Do you need a QA Project Manager?

[Azerax]

All my various e-mail address go into the same inbox anyways. tom@battlemaster.org is just fine.

Just emailed you.

[Azerax]

My two cents

We use automated regression testing and unit testing at work, at least for some projects. However I work as a Automation Engineer and Robotics programmer, so my experience isn't exactly the same as for pure software. 90% of the troubleshooting and bugs I encounter will be from physical interactions with the sensors and actuators that our software controls and monitors. When designing a system for critical infrastructure such as power generation or for major manufacturing companies we use automated testing systems, but in general we are talking months of man hours to set up the initial test system and generally 2-3 days when implementing a new test case. Maybe its different for a project like this in terms of time required, but I've never seen what is essentially a hobby project dedicate the resources required to implement and maintain a rigorous testing system.

I think that in a round about way you are saying what I'm thinking: automated testing of a live environment doesn't work.  The reality is that no matter what you program a system to do, the way the users use the system will be completely different.  I've never been a fan of automated testing because in my past experience I outperform them 100-1 easily.

However, I am a fan of test scripts that give you a general outline of what you should test, and give you leeway to wander off the path a bit.  I have found more bugs that way than any other.

Best regards,
Scott