Enterprises across the world must continually navigate the crowded online marketplace in order to sell their products. Without a software product that is of true quality to their end-users, these companies will fail. The only way to ensure that a product is living up to expectations, or exceeding them, is through a stringent and thorough quality assurance process completed by an experienced software QA tester.
Software quality assurance testing is one of (if not the most) important parts of the software development process. In this stage, software products go through an inspection, assessment, and modification process to ensure that it matches the overall expected results that have been in place since development began.
The Top QA Trends of 2020
As software products continue to evolve and experience new trends, the quality assurance process does as well. Based on the enhancements of the last year as well as the projected advancements coming in the rest of 2020, the following trends are sure to be very popular and useful in the world of software QA testing.
- DevOps Systems – DevOps is a set of practices used to automate the processes between IT teams and software development as defined by Atlassian. Together, these practices have already been helping to mechanize constructing, testing, and discharging programming at a much faster and more dependable rate than traditional methods. With this cycle of constant coordination and consistency, further integration into QA testing will be possible throughout the procedures to create a smooth process of changes that guarantees the final outcome is exactly what was originally intended.
- Internet of Things Testing – As development increases for more and more appliances, gadgets, and smart devices, the Internet of Things continues to grow in popularity and more components are being added to the mix. The sheer newness of the IoT network has made the QA process a little rough to start off with but will become a priority in 2020. Areas such as security, execution, ease of use, and quality and versatility of programming for these items are already and will continue to be a big deal in the coming months.
- Usability Testing – With an incredible influx of mobile applications in recent years, software testing has become an even more vital aspect of development to test a multitude of operating systems, platforms, and devices. User experience and overall usability can make or break an application in the digital marketplace, making aspects such as quick loading time, streamlined performance, bug-free use, and such a top priority. Without good usability, customer sales and overall brand loyalty would plummet.
- Big Data – Today’s companies are dealing with enormous and diverse amounts of data that require management on a daily basis. The mining of this big data, whether structured or unstructured, requires effective testing processes to help ensure that all information is accurate and usable.
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning – Artificial intelligence will continue to be the top investment priority for the tech industry across the board in 2020, but it will be especially important in the world of quality assurance. Through the power of machine learning, AI will help estimate application behavior and offer a thorough machine-based exam. When paired with the depth of QA testing conducted by humans, machine learning and artificial intelligence will help ensure that no mistakes or errors come out on the other side of the testing process.
- Operational Efficiency – Operational efficiency testing will overtake execution testing in the quality assurance process over the course of the year. Operational efficiency puts an emphasis on engineering, planning, and usage of the product so that advancement procedures management is as efficient of a process as possible while sticking to the schedule and budget.
- Cybersecurity and Risk Compliance – Cybersecurity is one of the biggest, most important issues not only in the entire field of technology but for nearly every company across all business sectors. Without security testing during the quality assurance process, dangerous vulnerabilities and bugs in final products could cost companies millions of dollars. Although cybersecurity has always been a priority in the general QA process, the implementation of new regulations set forth by the General Data Protection Regulation will make it a top priority from now on.
QA for 2020 and Beyond
2019 brought significant advancements in the world of quality assurance and technology in general, and 2020 is sure to take things even further. Based on the new aforementioned trends, software testing is moving to the next level of advancement. Manual testing is incorporating automated testing technology that will continue to expedite the overall process, new fields of tech are requiring additional QA, and new regulations require adherence to ensure compliance.
As 2020 progresses on, the world of software testing will undoubtedly encounter new fields, trends, and technologies that software QA outsourcing companies will have to learn how to manage while keeping up with the times. This need to adapt to these advancements makes it even more important that organizations partner with trusted QA companies to guarantee the quality of their products.
About the Author
Malcom Ridgers is a tech expert at BairesDev specializing in the software outsourcing industry. He has access to the latest market news and has a keen eye for innovation and what’s next for technology businesses.
