Over the past few years, the way software is developed and deployed has dramatically changed with the advent of Agile/Scrum, LoCode/NoCode, and Automation tools. The evolution of software testing into quality engineering has resulted in becoming a mature discipline that is now critical for organizations looking to execute digital transformation programs.

In the past, software quality testing was mainly aimed at locating bugs in a program to improve product quality. Today, the scope of quality engineering has evolved significantly, where Customer Experience (CX), Employee Experience (EX), or User Experience (UX) is more important than simply ensuring defect-free code.

To understand the ever-changing landscape of software testing and quality engineering, we need to be familiar with the latest trends in quality engineering. In this blog, I will try to outline some of the latest trends that will have a significant impact in the future of testing and as such, will reshape the landscape of quality engineering.

• Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) –RPA, AI, and ML are being leveraged in software testing to create and automate test cases, resulting in better test coverage and efficient test automation implementation. RPA helps execute repetitive tasks, which has resulted in reduced time and effort. In addition to this, defect tracking tools are now using artificial intelligence and deep learning algorithms to improve defect identification and tracking.
• Scriptless Testing –Low-Code/No-code-based Scriptless Test Automation tools have provided organizations test automation solutions that do not require writing code. This helps the business focus on business logic validation while simplifying the human effort required to automate the test cases. At Opteamix, we have developed our own Low Code / No Code test automation framework built on Selenium, achieves this, and as such optimizes both cost and effort.
• DevTestOps / QAOps –DevTestOps or QAOps is a combination of DevOps and Continuous Testing that has helped organizations reduce the gap between developers, testers, and operations engineers. The integration of QA with DevOps has led to a trend synonymous with quality and continuous improvement as businesses can enter the market with new features much faster than before and with more confidence by using in sprint Automation (DevOps Automation). DevOps automation is included with the continuous testing architecture as part of the sprints. This helps organizations test early, regularly, and across the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). It plays a crucial role in today’s testing landscape as it enhances the quality and with faster time to market.
• PAT (Package Application Test Automation) –PAT automation focuses upon product testing through a “Customization” approach. This is enabled through creating a baseline of automated tests from a baseline version of a product like Calypso, Temenos etc., so that for any new client / project test requirements for Temenos, the automated scripts are customized to the requirement, whereby, it helps to drastically reduce test authoring time. Requirements are blueprinted and automated tests are customized and executed. This reduces the cost of testing.
• Security Testing –With the proliferation of cyberattacks worldwide, security testing has become essential for organizations to identify and manage security risks and vulnerabilities. There is a trend to use AI and ML to implement effective security testing in addition to leveraging human expertise.

Although most quality engineering trends today display a dependence on automation, AI, and ML, we believe that it is not a replacement for people, as these technologies have not evolved to completely replace people. There are still some testing areas, such as user acceptance testing or UX testing, where automation cannot compete with the observation and instinct of a human tester. Therefore, we must welcome technology, but at the same time, we must respect the human effort that is involved in testing software. These trends may evolve to something better and more significant in the future, but it is more important to embrace the current trends and stay ahead of the competition.