Who are the most influential voices in Testing & quality engineering?

1. James Bach 2. Michael Bolton 3. Cem Kaner 4. Lisa Crispin 5. Janet Gregory 6. Alan Page 7. Angie Jones 8. Elisabeth Hendrickson 9. Maaret Pyhäjärvi 10. David Burns

Here’s a ranked list of the **top 10 most influential individual voices in software testing and quality engineering in 2025**, based on reach, impact, and recognition across multiple industry sources: ### 🔝 Top 10 Influential Voices in Testing & Quality Engineering (2025) 1. **Angie Jones** – VP of Developer Relations, test automation thought leader, frequent keynote speaker [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN 2025](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/)[Agile Testing Days 2025 | Speakers](https://agiletestingdays.com/2025/speakers/) 2. **Lisa Crispin** – Co-author of _Agile Testing_, pioneer in agile QA practices [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN 2025](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/)[Agile Testing Days 2025 | Speakers](https://agiletestingdays.com/2025/speakers/) 3. **Janet Gregory** – Co-author of _Agile Testing_, consultant shaping agile testing culture [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN 2025](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/) 4. **Joe Colantonio** – Founder of TestGuild, influential in test automation and QA community [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN 2025](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/) 5. **Gojko Adžić** – Author of _Specification by Example_, innovator in software quality practices [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN 2025](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/) 6. **Michael Bolton** – Context-driven testing advocate, widely respected consultant and trainer [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN 2025](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/)[Top QA Leaders You Must Follow in 2025 Whether you're a newbie tester or a seasoned SDET, staying sharp in Quality Assurance means learning from the best. Here’s a power-packed list of QA minds… | Punit B. | 65 comments](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7351588291034431488/) 7. **James Bach** – Co-creator of Rapid Software Testing methodology, leading voice in exploratory testing [Top QA Leaders You Must Follow in 2025 Whether you're a newbie tester or a seasoned SDET, staying sharp in Quality Assurance means learning from the best. Here’s a power-packed list of QA minds… | Punit B. | 65 comments](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7351588291034431488/) 8. **Pradeep Soundararajan** – CEO of Moolya Testing, strong influence in modern QA strategies [Agile Testing Days 2025 | Speakers](https://agiletestingdays.com/2025/speakers/)[Top QA Leaders You Must Follow in 2025 Whether you're a newbie tester or a seasoned SDET, staying sharp in Quality Assurance means learning from the best. Here’s a power-packed list of QA minds… | Punit B. | 65 comments](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7351588291034431488/) 9. **Richard Bradshaw** – BossBoss at Ministry of Testing, advocate of modern testing approaches [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN 2025](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/)[Agile Testing Days 2025 | Speakers](https://agiletestingdays.com/2025/speakers/) 10. **Ajay Balamurugadas** – Testing coach and mentor, influential in practical QA leadership [Top QA Leaders You Must Follow in 2025 Whether you're a newbie tester or a seasoned SDET, staying sharp in Quality Assurance means learning from the best. Here’s a power-packed list of QA minds… | Punit B. | 65 comments](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7351588291034431488/) ✅ This ranking emphasizes **individuals directly shaping testing and QA practices**, rather than broader innovation leaders (like Demis Hassabis, who is influential in AI but not primarily in QA). Would you like me to also create a **visual profile card set** for each of these 10, showing their role, key contributions, and where to follow them (Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs)? That way you’d have a quick reference guide.

