Software Testing 2.0 by Raj Neravati

HYDERABAD, India - Aug. 28, 2013 - PRLog -- The future of Software Testing lies in the ability to stay agile, be user centric and most importantly act as a critical success factor for business assurance. The analysts view the software testing landscape as a constitution of traditional testing services (TTS) and specialized/independent software testing services (STS). While the traditional testing services are increasingly taking back seat, specialized offerings and independent testing vendors are leading the industry in the age of Software testing 2.0. As the industry is gearing up for a wider client base, an independent analyst report from Nelson Hall  states that Software testing is recession proof and is expected to grow at an average of 9.5 percent CAGR from 2013 and STS spend alone will increase from USD 10,500 Million to 18,100 Million by 2018 out of the total testing services market potential of 37,850 Million by 2018.

Software testing 1.0- What has gone by
From developer controlled testing to a pre-release process as a confidence building measure, Testing has been an inherent part of IT development. As the scale and scope of IT kept on growing, there was a rise of Independent Verification and Validation, Turn Key solutions, Test services, tools and accelerators. In a sense, Software testing 1.0 is a part of IT history when testing was within the confines of development environment, with ad hoc solutions for projects/releases etc. While these solutions have been around since the IT boom, it took almost ten years for the testing techniques and technologies to be consolidated into an independent discipline that is now commanding the new age innovations.

Let us get into what is the future of Software testing. From infinite possibilities with unknown consequences to predictable outcomes with manageable scenarios, software testing has come a long way in aiding innovation.  Having made my career along this growth, I had the opportunity to observe the incredible transformation of software testing into an industry and a formidable career option.

Software Testing 2.0 is about developing confidence in the software and a lot more. Apart from aiding the release of pioneering technologies with critical insights, the testing industry itself is witnessing innovations which are an outcome of unique requirements being brought to the testing domain. While this growth may come as a surprise to some, it is actually a gradual build-up of solutions and services that were being reorganized to support the rapid pace of development.

Being Agile is the Key: One of the most disruptive things to happen in the last decade or so is the evolution of Agile Software development. Future of software testing is all about being relevant to changing dynamics of market space with extremely faster turn around times. Extensive Automation, Use case driven testing, exploratory testing with a market driven testing approach is very vital. In the age of on-demand computing and SaaS where feature roll outs integrate with consumer fold, QA needs to adopt newer modes and models to assure business success.

IP led testing services:  Fundamentally, the future of software testing will be IP Led. IP Led testing services will add significant value to accelerate the entire software test life cycle. Newer and Disruptive models, tools and frameworks which are offered in Pay As You Go options are helping clients jump start their QA initiatives. As the future unfolds even more challenging business scenarios, the consolidation of comprehensive test services and flexible engagement models will become the key differentiators. IP led testing services with ability to execute intelligent, optimized automated test scenarios with minimal reliance on business documentation will add the competitive edge to business.

Achieving convergence across disruptive models: While cloud computing is here to stay, the advent of work space social networking, crowd sourced models, weekend testing and on-demand test process consultants will be the trends to watch out for. In addition, Testing as a Service (TaaS) has gained significant traction with the rising demands of cost effective, innovative testing services that offer unbiased assurance services.

Renewed focus on Human capital: Software Testing V 2.0 will be marked by specialists, certified professionals, finishing schools and industry recognized practitioners, while a wide array of test tools will be enabled on social, cloud and operational models. This phase is in a unique position, since the evolution of testing services matches the mind boggling pace of change across the IT system. In India alone 250,000 specialized career testers are required by 2020 with niche skills in Cloud, Security, Mobility, Big Data and Performance testing among some of the sought-after specializations.

New age tools for specialized testing: Test tools developed around enterprise mobility will see increasing adoption along with home grown IP that complement the existent conventional tools and enterprise grade software test automation solutions from leading vendors. The next wave of testing will ride on cloud capabilities, artificial intelligence and customized offerings that support virtualization.

The shift will be towards open source libraries, data quality and data governance tools for Big Data deployments as enterprises strive to achieve the right balance between their growth and the IT spend.

Testing in Production- The way forward: The increasing volume and speed of code commits will redefine Software QA and usher in real time testing.  Test data simulation will meet bigger challenges as telemetry data, real time data feeds and location based intelligence stems into new age applications. Context aware applications will change the IT consumption and production patterns across the verticals. Testing in production will undergo acceleration and will be relied upon to achieve convergence across the increasing diversity of people, tools, skills, devices and platforms.

Technology testing and operations at an inflection point: The emerging changes on semantic web, Responsive web design patterns, the absence of Sql data bases, the undeniable impact of Big Data, app stores and  work space social computing will change the way technology testing is perceived. Software QA will undergo a sea change to match the progress which is blurring the line between enterprise IT and consumer approach to IT.

Organizations and Industry Trends: Confirming the analyst report from Nelson Hall, the future of software testing will be marked by Specialized testing services providers who come with a market focused and innovation led testing services. They will steer the growth of software testing industry, offshoring will tend towards multi-sourcing where vendors with specialist skills will meet the emerging requirements. Companies which stand to make deeper investments in IP led testing services will grow into substantial and sustainable players.