Test it - don't take a risk!

The software testing market size exceeded $40 billion in 2020 and is estimated to grow by over 7% CAGR in 2021-2027.

Tests are everywhere

We live in the era of the Fourth Digital Revolution, in which the real world is permeated by technologies. Klaus Schwab, the creator of the idea of ​​Industry 4.0, points out that currently in some areas of activity it is difficult to define the boundary between the physical and digital world. The blurring of this border will continue to deepen and in our environment the number of available digital solutions will grow exponentially. Currently, most social activities and business processes are impossible to implement without downloading the application or starting the IT system. If we experience torment at the same time, we probably became not a user but a tester of this solution. The lack of appropriate tests before making the application available means that the user has to deal with errors or bugs, which usually translates into an inevitable failure of the application.

And when was the last time you were a tester?

Why is testing important?

Products related to software systems are an increasing part of society's life. In Poland, on average, we install 25 apps a year, and we use about 10 of them every day (30 per month). When we add to this developing solutions in the field of administration, medicine or education, it turns out that error-sensitivity becomes critical. Software errors can lead to a loss of product reputation, but also a loss of time, money and motivation for both the supplier and the user.

Where do errors come from?

The most common causes of software defects result from errors caused by human nature, excessive code complexity, but also time pressure. Focusing on the fastest possible sprints and the fastest possible "delivery" of value may take place at the expense of quality and, in the long run, result in building a large technological debt. Errors and debt are additionally affected by changes in requirements, technology or integration with many other systems. All these causes, however, are commonplace in every business and cannot be fully avoided, so any initiative to minimize their impact on the product is crucial for success.

Testing impact on quality

Testing is often necessary to meet contract requirements, legal requirements or industry standards, but most of all, it reduces the risk of failure and increases the quality of the software. What does that really mean? Well, testing allows you to measure the quality of the software and if bugs are found and fixed, it directly influences building trust in the final product.

Testing Objectives

The main goal is to find defects that will allow to determine the quality and, consequently, to estimate the risks in the functioning of the product. Goals can be defined at a point in the software lifecycle:

• development tests elimination of as many defects as possible at the software development stage (e.g. unit tests - Test Driven Development concept)
• acceptance tests verification if the software meets the requirements (e.g. functional, performance)
• maintenance tests on new releases, verification for new errors (e.g. automatic, regression tests)
• operational tests verification during commercial use (e.g. usability tests, UX)

The tester - your friend

In many projects, testing is entrusted directly to the development team. It is the easiest and cheapest approach to the problem, however, it often carries the risk of incompleteness or bias. The solution is the Test Independence approach in the form of a separate team or outsourcing of testing services. The benefit of this approach is:

• greater efficiency and effectiveness of testing done by an expert
• no relateion to the tested product and "look from a different angle"
• possibility to parallelize testing and development
• speed up the release by focusing the development team on code production

All this directly translates into helping the development team to develop their competences and to regularly improve work on the product.

TaaS - Testing As A Service

Hiring a tester is a big problem for market reasons (personnel issues, rotation) and management reasons (the need to establish competences, requirements). Additionally, during code development work, the requirements may change, which is associated with the need to search for new competences and the tedious recruitment process. Then it is worth using Tests as a Service, which means access to a variety of professional testing competences and contracting for tasks that are performed with the highest efficiency. According to market forecasts under Industry 4.0, only unskilled workers, until they are largely replaced by automation - will remain in the working time settlement mode, other professions will gradually move to the task-based model. Follow the trends!