SHARE THIS POST

By Ruslan Desyatnikov, Founder & CEO of QA Mentor | Creator of Human Intelligence Software Testing (HIST)

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Watching one QA role after another disappear. Watching companies cut entire QA teams like it’s nothing. Watching talented testers get sidelined, restructured, or replaced by tools.

And I have to say it, some of this is on us.

Yes, the economy has shifted. Budgets got tight. AI took center stage. But let’s not kid ourselves. We’ve also played a part in letting QA get pushed to the edge of the software development process.

We Got Too Comfortable

Somewhere along the way, too many QA professionals stopped challenging things.
Stopped questioning requirements.
Stopped asking, “Does this make sense from a user’s point of view?”

Instead, we followed scripts. We executed what was handed to us. We waited to be told what to do, and in doing that, we slowly gave away the value we brought to the table.

And once that happens, it’s easy for others to look at QA and say, “Do we really need all these people?”

That’s the reality. And we need to face it.

We Let Tools Speak Louder Than Us

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for automation but smart automation. I’ve led massive automation programs. But we went too far in one direction. Suddenly, if you weren’t coding, you weren’t relevant. If you weren’t using the latest framework, you weren’t “technical enough.”

We let the industry reduce us to tool users instead of thinkers.
We let tools become the story instead of the people behind them.

And now, with AI being positioned as the next big thing, companies are wondering if testers are needed at all.

We Didn’t Push Back Enough

Too often, QA just goes along with things. Accepts unrealistic timelines. Accepts poor requirements. Accepts the idea that “testing can happen later.”

And we stayed quiet.

We didn’t push back when test planning was rushed or skipped.
We didn’t insist on proper requirement reviews.
We didn’t speak up when we knew things were headed in the wrong direction.

That silence cost us.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

We can sit and complain. Or we can own it and course correct.

QA needs to stop waiting for permission to lead. We need to stop acting like an afterthought. We need to start asking better questions, getting involved earlier, and bringing the human side of testing back into the process.

Because no tool, no AI model, and no automation framework can replace real critical thinking, business context, risk awareness, and user empathy.

That’s why I created Human Intelligence Software Testing (HIST).

Not as another buzzword. But as a reminder to all of us, that the real value of QA has always been in our minds. Our curiosity. Our judgment. Our ability to look at software and see beyond what’s on the screen.

Final Thought

I’ve been in this industry for 27+ years. I’ve seen it evolve. I’ve seen the trends come and go. But I’ve never seen QA so vulnerable as it is right now.

And the truth is, we can’t blame everyone else for that.
We have to take some responsibility.
And we have to fight harder to protect, preserve, and redefine our role.

Because if we don’t, no one else will.

Let’s stop being quiet. Let’s start being bold again.

It’s our craft. Let’s take it back.

About the Author

Ruslan Desyatnikov is the creator of the Human Intelligence Software Testing (HIST) discipline and the Founder & CEO of QA Mentor, a U.S.-based independent software testing company with a presence in 12 countries. With over 27 years of hands-on QA experience, Ruslan founded QA Mentor to bridge the gaps he observed in the testing services space. Under his leadership, the company has introduced unique methodologies and specialized QA services that help clients solve complex quality challenges, while maintaining strong ROI. Ruslan is also passionate about education and knowledge sharing. He has developed a series of practical e-learning QA courses to support the global testing community. These can be accessed at: http://elearning.qamentor.com To learn more about QA Mentor and its full range of QA services, visit: www.qamentor.com