Why Bugs Escape Regression Testing — and How to Stop It

Regression testing is supposed to protect releases.

So why do critical bugs still reach production?

At Truhand Labs, most of our first-time audits reveal the same pattern:

teams have regression tests — but those tests are not protecting real user behavior.

The most common reasons regression fails

1. Regression covers “happy paths” only

Many regression suites validate:

• login works
• main page loads

basic flows pass.

But real users:

• use invalid inputs
• refresh mid-flow
• switch devices

break assumptions.

If your regression only validates ideal behavior, bugs will escape.

2. Tests validate UI state, not business logic

We often see assertions like:

• “button is visible”
• “page loaded successfully”

But not:

• “order total is correct”
• “discount logic applied”
• “wrong data is rejected”

This creates false confidence.

3. Regression is not updated as the product evolves

Features change.

APIs evolve.

Business rules shift.

Regression suites that are not actively maintained become outdated — silently.

4. No exploratory testing layer

Automation is powerful, but it doesn’t think.

Human exploratory testing catches:

• UX inconsistencies
• unclear error handling

broken edge cases.

Without it, automation misses real-world issues.

How to stop bugs from escaping

At Truhand Labs, we use a hybrid approach:

• Structured Playwright regression flows
• Manual exploratory testing on critical paths
• AI-assisted analysis (console errors, performance, accessibility)
• Video proof to validate real behavior, not assumptions

This combination dramatically reduces production incidents.

Key takeaway

Regression testing alone is not enough.

Regression + exploration + analysis = real protection.

If you want to know whether your regression suite is actually protecting your users,

run a free mini AI scan or start with a Bronze QA audit.