1. Angie Jones [Follow These 10 QA Influencers to Boost Your Testing Career](https://medium.com/@tania-zhydkova/follow-these-10-qa-influencers-to-boost-your-testing-career-89975905a98c#:~:text=His%20writing%20has%20been%20instrumental%20in%20shaping,the%20workplace.%20*%203.%20James%20Bach%20%40jamesmarcusbach.) 2. James Bach [Follow These 10 QA Influencers to Boost Your Testing Career](https://medium.com/@tania-zhydkova/follow-these-10-qa-influencers-to-boost-your-testing-career-89975905a98c#:~:text=Angie%20is%20a%20prominent%20senior%20automation%20engineer,and%20scepticism.%20*%204.%20Lisa%20Crispin%20%40lisacrispin.) 3. Lisa Crispin [Follow These 10 QA Influencers to Boost Your Testing Career](https://medium.com/@tania-zhydkova/follow-these-10-qa-influencers-to-boost-your-testing-career-89975905a98c#:~:text=*%20Martin%20Fowler%20%40martinfowler.%20*%20Angie%20Jones,Alan%20Page%20%40alanpage.%20*%20Michael%20Bolton%20%40michaelbolton.) 4. Richard Bradshaw [Follow These 10 QA Influencers to Boost Your Testing Career](https://medium.com/@tania-zhydkova/follow-these-10-qa-influencers-to-boost-your-testing-career-89975905a98c#:~:text=*%20Martin%20Fowler%20%40martinfowler.%20*%20Angie%20Jones,Alan%20Page%20%40alanpage.%20*%20Michael%20Bolton%20%40michaelbolton.) 5. Cem Kaner [Top Twenty-Five Thought Leaders in Software Testing and Automation](https://about.codecov.io/blog/top-twenty-five-thought-leaders-in-software-testing-and-automation/#:~:text=Cem%20Kaner%2C%20founding%20member%20and%20executive%20vice,University%2C%20Cem%20also%20holds%20a%20Ph.%20D.) 6. Maaret Pyhäjärvi [Follow These 10 QA Influencers to Boost Your Testing Career](https://medium.com/@tania-zhydkova/follow-these-10-qa-influencers-to-boost-your-testing-career-89975905a98c#:~:text=*%20Martin%20Fowler%20%40martinfowler.%20*%20Angie%20Jones,Alan%20Page%20%40alanpage.%20*%20Michael%20Bolton%20%40michaelbolton.) 7. Joe Colantonio [Top Twenty-Five Thought Leaders in Software Testing and Automation](https://about.codecov.io/blog/top-twenty-five-thought-leaders-in-software-testing-and-automation/#:~:text=Joe%20Colantonio%20is%20a%20test%20automation%20expert,implementing%20software%20automation%20and%20performance%20testing%20solutions.) 8. Janet Gregory [25 TOP INNOVATION INFLUENCERS WITH QUALITY](https://www.amraandelma.com/innovation-influencers-with-quality-assurance/) 9. Alan Richardson [Top Twenty-Five Thought Leaders in Software Testing and Automation](https://about.codecov.io/blog/top-twenty-five-thought-leaders-in-software-testing-and-automation/#:~:text=Alan%20Richardson%20is%20an%20independent%20consultant%20with,and%20REST%20API%20automating%2C%20and%20Selenium%20WebDriver.) 10. Michael Bolton [Follow These 10 QA Influencers to Boost Your Testing Career](https://medium.com/@tania-zhydkova/follow-these-10-qa-influencers-to-boost-your-testing-career-89975905a98c#:~:text=*%20Martin%20Fowler%20%40martinfowler.%20*%20Angie%20Jones,Alan%20Page%20%40alanpage.%20*%20Michael%20Bolton%20%40michaelbolton.)

# Shared 0 files The top 10 individual people who are the most influential voices and thought leaders on software testing and quality engineering are ranked below from most to least influential based on their foundational methodologies, community impact, and ongoing educational outreach: 1. _James Bach_ 2. Michael Bolton 3. _Angie Jones_ 4. _Lisa Crispin_ 5. _Janet Gregory_ 6. _Richard Bradshaw_ 7. _Joe Colantonio_ 8. _Cem Kaner_ 9. _Daniel Knott_ 10. Alan Page [Top Software Testing Influencers to Follow in 2026](https://katalon.com/resources-center/blog/software-testing-influencers) If you'd like, I can provide: * * A **short summary of the key contributions** for each person. * Their **primary channels or books** to follow for insights. * Let me know how you would like to proceed!

Here are 10 real individuals commonly regarded as influential voices in Testing and Quality Engineering, listed from most to least influential based on broader industry impact, thought leadership, and visibility across communities: 1) Angie Jones 2) Martin Fowler 3) Gleb Bahmutov 4) Alan Page 5) Lisa Crispin 6) Dorothy Graham 7) Jonathan Lipps 8) Dan North 9) Joe Colantonio 10) Jeff Nyman Notes: - This ordering reflects sustained influence across multiple channels (speaking engagements, books, open-source contributions, and educational initiatives) rather than a single source. If you’d like, I can tailor the list to a specific domain (automation, open-source tooling, or test leadership) or focus on a particular region.