Top 5 QA and software testing trends to attain your strategic ambitions in 2023

Delve into the 5 most influential trends that will impact the QA industry and help remain highly responsive to changes!?

Today, organizations do their utmost to briskly address operational challenges, ensure business continuity, and pursue sustainable growth — all by supplementing their roadmaps with the relevant technology.??

Many of them continue to modify processes through digital transformations, the global spending on which will reach $3.4 trillion by 2026; some actively invest in the metaverse development; others utilize blockchain-based software.??

However, due to overall complexity of these tech novelties, their implementation and further usage is far from being a smooth sailing endeavor, right????

Here, timely software testing can turn the tide. In our experience, it allows attaining high quality at pace, ensuring great customer experience, and meeting business outcomes.??

To increase QA efficiency during the forthcoming year, we suggest sticking to the top 5 industry trends that we’ll discuss in detail in the article.?

Trend 1. Continue adopting an Agile and DevOps culture?

To make quicker decisions, manage constant changes, and meet quality gates, organizations modify their operational models by embracing agility and higher flexibility.??

The World Quality Report 2022-23 (WQR) which surveyed 1,750 IT executives states that the shift to Agile and DevOps contributed to more than 20% improvement in diverse areas of companies’ development processes. They are: timely delivery (marked by 64% of respondents), enhanced predictability (63%), decreased cost of quality (62%), to name a few.??

Nevertheless, the adoption of Agile practices for enterprise systems is still at the beginning. Here are some of the reasons: overall software intricacy, complex business logic, and challenges with splitting massive business processes into small parts.??

The key to successful Agile implementation, regardless of the software type, is people ― full-stack quality engineers who are proficient in the customers’ business domain and possess cross-functional, observability, and monitoring skills. On average, only 30% of IT companies onboard them in their Agile teams, which of course cannot but affect the outcomes. ?

So, to simplify this journey to implementing Agile QA workflows, organizations can:?

1. Put in place regular tests (e.g., cybersecurity, performance) and monitoring, as well as infuse test automation into CI/CD processes to release high-quality solutions faster. ?
2. Apply suitable tools to increase QA efficiency, e.g., packaged solutions for enterprise systems and test and project management software.?
3. Hire seasoned software testing engineers who have the required technical skills, understanding of the client’s business specifics, and experience working in Agile.?
4. Regularly gauge quality level with the right metrics to keep abreast of the slightest changes in software soundness.??

“Agile transformations never happen overnight and are challenging as they involve processes, people, and technology. Resistance to changes and poorly designed strategies complicate the process as well.??

By shifting testing left and right, engaging software development engineers in test (SDETs), injecting test automation into the development process, and upskilling teams, companies can reach strategic priorities, enhance СX, and improve overall organizational performance.”?

Alina Karachun,?Account director at a1qa?

Trend 2. Push the development speed up with test automation??

Although test automation has been a long-term trend for decades already, the WQR mentions that organizations achieve their expected benefits only half the time. This is due to the lack of a well-considered strategy and isolation from the development process.??

To deploy high-quality code faster, ensure the maintainability of automated workflows, and attain business objectives rather than consider only automation ROI, companies can:?

• Involve proficient QA automation experts that delve deeply into business domain specifics to ensure that software development complies with technical requirements, business needs, and user expectations.??
• Compile a thoughtful roadmap to accurately define the scope, tooling, test data, etc., and focus on continuous improvement. ?
• Design QA automation already during the requirements development phase to speed up testing activities.?
• Continuously analyze the efficiency of applied toolkits and frameworks to timely adjust the environment and optimize testing procedures.?

“Faster, smarter, stronger ― it’s all about adopting test automation.

By supplementing Agile- or DevOps-driven development activities with automated QA, companies can greatly increase the speed and frequency of software releases, cut down testing costs, and obtain quick feedback on software quality ― to fix flaws and continuously improve at speed.”?

Michael Urbanovich, Head of department at a1qa

Trend 3. Consider the value of quality engineering for emerging technologies?

Perceiving emerging technologies as the “next big thing” can greatly impact the way we live and communicate with each other. For instance, AI-powered virtual clothing try-on systems simplify shopping experiences, IoT for smart cities improves overall urban infrastructure, and blockchain fosters decentralization and allows banks to focus on other high-priority tasks rather than tracking transactions.??

According to the WQR, the most high-priority technologies that the respondents marked for their future success are blockchain and Web 3.0, digital twins, 3D printing and quantum computing, and the metaverse. This variety generates the need for specific quality engineering skills, with the most demanded ones being blockchain (50%), cybersecurity (47%), and cloud computing (45%).??

Without an R&D team, companies face increased risks of cybersecurity attacks, challenges with growing businesses, or enlarged expenses on deploying these technologies. How to overcome these problems during the implementation process???

In addition to building a proper quality engineering strategy, organizations may consider inflating best DevSecOps practices to define critical vulnerabilities by introducing security early in the SDLC and making it a shared responsibility.??

Trend 4. Improve test environment provisioning with cloud opportunities??

The global situation forced companies to move their workloads to the cloud at an active pace, and test environments have been no exception ― almost half of the organizations surveyed by the WQR have made so for 50% of their non-production environments. It is a big rise if compared to the previous year. This tendency paves the way for their automated provisioning and cloud testing of both functional and non-functional aspects. However, half of the WQR respondents doubt their cloud testing efficiency.??

Here’s the thing: companies should remember that the choice between cloud and on-premises is individual. Before going with the crowd and spending money on cloud, keep in mind that it’s most suitable during the rapid business growth phase. Otherwise, an on-premises variant is preferable.

Trend 5. Increase focus on test data provisioning and data validation??

Provisioning quality test data efficiently, cost-effectively, and safely is a challenge, which is proved by the WQR ― only 19% of the interviewed confirmed that they have the right strategy to apply in the entire enterprise.??

Meanwhile, companies tend to store de-sensitized and synthetically generated test data in the cloud, which is a good sign considering the global context. As for improving provisioning with test automation, only half of the organizations interviewed by the WQR succeeded, and this automation isn’t integrated into CI/CD pipelines.??

Data validation strategy is another vital capability for businesses that helps boost efficiency, decision-making, CX, profitability, and reduce duplications. Nevertheless, companies still struggle with its implementation due to the intricacy of multiple database architectures, outdated data, and large amount of time required for this process.??

To make a difference and improve operations with test data, businesses can focus more on designing a comprehensive strategy for the entire enterprise, apply a combination of diverse toolkit, and regularly update data. ?

A final note??

QA and software testing plays the first fiddle in reaching business objectives and supporting sustainable growth, increasing customer satisfaction levels, improving brand image, and attaining quality at speed. To leapfrog over competitors and design a highly efficient testing strategy for the upcoming year, organizations can rely on Agile QA and test automation, improve the test environment and test data management and provisioning, and not bail on testing emerging tech.?