Enterprises across the globe continue to foray into the challenging and turbulent market space with a need for quality products to gain their market place. Software development of applications and products demands effective software testing that has a shift-left approach today. Software testing is taken up along with the software development life cycle (SDLC) to enable faster releases and deliver quicker ROI. Hence, looking at the criticality of software testing in the SDLC, more and more enterprises are looking out for end-to-end testing cycles and hence continue to invest in next-gen software testing services.

Contents 1. Top 16 Software Testing Trends to Look Out in 2020 2. Test Automation to Ramp Up Quality for Agile & DevOps 3. User Experience to take a Leap with Usability Testing 4. Big Data Testing to Empower Enterprises 5. IoT Testing to Boost Well-Connected Smart Devices Market 6. AI & ML in Testing goes Mainstream 7. Surge in Blockchain Testing 8. Demand for Cyber Security Testing on the Rise 9. RPA Testing is Even Bigger than Automation Testing 10. Performance Testing to Shift towards Performance Engineering 11. QAOps 12. Mobile Test Automation 13. Testing to become effective with Behavior-driven 14. Use of Scriptless Automation Tools 15. Multi-device Testing 16. Integration of tools 17. App penetration testing 18. Conclusion

A recent Nelson Halls’ report states Next-gen testing accounts for 24% of the software testing services spending. It is the fastest growth offering with a 12.8% CAGR for 2018-2023. Growth is driven by mobile testing, which still accounts for ~75% of all next-gen testing spending.

Evidently, software testing continues to play a key role in the emergence of software development methodologies like Agile and DevOps. In addition, with the industry 4.0 in place, the trend indicates a shift towards automation, cyber-physical systems, the internet of things (IoT) and the industrial internet of things (IIoT), cloud computing all around and the booming up of Artificial intelligence with Machine Learning trends. Testing of these technologies demands effective test strategies and testing methodologies to be in place. Interestingly, enterprises should ponder some of the major software testing trends to take the complete benefit of the market segment to derive products of their requirement.

Top 16 Software Testing Trends to Look Out in 2020:

1. Test Automation to Ramp Up Quality for Agile & DevOps

With the latest agile and DevOps processes, faster and quality releases as the underlying motto, most enterprises continue to adopt test automation. Undoubtedly, test automation has already penetrated into the industry in testing repetitive tasks quickly and efficiently. With DevOps substantiating proper collaboration between departments, test automation tools continue to lead the software testing space. The proper usage of test automation tools helps to achieve faster release cycles, better quality, and quicker ROI.

2. User Experience to take a Leap with Usability Testing

With the rapid influx of mobile and e-commerce applications, the significance of software testing has been witnessed to test the operating systems, platforms, and devices. The mobile apps continue to be the major business enabler for businesses today; an effective and great user interface with a streamlined usability flow is the need of the hour. Along with a quick app loading time, users continue to show preference to apps that have a great Usability embedded in them. Poor usability can affect customer and brand loyalty; hence usability testing identifies all the bugs before the application is released to your users.

3. Big Data Testing to Empower Enterprises

Enterprises across industries continue to deal with huge data volumes and diverse data types. The mining of any amount of structured or unstructured data defined as Big data needs effective testing. Big data testing helps to make improved decisions with accurate data validations, and helps improve market targeting and strategizing.

4. IoT Testing to Boost Well-Connected Smart Devices Market

It is expected that the number of connected devices will be more than 20 billion by 2020 when compared to the figure of just 6.4 billion during 2016. These figures represent the massive expansion and the need for an effective IoT testing strategy. It includes the testing of Operating systems, communication protocols, along with software and hardware of the IoT devices. Most enterprises have already started identifying the need for an effective IoT testing strategy to enable efficient and well-connected smart devices.

Especially, testing for vulnerabilities in IoT devices is an emerging business need as IoT typically encompasses all products that are connected to the internet in one way or the other. IoT systems collect data while in usage from various interconnected devices and share information with their manufacturers without the users being aware of it. Further, manufacturers in their haste to get new design features for smart products continue to overlook the complications arising out of security concerns of system’s software and hardware.

