Randy Rice's Software Testing Page

09/01/2026

Today I’m launching my newest e-Learning course: Test Planning and Design

Good testing doesn’t begin with executing test cases. It starts with understanding what matters, where the risks are, and how to design tests that produce meaningful information.

This practical, self-paced course helps testers develop those skills through a realistic retail case study involving multiple e-commerce sites spanning multiple countries.

Participants will learn how to:

• Develop a test strategy

• Develop a practical test plan

• Identify meaningful test conditions

• Apply a variety of test design techniques such as equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis

• Use decision tables to address complex business rules

• Recognize ambiguity and gaps in requirements

• Apply risk analysis to prioritize tests

• Consider quality characteristics beyond functionality

• Make thoughtful decisions about test automation

• Know which tests make good regression tests

Throughout the course, you’ll apply the concepts - not simply read about them.

I created Test Planning and Design for testers who want to move beyond mechanically following scripts and become more thoughtful, capable, and valuable members of their teams. It promotes the idea of high-value test assets that create value beyond testing.

The course is available today at a reduced price to celebrate the launch:

https://mysoftwaretesting.com/Test-Planning-and-Design_p_149.html

If someone on your team could benefit from stronger test planning and design skills, I would appreciate you sharing this with them.

Learn practical software test planning and design techniques with real-world exercises and personal instructor support from Randy Rice.

08/28/2026

Have we forgotten what quality really means?

While watching a documentary about Boeing, "Freefall" on Netflix, I was struck not only by the technical failures, but by what can happen when an organization ignores - or even punishes - the people who raise concerns.

At the same time, I've been cleaning my attic and found a QAI conference notebook from 1991. I gave my second conference presentation that year.

As I revisited this massive software quality conference notebook from 1991, it was interesting to remember that more than 30 years ago, quality leaders were already teaching that quality depends on leadership, systems thinking, trust, and the freedom to tell the truth.

Today, we have better tools, more automation, faster delivery pipelines, and enormous amounts of data. But have we lost some of that organizational wisdom?

In this episode of The Value of Testing, I explore:

• What we understood about quality in 1991 but seem to have forgotten today

• Why quality cannot simply be tested into a product

• The difference between an organization’s stated culture and its real culture

• What happens when employees are afraid to raise concerns

• Why dashboards, automation, and passing tests cannot replace quality leadership

• How organizations can create a culture where difficult truths are heard

• What happens when there is no accountability for poor quality

An organization’s quality culture is not defined by what leaders say when everything is going well. It is revealed by what happens to the person who brings them bad news.

You can view the podcast here: https://youtu.be/51-NSt6_wwc

08/21/2026

“All the tests passed.”

That sounds reassuring, but what does it actually tell us?

A passing test suite doesn't prove a product is ready for release. It only provides evidence about the specific conditions, data, environments, and risks that were tested. If the tests are incomplete, outdated, or focused on the wrong things, a green dashboard can create dangerous false confidence.

In this episode of The Value of Testing, I explain why test status alone is not enough - and what meaningful testing information looks like.

You’ll learn:

* What a passing test actually proves—and what it doesn’t
* Why test counts and pass rates can mislead leaders
* How weak tests can produce strong but unjustified confidence
* What leaders should ask before approving a release
* How testers can communicate coverage, risk, uncertainty, and business impact
* Why a clear recommendation is more valuable than a wall of statistics
* Should testers give a "Go/No Go" recommendation?

Leaders don’t simply need more testing data. They need decision support: what we know, what we don’t know, what could happen, and what the test team recommends.

Testing cannot guarantee that nothing will go wrong. But when test results are translated into meaningful information, they can give leaders a sound and defensible basis for deciding what to do next.

Check out the podcast at https://youtu.be/DaI388swvGM

“All the tests passed.”That sounds reassuring - but what does it ...

08/14/2026

Have you ever wondered what management really expects from software testing?

Most managers don't care how many test cases were executed, or even how many defects were found.

They care about questions like:

- Are we ready to release?
- What risks remain?
- What could hurt our customers?
- Can I trust the information?
- What should we do next?

In my latest The Value of Testing podcast, I speak to both managers and testers about how testing creates its greatest value - not by simply finding defects, but by providing the information needed to make better business decisions.

I also share a real consulting story about a company where hidden quality problems eventually became a business disaster.

If you're a tester, project manager, QA leader, or executive, I think you'll find this discussion valuable.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/XqCXi8efUv8

I'd love to hear your thoughts:

What is the single most valuable piece of information testing provides to management?

What Does Management Really Need from Testing?Managers invest sig...

08/10/2026

I’m pleased to share that I recently passed the ISTQB Certified Tester - Security Test Engineer exam, administered by ASTQB and AT*SQA.

This represents my 14th ISTQB certification. Even after more than 40 years in software testing and quality assurance, I still believe strongly in continuing to learn, grow, and validate my knowledge.

