The rapid changes and multiple ups and downs in software application development necessitate that development teams and quality engineers aim to improve their skills continuously. Every organization today strives to get its apps to market as soon as feasible. Organizations are embracing best practices such as Agile + DevOps + QAOps to minimize time to market and are also investing in technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Software testing is an essential component of the SDLC and is critical to delivering high-quality products. Furthermore, the Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming increasingly popular in various industries, resulting in high demand for testing solutions and automation.
Let us look at the top five software testing trends that we believe will dominate in the future:
1. Continuous testing with test automation
Every software development company aims to offer the finest quality software in a fast-paced Agile development environment. To do so, they must ensure their product is bug-free. There is no denying that problems can arise at any step of the software development life cycle (SDLC). As a result, test automation is essential for releasing products faster by shortening the test execution cycle, increasing efficiency, and finding regression errors early. Consequently, every firm recognizes test automation as a critical software testing life cycle component.
Although the trend of DevOps with CI/CD began long ago, it was undoubtedly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced everyone to work from home. Continuous testing, which means testing at every stage of the SDLC with test automation, is an essential component of CI/CD pipelines that deliver high-quality software quickly to market. As a result, adopting this practice can assist organizations in providing their highest quality product well ahead of schedule.
2. IoT Testing and Automation
Due to the confluence of digital and physical worlds, IoT is growing more intelligent by the day, and it is increasingly being employed in industries such as automotive, healthcare, energy, and utilities, etc.
As the number of IoT-enabled devices grows, an effective testing strategy and test automation are required. When you focus on automating their microservices, the complexity of testing a massive IoT architecture decreases dramatically. It enables test automation to be completed quickly and with less risk. We should learn about these advanced technologies and improve our abilities to test their functionality, performance, and security.
The Internet of Things testing market was valued at approximately US$ 1.56 billion in 2021, with total revenue expected to grow at around 29.6% from 2022 to 2029, reaching nearly US$ 12.48 billion.
3. LC/NC Test Automation
Low-code/No-code test automation solutions combine Machine Learning, visual modeling, and Artificial Intelligence processes to produce stable results, allowing users to automate tests with little or no coding skill set/experience. Typically, the most used features/utilities are already built-in via GUI, allowing users to select and sequence the required actions. This eliminates the complexity of manually performing the test cases while also speeding up the whole process by shortening the time spent conducting the regression test suite.
Here are some of the benefits of low-code/no-code automated testing:
- Low learning curve – While technical experience is advantageous, it is not required.
- Most capabilities, such as remotely executing test cases, integration with test management tools, CI/CD are available as ready-made solutions.
- Since the test scripts are created without any code or low code, they benefit non-programmers such as product owners, business analysts, etc.
4. Using QAOps to Shorten Delivery Cycles
To create a highly effective and cohesive process, the QA team, development, and IT operations teams must work together closely. In contrast to DevOps, QAOps focuses on the problems of QA engineers and the importance of integrating software testing into the DevOps workflow.
QAOps is essential for groups that automate their CI/CD pipelines as it enables them to obtain quick results without compromising quality. After its integration into the CI/CD pipeline, this process helps teams save both time and money on product evaluation. The increasing popularity of QAOps illustrates that quality is often overlooked during software creation.
Most businesses are embracing it to reap the following benefits:
- Because the QAOps process adheres to the shift-left testing approach, it accelerates issue fixes early without sacrificing time and allows the application to be deployed sooner.
- CI/CD testing identifies issues at an earlier stage, providing a reliable application with the highest quality.
- Because testing is ongoing, the chances of an improved customer experience increase as application quality and delivery improve.
- By running QAOps operations continuously, the IT operation team avoids any delays. The QA team can now test new apps/features without slowing down.
This adoption has gathered a great deal of attention in recent years, and this interest will only increase in the coming years.
5. Accessibility Testing
According to WHO, nearly three-quarters of the world’s population will access the internet solely through smartphones by 2025, and over 1 billion people, or 20% of the population, are likely to have some form of disability. In this age of digital transformation, mobile and web applications must be easily accessible to differently-abled people. As a result, accessibility is no longer an afterthought but a requirement that every software development company employs accessibility testing.
This type of testing validates application usability experiences. It ensures that the application is usable by children, the elderly, left-handed users, and people with various disabilities.
Final Thoughts
Exciting times are ahead for the testing industry as we discover new ways to optimize software testing using augmented intelligence. Based on the above software testing trends, we can foresee a positive future for quality engineering.
What’s Next
Tavant Continuous Quality Engineering Services help organizations engineer quality into their process by incorporating a whole gamut of services, tools, and techniques to elevate the end-user experience.
To learn more, visit here or reach out to us at [email protected].
