On Strikes, Artificial Intelligence, and Full-Stack QA
Recent labor market shifts have created an opportunity for startups, according to TechCrunch. The competition for talent has eased, allowing startups to attract skilled professionals with less effort. Thanks to the less competitive hiring market, startups no longer need to overextend themselves on compensation packages
“There are many folks who have left incredible companies like Tesla, Meta and DeepMind, and they no longer want to be in the grind.”
The softer job environment means companies can hire slowly and thoughtfully, too, which wasn’t the case a few years ago. Massive layoffs also left tech talents now ready to work for lower compensation.
We’ve been discussing this tendency with the team for a while now. Finding a dream job (or any job) becomes even harder for junior-level specialists under such circumstances. The conversation reminded our marketing team about the article written two years ago that addressed the skills that make a good QA engineer now and what could be beneficial in the future.
We concluded that a set of hard skills varies across companies and projects, with the following must-haves for an average candidate:
? Knowledge of software testing types, methodologies, and techniques.?
? Familiarity with certain bug tracking and test management tools.?
? Understanding of different SDLC models.?
? Knowledge of a particular programming language (for test automation).
As for the soft skills, we ended up with a longer list:?
? Communication skills
? Empathy
? Analytical skills
? Attention to detail
? Focus on quality
? Reasoning ability
? Diligence
? Teamwork
? Relating to end-users
? Commitment
It was a portrait of a QA engineer we wanted to see in the team. Little has changed since then, except AI complicating things earlier than we hoped. On the other hand, McKinsey predicted a while ago that by 2030, activities that account for up to 30 percent of hours currently worked across the US economy could be automated. As we know, the trends migrate from the USA to the rest of the world.
We can only guess how a QA engineer’s skillset will evolve, but it will undoubtedly include more mobile testing, at least basic knowledge of cyber security and AI, powered up by quick learning, critical thinking, and complex problem-solving.
The opinions are split regarding AI and its role in taking all our work in the future. The author of this piece once again was begging ChatGPT to rewrite a few paragraphs from cited articles, didn’t get any decent text, and remains optimistic. It seems that ChatGPT understands what writing without bullshit is, but it is far from producing the copy that would match at least half of the requirements.?
Meanwhile, the Hollywood writer’s strike put the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the spotlight, raising awareness in adjacent industries and beyond.?
AI was one of several key issues to negotiate – along with compensation and working conditions that took the lead in the requirements. The rise of streaming services put pressure on traditional television with its longer seasons, deteriorating residual pay, and growth in the use of mini rooms.??
On Wednesday, September 27th, the strike officially ended. The Writers Guild of America ratified the new three-year contract with Hollywood studios, and writers are free to work.
Actors, however, are still striking – also for higher royalties, better work regulations, and ethical use of AI in the industry.?
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Video game industry representatives also voted in favor of authorizing a strike. Game performers such as voice, motion capture, and stunt actors seek increased safety measures on sets, vocal stress protections for voice actors, and wage increases consistent with inflation. Protection around AI consent is also communicated as vital to ensuring the future of their jobs.
“Between the exploitative uses of AI and lagging wages, those who work in video games face many of the same issues as those who work in film and television.”
Songwriters are not protesting (at least yet), but they are discussing legislation that will regulate AI use with Congress members. The first point on the list of principles for AI that the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers presented is “Human creators first.”
No wonder everyone keeps discussing the probability of AI affecting their jobs, changing the focus from “if” to “to what extent.”?
The questions we are particularly interested in are:?
According to Katalon State of Quality Report 2023, AI-powered test automation still has low adoption. However, businesses favor autonomous generation of test cases and scripts, as well as optimizing test suits and bug fixing. The need and desire to have AI driving test automation in the future are unmistakable, but there’s still a long way to go.?
Meanwhile, Google has already patented the “EFFICIENT GAMEPLAY TRAINING FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE” meant to replace QA engineers with AI testing. The company explains it by the growing complexity of games: QA teams can no longer scale accordingly, affecting both release timelines and game quality.?
Another tech giant, Microsoft, is looking for more ways to incorporate AI in testing. The company uses AI:
? In code review bot to assess the latest changes and provide feedback on quality.
? To determine which audiences, from which countries, and in which proportions to include in performance and customer experience testing.?
? For smart test selection for reruns and test suite maintenance.
According to this year’s World Quality Report, companies admit a higher interest in AI, along with discovering ways to use it in practice. The expansion of technology to the sectors, where it wasn’t essential, changes the focus and modifies the contents of the profession. One of the signs is an increased attention to quality engineering altogether.
To us, it sounds like QA engineers – human QA engineers – are here to stay. Some tasks will be automated or handled with AI. Some will still require manual testing. QA experts will become more versatile in their skills. More Software Engineers in Test and Full-Stack QA Engineers will appear on the market, ready to tune up new technologies and work with quality requests from several categories.
“Quality engineers in Agile teams are evolving further towards full-stack quality engineers. These are engineers who bring a rich blend of technical and business skills. … This year’s data shows an increase in the blend of technical and cross-functional skills of quality engineers embedded within Agile scrum teams.”
A Full-Stack QA engineer works with different aspects of quality and layers of software. They have a mix of testing skills, domain knowledge across industries, soft skills, a good understanding of business processes, and user-centric approach development. They can:
★ Run different types of testing – functional, compatibility, accessibility, API, and so on.
★ Work with varying tech stacks – websites, mobile, web, desktop apps, wearables, etc.
★ Set up and run both manual and automated testing.
★ Participate in requirement gathering and finalization.
★ Share advice on quality during the initial stages of development.
We have been practicing the full-stack approach to quality assurance for a while now. The idea behind it is to prepare experts with versatile skills to cover the clients’ needs more efficiently and provide better job security while artificial intelligence keeps advancing.?
If you’re interested in having a Full-Stack QA engineer on your team, consider our Ambi Testing service.
We don’t know how AI will change our lives further or what the future will bring to tech businesses. However, we are sure that quality will remain a competitive advantage for companies in the future. If you consider cutting spending on quality assurance wholly or relying on your development and product teams for testing, think twice and start looking for cost-effective QA solutions. There are plenty of them.
In the context of AI discussions, how will QA evolve in the future?
Share your thoughts in the comments!