Preparing for the exam also gave me an opportunity to examine security testing from both the certification perspective and the realities testers face in the field. I bring those insights into my ISTQB Security Test Engineer e-Learning course.

The course is designed not only to help participants prepare for the certification exam, but also to help them understand how security testing principles and techniques can be applied in real-world situations.

If security testing is part of your professional development plans, I would be glad to help you along the way.

Learn more: https://mysoftwaretesting.com/ISTQB-Certified-Tester--Security-Test-Engineer-e-Learning-Course-2025-Version-101_p_147.html

ISTQB Advanced Security Tester e-Learning with access to weekly online meetings with and mentoring by Randy Rice, chair of the ISTQB Advanced Security Tester working party.

08/07/2026

Is your software testing process really working - or is it simply following tradition?

In this episode of The Value of Testing, I share 10 important questions that every QA leader, test manager, and software executive should ask about their testing process.

A testing process should do more than produce documentation and reports - it should help reduce risk, improve product quality, and provide meaningful information for better business decisions.

In this episode, you'll learn how to evaluate whether your testing process is:

- Clearly defined and understood

- Followed consistently

- Measured and monitored

- Continuously improved

- Focused on business risk

- Delivering real value to your organization

Whether you're leading a QA team, improving software quality, or evaluating your current testing practices, these questions can help identify opportunities to strengthen your testing process.

What question would you add to the list? Share your thoughts in the comments - I’d love to hear from you!

https://youtu.be/P_Us1vWiwRw

07/31/2026

Some testers dislike test cases - and sometimes for very good reasons.

Test cases can become overly detailed, restrictive, outdated, and expensive to maintain. When that happens, they may create more work than value.

But the problem may not be test cases themselves. The problem may be low-value test cases.

I believe a good test asset is more than a set of steps. It captures knowledge about the product, its risks, its expected behavior, and what we have learned through testing. It should help testers think - not prevent them from thinking.

In fact, there have been many times I have found defects just in the process of designing test cases!

In this episode of The Value of Testing, I discuss how to create test assets that matter and how to keep them useful as the product changes.

Creating and Maintaining High-Value Test Assets - https://youtu.be/TcQiBS8y0MU

Whether you love test cases, hate them, or fall somewhere in between, I hope this episode gives you something to consider.

What makes a test case - or any test asset - valuable to you?

Test assets should be more than documents that sit unused in a repo...

07/24/2026

"All the tests passed!"

At first, that sounds like good news, especially to management. However, what did those tests actually prove?

A test suite filled with weak assertions, superficial checks, and low-value tests can produce a beautiful green dashboard while important risks remain completely untested.

With AI now able to generate tests by the hundreds, this question is becoming even more important: Are we creating more tests—or more confidence?

I recently came across a very interesting formal, peer-reviewed research paper that came to the following conclusion after studying a set of over 200,000 test cases generated by AI and by humans: "...while AI agents excel at rigorous boundary testing, they lack the "environmental awareness" needed to write stable, hermetic tests." (You can find the paper at https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.12068)

In my latest episode of The Value of Testing, I explore why test generation is helpful, but not the same as thoughtful test design - and why some passing tests can sometimes prove almost nothing.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/RVvtFAVIleo

A passing test can create confidence—but does it actually prove any...

07/16/2026

Are software defects always a bad thing? Or can they actually create value?

It sounds like a contradiction, but in this episode of The Value of Testing, I explore an idea that changed my perspective on software quality: every defect has value - if we learn from it and if it is found before the user or customer finds it.

A defect discovered before a customer encounters it can improve product quality, reduce development costs, prevent production failures, and reveal weaknesses in our processes.

The real value isn't in the defect itself - it's in what it teaches us.

In this episode, you'll discover:

- Why finding defects early saves time and money
- How defects help improve products and processes
- The hidden dangers of treating defects only as failures
- Why blame doesn't improve quality, but learning does
- What to measure about defects that can improve projects and help prevent project failure

Whether you're a test manager, project manager, software tester, QA professional, developer, or engineering leader, this episode will challenge the way you think about defects and quality.

Every defect tells a story. The question is: Are we listening?

https://youtu.be/d05hca1oJ-E

Are software defects always a bad thing? Or can they actually creat...

07/10/2026

What separates good testers from great testers?

After more than 40 years in software testing, I find myself sharing a handful of lessons with almost every new tester I meet.

Surprisingly, many of these same ideas are just as important for experienced testers.

In this episode of The Value of Testing, I discuss practical advice about curiosity, critical thinking, communication, continuous learning, and developing the mindset that makes testers truly valuable to their teams.

Whether you're just starting your testing career or have years of experience, I hope you'll find at least one idea you can put into practice right away.

https://youtu.be/Qm3zsN55Vfo

What separates good testers from great testers?After more than 40...