Top 10 Software Testing Trends to Watch Out For in 2018

The technological world is moving forward at a dizzying pace. There is an immense and persistent pressure on the development team to deliver faster solutions without any compromise on product quality. Software quality has become a competitive differentiator for top businesses. This has brought software testing to the forefront of development. Testing used to be the last step of product development, but if we look at the current trends in software testing, we will see that now it plays an important role at every stage of the development process.

In the world of agile applications, the role of testing and quality assurance (QA) has changed drastically. According to a recent research report, one-quarter of the total IT budget would be dedicated to Testing and QA in 2018, but with the massive digital transformation and the growth of the Internet of Things, it is estimated that this proportion would rise to 32% by the year 2020. As the software market grows, the demand for testing is keeping pace as well. Let us discuss some of the latest trends in software testing.

Software Testing Predictions for 2018 & Beyond

Software testing was considered to be the least important steps of software development but not anymore. Software testing is gaining tremendous importance in the industry as the demand for high-quality software solutions is sky-rocketing. Some of the key software testing trends for 2018 and beyond are listed here -

1. Mobile Testing and Mobile Testing Automation to Flourish

   

   Mobile app testing is a completely different field from desktop software testing due to the huge diversity of apps and operating environments. As companies race to the market, the time spent on testing is hardly ever enough. In 2017, 52% of the respondents of the World Quality Report agreed that they do not have sufficient time to test mobile apps and 46% said that they do not have the right tools. Currently, there's a dearth of powerful mobile testing tools and the increasing demand for faster mobile software development is giving rise to greater mobile testing automation. Software testing predictions for 2018 show that mobile testing automation would see significant growth and play a major role in the digital transformation.

2. Test Automation to Increase

   

   Many organizations are still struggling with test automation as they are conducting automation in a disconnected way. Only parts of the process go through automated tests while the rest still depend on the manual effort. Intelligent and fully-integrated test automation is the need of the hour in the agile development world. 48% of the respondents believe that test design automation and test data automation are the trends that will take testing to the next level in the digital world. In 2018 we will see more organizations adopting test automation at a deeper level in an attempt to achieve automation maturity.

3. Agile and DevOps Together to Reduce Testing Time

   

   A majority of the organizations involved in software development leverage agile methodology as it promises faster results. Moreover, businesses are also trying to implement the DevOps principles into their software development process. The goal of DevOps is to unify software development (Dev) and software operation (Ops). Automation and monitoring will be carried out at all steps of conceptualization, integration, software testing, deployment, and infrastructure management. The testing world will transform as well to support the testing requirements of Agile and DevOps processes to increase performance and reduce testing time.

4. Open Source Tools Adoption to Rise

   

   There are many upcoming technologies in software testing, but there is a significant rise in adoption of open source tools and they are all set to take over the commercial testing tools in the year 2018. Selenium, TestingWhiz, HPE-UFT, TestComplete, Ranorex, Sahi – are some of the open source testing tools that are becoming popular and are well supported by their expert communities. There are many other free tools for specific functions like Unit Testing, Functional Testing, Security Testing, Performance Testing, etc. These open source tools are up-to-date, economical, as well as stable.

5. Cloud-based Testing to Gain Popularity

   

   With increasing storage capacity on the cloud and growth of cloud services, it is becoming highly convenient for businesses to host solutions on the cloud. Cloud-based software and applications are becoming widely popular. Looking at the software testing trends of 2018, we can clearly see that cloud-based application testing is one of the fastest growing areas of the software testing field. Moreover, there is also a rise in cloud-based test environments to conduct testing.

6. Demand for Big Data Testing Tools to Increase

   

   Testing used to be all about verifying the quality of the software products being developed, but it has now moved way further and the scope has grown to include big data testing as well. Big data is, by nature, huge and highly complex. It is impossible to test these datasets manually and they require advanced analytical tools and testing frameworks that are still in the growth phase. In 2018, we would see an increase in demand for big data testing tools and the required skills.

7. IoT Testing to Advance

   

   The Internet of Things has taken over the world by storm and will come to the forefront as we move ahead in 2018. IoT is a mix of cloud computing, machine to machine interaction, advanced data processing, real-time analytics, and much more. This generates an unlimited number of complex scenarios that require being tested effectively in order to ensure optimum performance as well as security. One of the key emerging trends in software testing is IoT testing which is primarily based on machine learning and automation. Currently, only 32% of the respondents of the World Quality Report have a well-defined IoT test strategy in place. So, we can surely see a significant rise in IoT testing requirements in the coming year.

8. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Increase Efficiency

   

   One of the major software testing predictions of 2018 is that AI and ML will play a substantial role in this domain by reducing testing time and increasing test efficiency. In case of IoT testing, the only feasible solution to reduce testing time is to implement machine learning capabilities. Experts predict a rise in smart test automation tools based on artificial intelligence. These tools would be able to predict application behavior, build advanced testing scenarios, and offer smart analytics of the test process.

9. Move Towards Performance Engineering

   

   Performance testing has been an important term since the time software testing came into the picture, but today, instead of performance testing, the domain is moving towards performance engineering, as the role of testing has now been redefined. Businesses are in a virtual race to provide the best user experience and this mandates a constant focus on design, functionality, architecture, and implementation. The whole process will merge into one set of activities that includes testing, development, as well as user experience designing.

10. Omni-channel Application Testing to be in Demand

    

    Test engineers are finding it increasingly difficult to test applications that work in multiple channels and are being accessed by users from different mediums at the same time. They are challenged by the stability of the test environment and the problems with the test data in the omnichannel scenario. There is a need for this important area to get stronger and more capable in the coming year.

Outsource Software Testing to Flatworld Solutions

Flatworld Solutions has been a leading provider of software testing services and series of other software development services to global clients. The world of software testing is constantly in a flux. In such a scenario, businesses need a reliable partner for software testing so that they can take their products to market in the shortest possible time and with complete confidence. We have advanced testing methodologies that are customized to meet the business goals of your organization. We enable you to launch secure and high-performing applications by aligning our services with your software development team. We leverage the upcoming technologies in software testing and always offer the most comprehensive solutions to our clients.

If you are looking for reliable, accurate, effective, and cost-effective software testing service provider, then you have come to the right place. Get in touch with us today!