There is a possibility of vulnerabilities seen in the hardware (chipset) of many new IoT products which is susceptible for multiple threats that needs to be effectively tested. Even the software that is included in the IoT devices usually does not get any sort of security testing done while at the manufacturers end. Thus, numerous IoT devices continue to get hacked due to the susceptibility affecting the entire network of users. Hence, it is essential to get all the IoT products and devices security tested to avoid threats and vulnerabilities.

5. AI &ML in Testing goes Mainstream

According to a leading Research analyst, Artificial Intelligence(AI) will be omnipresent in all spheres of technological innovations. It will become the top investment priority of CIOs by 2020. The market for AI is expected to be around $6-7 billion in North America alone. Machine Learning (ML) and user interfaces such as Speech recognition and gesture recognition will advance in the future. The prediction of various tasks based on complex neural networks and algorithms has literally changed the outlook of technology and these applications also need rigorous testing and validations.

With the world completely moved towards digital transformation, there is much pressure to balance market requirements and build a system which is predictive and scalable to cater future needs of software. Testing needs to embed AI which perfectly imitates human behavior using machine learning and predictive analytics. Going forward for the upcoming latest applications in connected world evidently needs testing to use AI and ML to automate.

6. Surge in Blockchain Testing

There is a rapid expansion of the virtual currency Bitcoin usage. A recent report by McKinsey states that Blockchain is a nascent technology with the potential to bring about step-function improvements in financial transactions. Blockchain testing helps to enable smart contracts and ensures fraud protection.

Undoubtedly, the Blockchain technology has revolutionized the way businesses are dealing with digital currencies such as Bitcoin. These Blockchain applications are not limited to the financial world and its smart contracts are being used in every field of business from energy sector to governmental services. This wide range of applications support brings in new challenges to Blockchain debugging.

Moreover, once the smart contract is implemented, its execution cannot be reversed and hence, smart contract codes define how seamlessly the software performs even with increased workloads. This entire process of Blockchain testing calls for efficient outsourced next-gen testing services, specialized in debugging the code to deliver productive Blockchain applications.

7. Demand for Cyber Security Testing on the Rise

Undoubtedly with the digital revolution, there has been the emergence of various security threats. The CIOs of enterprises continue to realize the importance of security testing of their applications, network, and systems to ensure not only secure transactions but complete protection of end-users critical data. Thus, security testing has gained a lot of importance as it safeguards brand loyalty and prevents economic losses.

8. RPA Testing is Even Bigger than Automation Testing

RPA can also be named as an extension of Automation as it can be applied to anything which is in a structured form, unlike automation which needs a software product to work upon. RPA can be used with very complex processes that can be automated with AI. Specifically, it is a style of automation wherein a machine, or computer mimics a human action and helps in the completion of rule-based tasks. The Robot led automation has the true potential to change the workplace and does all tasks performed by automation testing tools.

9. Performance Testing to Shift towards Performance Engineering

Product performance has earlier been the major segment of testing but now, it is slowly shifting towards performance engineering which is not an easy process. The performance engineering process involves the collaboration of hardware, software, configuration, performance, security, usability, business value and it ensures to deliver the highest value that exceeds end-user expectations.

10. QAOps

The digital world is effectively in need of software applications that are released faster with no compromise in the quality of the applications. Earlier, the need for testing teams was limited only for performing application testing, but now the importance of QA is effectively increasing. QA is playing a crucial part in the complete software development.

Similarly, DevOps is another automation approach that has gained crucial importance in order to deliver applications faster. And the combination of these two methodologies, i.e. QA and DevOps brings a new practice called QAOps or DevTestOps.

With this practice, the testing, development, and operation teams can be on the same line by erasing the boundaries. With this latest approach, continuous testing can be combined DevOps and thus assures changes in software are made effective with the practice of Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD). Thus, software testing is not practiced at indefinite intervals and the applications are delivered with quality and without delays.

