The Future of Software Testing is a hot topic for software testers. It’s hard to imagine how software testing will change in the future. How do we ensure that our systems will continue to work in the future? What tools should we be using? These are just a few questions that many people have when it comes to testing software, and this blog post will explore them all. We’ll also discuss some threats and trends that you need to know about!
Background – The Future of Software Testing
It’s hard to say what software testing will look like in 20 years, but it seems reasonable that it will be different than the current landscape. We believe there are some things we can expect and other things that are harder to predict. This list isn’t exhaustive or definitive. However, we believe that it does a great job of summarizing what software testing might look like in the future.
Threats, Trends & Disruptions
This is another hot topic when it comes to the future of software testing. In recent years we’ve seen several disruptions and changes to our world, many of which have changed how we work and live. In this section, we’ll explore each of these changes, as well as how they may affect software testing in the future.
1. Increased Automation
One of the biggest things that have changed software is automation. Just think about how much is automated now, from manufacturing to transportation. As a result, there are more tools available to the average person than ever before. Software testing is following this trend, and that will only increase over time.
Tools like Selenium are making it easier to automate browser-based tests – but software testing isn’t limited to browsers! We also see tools emerge for automation at other stack layers (i.e., APIs & Microservices). This will allow for a massive increase in the number of tests that can be run in a shorter amount of time.
2. Increased Productivity
You may be thinking that increased productivity means more manual testing – and while this will likely happen, it won’t replace automated testing. Rather they’ll work side by side, allowing for a better overall product at a reduced cost.
3. Increased Collaboration
This is something that we’ve seen a lot of recently and will continue to see going forward. The days of command & control are over – the future belongs to those who work together. Communication skills are a must-have these days, as they can open doors to career growth opportunities. This means improving your communication ability through things like presentations, writing & other communication forms.
Communication is important at all levels of the company – from the C-Suite to developers and testers alike. Collaboration allows everyone in a company to work side by side towards a unified goal. Because of this, we’ll see an increase in communication that will enable the teams to test software more effectively.
4. New Ways to Work Together
We’ll probably see more and more of this. It’s similar to what we’ve already seen – an increased collaboration between teams – but the difference is that it means different people are working together. Today we see developers & testers working together, but tomorrow we might start seeing business analysts work with testers & development teams, for example.
Before, testers were often seen as gatekeepers who blocked developers from pushing code out the door. We’ve also heard stories of how difficult it can be for developers to test their own code at times. This is because there are gaps between development and testing that need to be filled to work together effectively – something that will continue to change in the future.
5. Cross-Discipline Collaboration
This is a natural evolution of increased collaboration and will continue to happen in the future. We’ve seen it in action in recent years, with testers working more closely with development teams, for example. However, we may see other people working together because of this, too, such as developers and business analysts. Collaboration will become a must-have skill as companies continue to evolve. The number of changes that will occur in the next few years will be much higher than we’ve seen before – that means needing people who can work together effectively at all levels of the company.
Conclusion
The future of testing is bright! We see the industry change quickly, requiring new skills in IT & tech jobs that are being developed to meet those needs. We can expect to see more collaboration between teams where different forms of communication – namely writing and presentations will be used by testers & others to show their findings during testing sessions. Increased collaboration and cross-discipline collaboration will lead to a better quality product that companies can produce at a reduced cost. Tools like Selenium will continue to make it easier for us to automate, which in turn will allow for increased productivity & output from teams around the world!