How to Effectively Advocate For New Technologies and Tools in Your Team

Have you ever been excited about a new technology or tool, only to struggle with getting your team to adopt it? You're not alone. A reader recently asked about this exact challenge: "I want to advocate for using different technologies at work, but pushing for change alone is difficult. I'd like to understand better approaches for advocating (or persuading) and the recommended mindset."

Introducing new technologies in a team isn't easy, but it's definitely possible. Let me share one of the most famous examples from the tech industry and the practical principles you can use to drive change in your own team.

The Story Behind Google's "Testing on the Toilet"

When you think of Google, you probably imagine excellent engineering practices. But here's something that might surprise you: in Google's early days, their software engineering practices weren't as polished as they are today. Even basic software testing wasn't comprehensively implemented across the company (as shared by this former Google engineer).

So how did Google transform from having limited test coverage to becoming a company where most teams actively write tests? The answer lies in a creative initiative called "Testing on the Toilet."

Around 2006, Google was experiencing explosive growth. But with that growth came significant challenges. Bugs were causing increasingly expensive problems as the company scaled. At that time, a group of engineers passionate about software testing formed something called the "Testing Grouplet." They met regularly to discuss how testing could improve software stability, reduce production bugs, and minimize rollback incidents.

When facing problems, you typically see two types of engineers. The first type complains about issues and blames the organization or team environment. For testing, they might say, "Everyone knows testing is important, but people still don't write tests during development." The second type rolls up their sleeves and takes action to solve problems. The Testing Grouplet engineers were definitely the second type.

Using their spare time, they brainstormed ways to make testing adoption easier and help engineers become more willing to write tests. After many attempts, their most successful innovation was "Testing on the Toilet."

Here's how it worked: This group of engineers regularly wrote and shared content about testing—covering topics like how to write different types of tests and how to write more testable code. When they wanted to reach more engineers, they came up with a creative idea: posting this content in bathroom stalls so engineers could read it during their bathroom breaks.

This approach helped engineers learn testing practices painlessly and made it easier to promote testing throughout the company. The success of "Testing on the Toilet" was so notable that it was featured in the Washington Post and became the subject of academic research analyzing its effectiveness.

Note: If you're interested, Google has published some of the original content from those bathroom posts. Here are a few examples:

Two Principles for Successfully Introducing New Technologies

Now that we've seen how Google's Testing Grouplet succeeded, let's extract the key principles you can use to effectively introduce new technologies in your own team.

Principle 1: Show and Tell

You've probably heard the phrase "show, don't tell"—meaning actions speak louder than words. While taking action is crucial (just talking without doing rarely leads to real change), Google's case study shows us that combining doing with sharing—"show and tell"—creates even better results.

The engineers who promoted software testing at Google didn't just talk about how good and important testing was. They actually wrote tests themselves and took concrete steps to share how to write tests. If they had only talked about testing's importance, they would have ended up like most people—just talking without acting. But these passionate engineers took the "show and tell" approach, which enabled real change.

The title of this section, "Show and Tell," actually has a double meaning. Beyond having action (show) and then sharing (tell), it also means "start doing without waiting for permission." If what you're doing brings value to your team and company, doing it first and then making it visible (or proactively sharing it) can easily turn your initiative into an official project.

So if you're struggling and feel like you don't have space to make an impact, don't wait passively for opportunities. If you're interested in a particular technology, just start showing and telling. Use hands-on implementation to demonstrate the benefits that technology can bring. When opportunities arise, you'll be much better positioned to seize them.

Principle 2: Find Partners Who Can Help Drive Change

Beyond showing and telling, another approach that makes introducing new technologies or driving change easier is finding partners who can help push the initiative forward. In Google's Testing on the Toilet example, it started with a group of people who shared a passion for promoting testing. Because they all had an interest in software testing, they could exchange ideas when they got together, and they didn't have to carry all the work alone when implementing changes—this makes things much easier.

To do this effectively, you need to identify team members who share similar technical interests. Ideally, you want to find people who are naturally motivated. This is why getting to know your team members is so important. For more details on this, see our article on "How to Quickly Build Relationships and Collaborate Effectively in a New Team", which discusses understanding your colleagues' collaboration preferences.

Taking Action

Remember, introducing new technologies in your team doesn't have to be an uphill battle. Start by picking one technology you're genuinely interested in and begin experimenting with it. Document your experience and share what you learn with your team. Look for colleagues who might be interested in joining your effort.

The key is to start small, show value through action, and gradually build momentum. You don't need permission to begin—you just need to begin.

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