As more and more manual testers shift into automation mode, the criteria of what constitutes effective software testing has changed in recent years to keep pace with latest trends in digital transformation, e.g. Internet of Things. According to Gartner, around 6.4 billion connected objects will be in use by 2016, figures which are slated to rise to 20.8 billion by 2020. This will necessitate the adoption of proactive testing methods which can cater to a greater number of customer touch points while continuously elevating customer experience standards. Some of the QA methods which have risen to the fore include – Agile and DevOps practices, testing centers of excellence (TCOE) and increasing focus on security and context.

Let’s look at 3 software testing trends that will play a key role in future software engineering:

1. Software testing-as-a-Service (TaaS): The next wave of digital transformation is set to address multi-dimensional needs of customers covering functionality, security, performance, load and usability aspects across the digital value chain with an integrated testing approach for SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud) applications. Social Media testing and Mobile testing are two end uses where a lot of unstructured data has to be tested and analyzed. To address the demand for the data volumes, Software Testing-as-a-Service (TaaS) has evolved as a new model where automated testing is conducted by an external service provider rather than employees for both on-premise and on-demand cloud environments.
2. DevOps Practices: Test Automation and continuous testing have become an integral part of DevOps practices. Adoption of test automation has increased with a number of open source and licensed test automation tools. Agile and DevOps practices in development and testing have become inevitable to reduce delivery cycles and take a competitive advantage. Short for development and operations, DevOps refers to everyone in the IT development and operations team playing a role in QA assurance. Role of testing in agile environment has become more important today and role of testing is securing even more important role in DevOps practices wherein continuous testing plays a significant role.
3. Security Testing: With increasing use of wearable devices and IoT gadgets in this interconnected world, a huge amount of data is being accessed and shared via multiple channels. Breach in any data can possibly damage an organization’s reputation. Considering a large number of data breaches that have occurred in past few years and its impact, most organizations are compelled to go for security testing and make it a part of strategic QA practice.

With software engineer in test (SEIT) / software developer in test (SDIT) to support clients, eInfochips offers functional QA expertise for applications in industrial Internet of Things, home and industrial automation, security and surveillance, video devices and IPs, enterprise mobility, healthcare, medical devices etc. Our test management expertise spans HP Quality Center, Compuware QA Center, Borland SilkCentral, IBM ClearQuest and TestLink. We have expertise in automation frameworks including AQuA™ Testborg, zTest™, QTP, SilkTest, Selenium, Rational Robot, TestPartner.

1. Testing for Internet of Things Applications