Top 7 Trends in Software Testing

Blame it on globalization or blame it on the advent of new platforms and technology. Whatever the reason, businesses all around the world are rapidly changing and QA is not immune to it. Year on year, we are seeing new trends in testing that have changed the way we test software. Here are the top 7 trends seen in 2013-2014:

1. Integrating QA through agility and TCoE: QA is seeing greater integration into business through setting up agile testing teams and Testing Centers of Excellence (TCoE). Though agile development teams have been around for a long time, agility in testing is still nascent. With the continuous pressure to quickly deliver software, businesses are investing time and money into setting up a TCoE with the objective of reducing CoQ, increasing test effectiveness and generating more ROI out of testing. From 2011 to 2014, the number of operational TCoEs has increased from 4% to 19% and is expected to increase further in the future.
2. Greater focus on new technology: New technologies like SOA, cloud and mobile testing are on the rise. According to 2013-2014 world quality report, mobile testing has seen a rapid rise from 31% in 2012 to 55% in 2013. Yet 56% lack comprehensive mobile testing procedures. By 2015, almost 36% of software will be hosted in the cloud but businesses still lack the necessary infrastructure for cloud testing. These might cause businesses to opt for TaaS (Testing as a service) options.
3. Higher Automation Levels: With agile testing teams and growing number of TCoEs, and due to high pressure to reduce the time-to-market, testing teams are trying to adopt automation wherever possible. This is not just in regression but also in unit testing and load testing.
4. Greater focus on security: System robustness and security has always been a top priority but with growth in social media and mobility and need for software that can be integrated to multiple platforms, systems are becoming more vulnerable. There is a pressing need to ensure enhanced security, particularly in applications handling sensitive data. This is causing QA to focus more on security testing.
5. Context driven testing: Another effect of the spread of social media, localization and mobility is the result of devices that, though diverse, are still tightly integrated in terms of software and usage. It is challenging for businesses to maintain central hubs of hardware, middleware and test environments necessary to comprehensively test them. This has caused context driven testing to become more popular as it ensures more testing coverage from diverse angles. It is expected that this will impact skill development among testers as there will be more demand for testers with exposure to different contexts.
6. Continuous Integration testing: Under this methodology, testing is done in small increments in a production like environment with code integration happening at frequent intervals. This kind of testing helps the tester to detect problems early, measure the effectiveness of a change and determine whether it actually meets end-user expectations.
7. Independent Software testing: With increased focus on QA, many businesses are relying on specialist QA organizations to provide testing services. This is largely due to the expertise that specialist QA organizations bring to the table, including TCoE capability. Hence partnering with them helps the business to circumvent the pain of finding skilled QA resources and setting up a mature QA, both in terms of process and technology. A report from business research firm Nelson Hall states that the independent testing sector will see an annual growth of 9.5% for the next few years.

More and more businesses around the world are awakening to the need to have a well-designed and futuristic quality assurance process to maintain their edge in the industry. Partnering with a specialist QA service can help you readily adapt to the latest trends in testing. Know more on how you can benefit from Cigniti’s specialized services.