Emerging Software Testing Trends for 2019

The software development industry is undergoing some major disruptions with the advent of agile and DevOps development technologies. A new evolution has come up which leads the new testing approaches. The QA must rapidly adapt to the changes that occur in the software testing industry.

Here are the emerging software testing trends that one should be watching out for in 2019.

Machine Learning in Testing

Machine learning can help in bringing in the revolutionary changes in the workflow and processes. Machine learning can be used in testing for the following:

For identifying the redundant and unique test cases test suite optimization is used.
For predicting the key parameters of software testing processes on the basis of historical data predictive analysis is used.
On the basis of log analytics test cases which need to be executed automatically are identified.
Traceability helps in extracting the keywords from the requirements.
The Traceability Matrix (RTM) will help in achieving the test coverage.
Defect analytics will help in identifying the high-risk areas of the application for the prioritization of the regression test cases.

Adoption of DevOps

When it comes to DevOps it begins with the testing. This approach to development will facilitate continuous integration and delivery. This will also allow the testers to perform continuous testing and monitoring to validate the developers that they have built the right application. The functionality and performance of the application are tested on a continuous basis along with development. Also, the testing team aligns with the test design, test automate and test case automation with DevOps not only to verify but also ensure that any changes made do not break the product.

Big Data Testing

The high volume of data that is generated at a higher velocity is Big Data. Here, the testers must verify that the terabytes of the data are successfully processed by using the commodity cluster and other supportive components. This testing will focus on performance testing and functional testing.
One of the critical factors in big data testing is the quality of data. Before the testing begins the quality of the data is verified. Data is checked on various factors like conformity, accuracy, consistency, validity, duplication, data completeness etc.

IoT Testing

As IoT is gaining pace there are many connected devices. This testing is conducted to test the IoT technology-based devices.
Following are the types of testing for IoT systems:
Usability Testing will test the usability of an IoT system.
Compatibility Testing is used for checking the compatibility of devices in IoT devices.
Reliability and Scalability Testing is used for simulation of sensors utilizing virtualization tools.
For validating the integrity of data Data Integrity Testing is used.
For validating the user authentication process and data privacy controls Security Testing is used.
Performance Testing is used for testing the performance of the connected devices in an IoT network.

Digital Transformation with Agile

Most of the businesses are undergoing digital transformations as data has become valuable in gaining insights. One of the latest additions to this trend is the adoption of agile methodology for undergoing a digital transformation. With the help of Agile methods one can align digital transformation initiatives with the business needs.
The business challenges, objectives and use cases will be defined by the agile team. With this agile approach, the new features will be delivered incrementally with every sprint. Digital transformation is an ongoing process where agile helps in delivering outcomes frequently for the business rather than waiting for a long time.

Performance Engineering

The year 2019 performance testing will be replaced with performance engineering. This will focus on analyzing how all the elements of the system will work together rather than executing performance test scripts. There are various elements that are included in the system like performance, security, usability, hardware, software, configuration, business value and customer. When it comes to performance engineering it is all about collaborating and iterating on the items of highest value. These items need to be delivered quickly to ensure a high-quality product. This will also exceed the customer expectations in 2019.

Test Automation

Test automation will help the testing team to focus on their time and efforts rather than putting efforts in creating test cases and managing the testing needs. It will help in tracking and managing all the testing needs, the types of testing required along side the test coverage. This test automation will help in ensuring a high-quality software that needs to be delivered.
There are special tools which are used for controlling the execution of the tests for comparing the actual results against the expected one. The regression tests are the one which requires repetitive actions and are automated. These automation tools are used for both functional and non-functional testing.

Combination of Manual and Automated Testing

QA professionals are using a combination of manual and automated testing approaches for harnessing the benefits of both and overcoming the shortcomings. Manual testing is something which still dominates the testing industry. But we cannot deny that automation testing brings more efficiency to the testing process in areas such as usability and design which requires manual efforts.

Shortening the Delivery cycle

The constant change in technologies, platforms and devices are constantly putting pressure on the software development teams for delivering finished products faster and more frequently. Testing needs to be integrated with the development for facilitating delivery. Software companies are all set to invest more for improving the development and the delivery processes by employing the right set of tools. The market will have a need for test management tools which will help in increasing and match up with the short delivery cycles.

Integration

As the delivery cycles are short there is a need for integration of the various elements that are required for product development. For facilitating the smart testing and analytics, data will be collected from disparate sources such as requirement management systems, change control systems, task management systems, and test environment. This shows that that there is a requirement for integrated tools which will help in requirement management, task management, bug tracking and test management. This tool acts as a repository of data for different modules which can be shared and used.
To always stay ahead in the game QA professionals always need to be updated with the latest testing trends. The only way one can stay immune in this industry is preparing for the future. The software trends mentioned will help the testers in investing their time and efforts in attaining the right skills and tools for 2019.