Thanks to your support, 2025 was another excellent year for Testing Times and our 10,000+ subscribers. We explored a wide range of software testing topics, including test automation, performance testing, Jira fatigue, tester authority, and more.
Below is a quick look at the five newsletters with the most reactions this year, and why they resonated so strongly.
1. Why 100% Test Automation Is a Bad Goal
In February, this article challenged the notion that “100% automation” is either realistic or desirable, and instead advocated a risk-based, diminishing-returns approach to automation scope.
It gave testers language to push back on unrealistic expectations, backed by a practical checklist of when automation actually makes sense.
Read the full argument against 100% automation
2. LoadRunner Cloud vs Open Source: People Are the Real Cost
The June follow-up to an earlier piece on LoadRunner Cloud revisited the “open source is cheaper” myth and the idea that people cost is the most significant budgetary consideration.
It landed well because many teams are struggling with maintaining DIY stacks and were ready for this pragmatic approach to value, speed, and total cost of ownership.
Find out why open-source isn’t cheaper
3. Is It Time to Ditch Jira for Test Management?
This May, a Testing Times Bitesize newsletter struck a chord with anyone frustrated by trying to force Jira into full test management.
It voiced what many testers, PMs, and even developers already felt: Jira can be fine for Agile, but falls short as a dedicated testing solution.
Check out this controversial post!
4. Should Testers Be Able to Block a Release?
In July, this piece posed a simple but uncomfortable question: if testers find a critical bug the night before go-live, should they be able to stop the launch?
It addressed power dynamics, risk ownership, and the testing team’s weight in real-world release decisions.
What do you think – too much power?
5. Does More Testers Always Mean Better Quality?
This July Bitesize newsletter asked a deceptively simple question: when deadlines loom, does throwing more people at testing actually help?
It resonated because many testers have lived through “all hands on deck” crunch periods where untrained extra hands slow things down and dilute quality rather than improve it.
Are additional testers always better?
What’s Coming in 2026
If 2025 was about questioning assumptions—around automation targets, open-source economics, Jira, and tester authority—2026 will dig deeper into how AI, licensing models, and hybrid work realities are reshaping testing for the better.
Expect upcoming Testing Times issues to explore where AI in functional, performance, and test management tools is genuinely changing the game, and where it’s still mostly marketing.
We will also be speaking to senior test professionals and sharing their views on test-related topics. Here’s to a great 2026!