11. Mobile Test Automation

Mobile phones have become a very popular medium and this has enhanced the rise of mobile applications. Enterprises are choosing the pathway through mobile apps as an easy way to reach users. And, to ensure that mobile apps work efficiently for users, automation testing for mobile applications is essential.

With the rising mobile app market, the need for mobile testing with automation tools becomes crucial. Considering this effective needs, there have been many automation testing tools for mobile applications such as Robotium, Kobiton, TestComplete, Appium, etc. Mobile automation testing can be on the list of top trends until there is another powerful medium like a mobile application.

12. Testing to become effective with Behavior-driven

This has been in the list of software testing trends for many years and it is continuing the same still. Yes, Behavior-driven development (BDD) is effectively getting enhanced with the adoption of AI and ML by many organizations.

With the BDD implementation, it becomes easier for many organizations to upgrade their insights and business with higher user acceptance. This is because, the adaption of BDD requires the implementation of BDD tools, frameworks, and requires test cases built based on visitor’s interaction. A few of the top BDD tools and frameworks include Cucumber, Concordion, FitNesse, HipTest, etc.

13. Use of Scriptless Automation Tools

Software testing is effectively seeking many advancements and improvements continuously. Every change and advancement in this field is helping the teams in releasing applications faster with quality assurance. Among the many such advancements, scriptless automation is one of the important trends in 2020 that is reducing the human efforts and helping in accelerating quality applications that can help in achieving greater ROI.

With Scriptless test automation, there is no more the issue of coding for test engineers for automating test cases. This is an effective advancement helping to deliver quality results faster by reducing the coding time.

14. Multi-device Testing

The use of mobile devices is effectively increasing year by year and this is increasing the need for automation testing on a range of devices. However, this is not only limited to mobile devices, it is for many devices such as wearables, smartphones, smart speakers, etc. Thus, this year, automation testing over a range of devices become essential for many testing teams.

15. Integration of tools

The growing demands in the businesses are effectively in need of solutions that help in delivering faster and quality applications. In order to overcome this difficulty, it has become important for organizations to consider the integration of tools so that it eases in achieving seamless functionality within businesses.

Thus, the businesses of the present digital world are effectively in need of testing tools that can easily get integrated with other tools as they assure better application management. This is a very important software testing trend in 2020 to help enterprises and benefit them in the reduction of cost, management of application, etc.

16. App penetration testing

Almost for every industry, applications have become major important and these are playing a crucial role in their development as well. But, to ensure these work efficiently for users, the internet-based applications have to overcome several attacks and vulnerabilities.

Web applications have the most chances of facing vulnerabilities such as hacking. Thus, it is important for enterprises to implement successful security strategies for achieving systems that are secured and work efficiently for achieving business goals. And, to do this, it is necessary to include Application Penetration Testing into software testing practices. With this testing practice, it becomes easier for the teams to validate the effectiveness of the app’s security controls and identify the risks that are exposed to vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

Software testing method like any other services segment is attaining a new level with more traction towards the new trends stated above. Manual testing is slowly being replaced by automated testing, leveraging enormous open source and paid tools. Thus to ensure quality products, enterprises need to be updated with the latest software testing trends. It is important to partner with a next-gen testing services provider to be assured of quality for your products.

The post Top 16 Software Testing Trends to Watch Out in 2020 first appeared on TestingXperts.

Contents 1. Mobile applications Testing 2. What are the types of Mobile App testing? 3. What are the pros and cons of Mobile App testing? 4. Major Segments where Mobile apps are leading the business arena 5. Mobile App Testing Trends 6. Conclusion

Mobile Applications Testing

Moreover, in today’s technological era with hypersensitive customers all around, mobile app quality matters the most as the market is very competitive; the user experience is critical as well as the performance of the app.

