Let’s Make Testing Great Again: Bring Back Thinking, Leadership, and Accountability in QA

In the tech world, we love buzzwords. We worship speed and we cut corners in the name of agility, scalability, and automation. At the same time, somewhere along the way we buried testing. Yeah, we buried it under endless stand-up meetings, CI/CD pipelines on autopilot, AI-written scripts, and that overused phrase we all pretend to believe: "quality is everyone’s responsibility". But if you really pause and think when something becomes "everyone’s responsibility" it often becomes no one’s actual job.

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Testing has been:

• De-professionalized (anyone can do it, right?)

• De-humanized (just let the AI figure it out!)

• De-valued (testers don’t add business value, they just "validate stuff")

I’ve seen it for almost a decade now same systematic problems although I started my career in QA 27 years ago. The slow erosion of structured QA practices. The quiet elimination of QA leadership roles such as Chief Quality Officers, QA Directors, QA Managers, Test Strategists. The rise of the full stack developer who also tests but never writes a test case.

And then comes the inevitable and somehow senior executives are surprised:

• Escaped defects in production.

• Angry customers.

• "Postmortem" meetings where no one knows how the bug got there.

Why? Because nobody was owning quality strategically. How can you own it if there are no owners since everyone is responsible for it.

You might be curious to ask what does "Make Testing Great Again" mean? It’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s a wake-up call. Make Testing Great Again is a demand to bring back:

• Respect for testing as a strategic discipline.

• Intelligent test design and critical thinking.

• Test leadership that drives quality from requirements to release.

This isn’t about going back to waterfall. It’s about moving forward with clarity and accountability. We’ve been sold a lie:

a. That Agile means we don’t need structure.

b. That automation replaces human judgment.

c. That faster always means better.

It’s time to challenge those myths. And if you prefer to stay quite again, I will do it for you on your behalf.

We live in the age of AI. Every tool promises to write tests, execute them, analyze results, and predict failures. Sounds great until the system passes all your AI tests and still fails for the user.

Why? Because no machine can fully mimic human context, emotion, or intuition. No algorithm understands business risk the way an experienced tester does. No auto-script can challenge assumptions like a human mind asking, “But what if...?” That’s why I created Human Intelligence Software Testing (HIST). Because in a world obsessed with automation, we need to restore the role of human thought in testing.

Testing used to mean:

• Understanding the business.

• Designing intelligent test scenarios.

• Mapping risks to real-world use.

• Owning the quality strategy.

• Partnering with development and product teams.

Now, too often, it means:

• Clicking around while writing user stories.

• Hoping automation scripts don’t break the build.

• Pair testing with a dev who just wants to merge and move on.

We need to bring back test planning, not just test reacting. We need to restore test craftsmanship, not just button pushing. We need to rebuild the QA function as a value generator, not a bottleneck.

Below are 5 Pillars of Making Testing Great Again in my opinion. Let’s get specific and understand what does it actually take?

1. Human Intelligence First - Tools support the tester. They don’t replace the tester. Investigative testing, hypothesis-driven design, and cognitive skills must come first.

2. Quality as Strategy - Testing must align with business goals. Are we validating a feature, or protecting the brand?

3. Leadership in QA - We need Chief Quality Officers, QA Directors and QA Managers again. We need Test Architects. Not as overhead but as quality strategists who build the guardrails before the car crashes.

4. Intelligent Documentation - No, I’m not talking about 100-page specs. But test cases, test scenarios, checklists, coverage maps, these aren’t bureaucracy. They’re insurance. And those who are claiming we do not need test cases you are disgrace and embracement of our craft.

5. Testing in Agile is NOT Chaos - Agile is a framework, not an excuse to skip test design, remove QA leads, or have a mess and cover it up under agile cover. Real agility requires discipline, not shortcuts.

Let me be clear about what we stand against in this movement:

• Blind faith in automation as a silver bullet

• The idea that exploratory testing alone is enough

• Token testers with no test design training

• No metrics as they provide nothing attitude.

• "Shift-left" sold as test less

• Management that cuts testers first when cost savings are needed.

None of that makes testing great. It makes it invisible and invisible QA is dangerous QA.

We don’t just want to bring testing back. We want to evolve it. Human Intelligence Software Testing (HIST) is the foundation for this renaissance.

It includes:

• New roles like the HISTer, HISt Director, HIST Manager, HIST Lead, HIST AI Adaptor etc...

• A framework for investigative testing that goes beyond exploratory.

• A metrics-driven approach without losing sight of intuition.

• The perfect blend of documentation, automation, and critical thinking.

HIST is how we Make Testing Great Again. Not just loud but smart, structured, and respected.

If you’ve ever:

• Felt like your voice as a tester didn’t matter anymore

• Been asked to test whatever you can in the time you have

• Watched a critical bug slip through because no one thought of that

Then you already know why this movement matters. Because testing is not just about finding bugs. It’s about preventing disasters. It’s about protecting users, revenue, and reputation. It’s about thinking deeply so others can move quickly.

We’re not here to relive the past. We’re here to build a better future, one where testers are thinkers, not task-doers. One where testing is seen as value, not delay. One where we test with intelligence, strategy, and purpose.

So let me say it once more, clearly and proudly: MAKE TESTING GREAT AGAIN. Because our craft deserves it. Our users deserve it. And so do we.

Thoughts?

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Catch up on HIST (Human Intelligence Software Testing) if you missed my earlier posts and follow me for honest, unbiased, no-nonsense insights about QA and the future of our craft.

Recommended Reading: Explore more about Human Intelligence Software Testing (HIST) discipline and how it's reshaping modern QA.

Why I created Human Intelligence Software Testing (HIST) and Why It Matters Now More Than Ever?

I Watched 76 QA Positions Disappear and It Made Me Question Everything

The Quiet Crisis in QA: Are We Forgetting the Human Factor?

The Slow Death of QA - A Problem We Helped Create

When Tools Stop Thinking, HIST Begins

7 Days of HIST: Support, Skepticism, and Why This Conversation Matters

How 2 Months of Training and a Fake Resume Landed a QA Job: The Harsh Truth of an Industry Loophole

HIST vs. RST: It’s Not a Competition—Each Has Its Own Purpose

HIST vs. Exploratory Testing – Two Different Worlds

Don't Let ChatGPT Be Your Voice: Reclaiming Human Intelligence in QA

How Agile May Have Damaged the QA Discipline: A Wake-Up Call

Why One of Your Greatest Weapons as a Tester Will Always Be Human Intelligence

The Death of QA Leadership in Agile and How HIST Brings It Back

How HIST Fits Within Agile and Heals Broken Processes

Exploratory Testing vs. Investigative Testing: Is It Time to Evolve?

Beyond Shift-Left: Enter the Era of Human Intelligence Software Testing

27 Years Later: Why QA Still Fights the Same Battles

The Unspoken Truths Behind Agile: Why Testers Are Afraid to Speak

In-Sprint Automation Through the HIST Lens: Discipline Before Speed

Human Intelligence in QA: Preventing Product and Business Failures