Why '80% Automation' Is a Red Flag in Regulated Industries
Everyone cites the 80/20 automation goal. Your regulators don't care about your coverage percentage — they care about human attestation.
Insights
QA Thinking for
People Who Ship Software
Practical testing knowledge — and the occasional argument about how the industry gets things wrong.
Debate
Why '80% Automation' Is a Red Flag in Regulated Industries
Everyone cites the 80/20 automation goal. Your regulators don't care about your coverage percentage.
January 2026
6 min read
Core Argument
"When your auditor asks who confirmed this behaviour was correct — your CI/CD pipeline can't raise its hand."
We break down the compliance frameworks that require documented human test execution, and the risk exposure of automation-only QA.
Read ArticleGLI-19 Manual Testing Requirements: What Most QA Teams Miss
The Gaming Laboratories International standard requires specific human-led activities your CI/CD pipeline cannot satisfy.
How to Build a Test Automation Suite That Doesn't Die
Most automation suites collapse under their own weight within 18 months. Here's the discipline that makes them last.
The South Africa QA Advantage Nobody Talks About
GMT+2 isn't just convenient — it fundamentally compresses defect resolution cycles for UK and US clients. Here's the actual maths.
API Testing for People Who Don't Do It Enough
Contract testing, schema validation, negative testing, and the API bugs your UI test suite misses entirely.
'Shift Left' Doesn't Mean 'Remove QA'
The movement is right about testing earlier. It's dangerous when used to justify removing independent QA from the process entirely.
The Testing Quadrants — and Why Nobody Uses Them Correctly
Brian Marick's Agile Testing Quadrants appear everywhere. Almost nobody uses them as intended. Here's what they're actually for.
Fix Your QA Coverage
Book a free assessment — we'll show you exactly where the gaps are.
Book Free Assessment