Typically, mobile apps that don’t deliver excellent experience tend to get negative ratings, thus affecting their overall reputation and downloads. Hence, it is important for all businesses to get high performing apps through effective mobile app testing.

It is interesting to note that the mobile application testing services market is valued at $13.3 B by 2026 and it is anticipated to witness significant revenue growth during 2016 and 2026. A recent study published by an eminent market research analyst envisages that the mobile app testing services market would record an impressive 19.5% value CAGR between the forecast period (2016 to 2026). This growth is expected to be primarily driven by an increasing number of applications and the effective need to improve mobile app quality.

What are the types of Mobile App testing?

Functional Testing:

This method of mobile app testing ensures to validate the functionality of the app and verifies whether the app functionality is according to the requirements or not.

Performance Testing:

This method of testing is referred to determine the app’s resource consumption, stability, and operability under various conditions.

Usability Testing:

Usability testing helps to determine the application’s behaviour to user operations. This method helps to ensure whether the app is providing a positive user experience or not.

Compatibility Testing:

This method of testing is performed to verify the performance of the software across devices such as mobile, networks, and platforms.

Security Testing:

This method of testing helps to analyze the data leakage risks and find the possible gaps that can influence cyberattacks or unauthorized access for sensitive information.

Localization Testing:

This method of testing is performed to ensure that the app is responding with respect to the language and culture of the target users. This is one of the important test practice to maintain your business standards globally.

What are the pros and cons of Mobile App testing?

The pros and cons of mobile app testing under manual testing are:

Benefits of Manual Testing: 

– The testing practice is cost-effective in a shorter-term period.

– Manual testing is more flexible; and provides a simulation for the user-actions.

Disadvantages of Manual Testing:

– With the manual process, it is difficult to reuse the test cases.

– The process to run the test cases is much slower.

– The test cases of Manual testing cannot be executed manually.

The pros and cons of mobile app testing under test automation are:

Benefits of Test Automation:  

– The tool is cost-effective for a longer period of time.

– Test cases are processed faster.

– The test cases can be reused.

– The test results are easier to share.

Disadvantages of Test Automation:

– The tools used for test automation may have certain limitations.

– The tools have a probability of less efficiency to maintain user-friendliness.

Major Segments where Mobile apps are leading the business arena:

– M-commerce apps

– Messaging platform apps

– Voice recognition apps

– Banking transaction apps

– Online shopping apps

– Finance apps

– Travel destination apps

– Healthcare apps

– Pharma apps

– Fitness apps integrated with smart wearable devices

Henceforth, all businesses continue to understand the criticality behind testing mobile applications and the need to keep an eye on the dynamic trends this segment is undergoing. These key insights help businesses to achieve full business potential while procuring effective mobile apps.

Mobile App Testing Trends:

1. Performance Testing to shift towards Performance Engineering (PE):

Mobile apps UX is the key to success and it is necessary to shift from Performance Testing to Performance Engineering to enhance UX. Moreover, PE focuses more on the intricate app architecture and implementation criticalities that ensures to deliver a preferred app which meets all the underlying performance specifications. It also ensures reduced costs and quicker return on investment (ROI).

2. Security Testing to Take an Uptrend:

With a lot of cyber-attacks ramping the cyberspace and it seems to be a similar situation even with mobile apps security; Mobile app security testing is likely to take an uptrend with so many latest functional/ manual testing or automation tools in the market. Such automated mobile app testing ensures businesses are having threat-free mobile apps. Eventually, secured mobile apps are bound to improve the business outlook of enterprises and promise to deliver good ROI.

3. Growing Demand for Automated Voice (Voice First App) Testing:

The Automated Voice Testing (AVT) has been there in the industry for some time now, and this approach primarily uses a speech recognition engine to automatically control the device conversationally as a human user would perform it. It is interesting to note that such an approach is both device and platform agnostic, as the automation of tests is done at voice level. Such automated tests can be executed on any kind of voice app running on any device which derives a lot of significance for the end-users.

