I just got another idea and I'm so happy I held onto that domain!

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Oct 11

Coming up for air after a busy summer + wrapping up my first 2 weeks at my new job 🎉 Getting it all down in a blog post soon (🤞) until then, here’s a cool photo I just took of a spider web covered in rain drops against the garage shingles that my kids are painting 😍

Spider sitting in the center of a large web covered in dewdrops, hanging under a roof. Brightly painted wood panels in red, purple, pink, green, blue, and yellow are visible behind the web.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Jul 29

When teams hire QA folks hoping for quick quality wins without also making room for quality work to *actually* work, it’s not surprising when "moar automation" doesn’t add up to real quality.

Meme of a cartoon character holding a broom and shouting enthusiastically, with the text “AUTOMATE ALL THE THINGS!” — parodying overenthusiastic automation culture.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Jul 9

Not a cure all but damn if it doesn’t help.

Selfie of a smiling woman with curly hair on a balcony, with palm trees and ocean in the background. Bright, sunny day in Aruba.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Jun 20

At my son’s 5th grade graduation ceremony, outdoors, beautiful weather, feeling so grateful ❤️ No face pic because I’m definitely crying. But shoe game is on point 💅

Two pairs of feet on concrete - one person wearing dark green loafers, another wearing cream-colored sandals with red pedicured toes

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· May 21

A reminder that adulthood means you can eat a comically large bowl of soup If you want to.

A large glass bowl filled with a hearty soup, sitting on a kitchen counter near a stove.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· May 14

It hit a little harder because just yesterday I screenshotted this quote from Insight Timer

Quote: The mind that opens to a new idea, never returns to its original size. Albert Einstein

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· May 14

This poem that @susancain.bsky.social shared in her newsletter this morning (thequietlife.net/p/if-you-don...) really resonated. That moment of standing on the edge of change, scared but also knowing you can’t go back…

Fear by Khalil Gibran.

It is said that before entering the sea,
a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter their seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.
The river cannot go back.

Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa· Apr 15

Anyway, I found this poem that I wrote on a day that I was feeling everything too deeply. It makes me a little sad that I still feel this way about the world sometimes.