4. M-Commerce App Testing on High Demand:

Undoubtedly, along with e-commerce, mobile commerce has also become essential for modern businesses. Today, most businesses continue to launch customized mobile commerce apps to generate more sales and stand up in the competition. Customers, continue to use the trending purchase options such as e-wallets and other digital pay channels. Zoom in the usage of these m-commerce apps has made it critical for these apps to be tested thoroughly. They should be tested for their UX, performance, and security, else it adversely affects customer loyalty.

5. Device (5G Devices) Integration Testing to lead the path:

Today’s market is flooded with handsets having different configurations, operating systems, screen sizes, and with unique dimensions. These different variations require software testing to be automated and the usage of new test automation frameworks is likely to rule the world of automated mobile app testing.

6. Cloud-Based Mobile App Testing to Trigger:

Mobile cloud platforms enable testers to assess the application’s look, feel and performance across multiple devices without buying any extra devices or hardware. Testers can make good use of these cloud platforms to create a customized testing environment that helps to work with a good number of real-time devices connected to the network. Thus, cloud testing is more in demand currently and investing in such mobile cloud platforms helps organizations to reduce their costs and save time.

7. IoT Testing to be high in Demand:

It is interesting to know that many organizations continue to adopt Internet of Things (IoT) as this has a huge impact on the development of modern web and mobile applications. Businesses continue to build mobile apps that can be smoothly integrated with various connected devices. At the same time, users will expect these apps and technologies to perform flawlessly. Hence, mobile app testers will have to assess the performance and functionality of the app, in addition to checking its performance with other connected devices while testing them.

8. The dominance of Open Source Automation Tools:

Open source tools are extremely flexible and fundamentally support the testing of all kinds of mobile apps i.e. android and iOS, Windows and Hybrid apps. Besides, most of the open-source tools include the code libraries for any programming language and are easily customizable to modifications in the technological landscape. Hence, the usage of these tools is more towards implementing test automation initiatives.

9. Adoption of AI and ML in Mobile App Testing:

Every segment of today’s innovation has AI and ML around its corner. Evidently, the usage of ML has revolutionized the global mobile application testing scenario by enhancing the processes and workflows of the testing cycle. It continues to contribute towards the predictive analytics of test cases and with log analytics, helps identify automated test cases. New ML algorithms are sure to rule the world of testing in the near future and eventually will deliver quality @ speed.

10. Impact of 5G in Mobile app testing

By using the 5G network in mobile app testing, the focus will be on areas such as walk tests, signal diffraction, mm-Wave signal proportion etc. Mobile app developers will be able to obtain 5G testbeds to conduct design validation. The impact of 5G will be connected through a blend of 5G and legacy networks. This mixed network environment needs to go through ample testing in order to understand mobile app interaction and performance across various settings.

11. Impact of DevOps in Mobile app testing:

The role of DevOps is to speed up the entire mobile app development and testing process. Developers and testers must work unitedly for full-fledged app development and deployment process.

Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) being a core part of DevOps, there has to be solutions for certain key points of mobile app testing, through which CI and CD can be measured. Some of the important points to ponder upon are as follows:

1. Deployment frequency and number of tests executed (against each regression)
2. Calculating the percentage in-line with failures vs successful tests
3. What is the exact timeline for the mobile app to get published?
4. Does automation works really well or manual testing needs to be implemented

Conclusion

As the consumer expectations continue to soar high for mobile app user interface and performance aspects, organizations must adapt and deliver them effective apps to stay ahead in the competition. With immense and constant upgradations in the technologies and with the range of mobile devices in the market, it eventually signifies the need for an effective mobile app testing strategy and testing process with a primary focus to shorten the mobile app delivery. Hence, the choice of right mobile app testing tools and mobile app testing services plays a significant role in achieving a high performing mobile app. Connect with our Mobile testing experts to discuss more.

The post 9 Dynamic Trends to Lead Mobile App Testing in 2023 first appeared on TestingXperts.