The latest trends in QA automation
Written by Aida Mačković, QA Analyst at Softray Solutions
As technology rapidly advances automation testing advances with it. Increased number of applications used by different organizations created increased need for software testing. Rise of new automation technologies increases software quality of software testing and guaranties delivery of flawless software for improved user experience.
If we talk about tests automation, coding skill was a must have in recent few years. Also, tools for tests automation were limited. Today we have available many tools which makes automation codeless creating new opportunities which initially were limited to manual testing.
AI, ML and NLP
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Programming are key directions for future automation testing.
AI has a huge part in automation testing. All these technologies were created for building intelligent software which is supposed to learn from its own experience.
In the last few years, a lot of tools for automation testing based on AI, ML and NLP have been introduced. QA service providers are working on connecting these technologies into standard automation frameworks so they could achieve maximum benefits.
For example, NLP introduced the possibility for automation tests to understand the flow of test cases manually created by QA engineers.
AI and ML could be used for analyzing existing automation scripts. QA engineers use AI and ML to understand application flow during script execution and they develop new test scripts based on those understandings.
Research shows that AI will find its application in all fields of software testing related to analytics and reports, including fields like defect analytics, predictive analytics, test suite optimization and ensuing coverage of test requirements.
ML usage in automation testing can bring QA lifecycle to a whole new level. Of course, it is not happening any time soon because AI and ML concepts are still in the entry phase.
You are probably wondering what does all this mean to companies.
Companies will have to encourage their teams on developing skills and knowledge of artificial intelligence, such as statistics and mathematics skills, knowledge and experience in data science, critical thinking, mental agility and creativity.
QAOps
QAOps, or DevTestOps, refers to QA(Quality Assurance) and Ops(IT Operations). We can say that QAOps increases cooperation between QA tasks and IT operations. QAOps is directed towards simplifying software delivery operations. In order to stay in front of the competition companies experiment with new approaches and apply latest methodologies which are reducing delivery deadlines. DevOps methodology removes borders between testing, development and operations for improving implementation pace. QAOps practices strengthen communication between development and software teams.
IoT testing
While speaking of the latest trends in software testing, it is impossible not to mention IoT testing.
IoT is an ecosystem where data between devices is shared without any human interaction.
Because of the increased number of IoT devices all over the world, demand for IoT testing also increases. This trend will have a large impact on QA engineers since they will face a huge amount of work. They surely will have to improve their knowledge and skills in performance testing, security and usage of IoT. QA engineers will have to integrate IoT tools into their existing software testing life cycle.
In the past few years it was hard to crack the code in order to conduct automation testing of IoT devices. Now, with increased understanding of IoT functionality, QA teams can implement automation in this domain, too.
The automated testing of IoT devices is performed by connecting to the device’s software using well-defined ports and then validating the data being received from different data sources. These tests are linked with testing frameworks to control test flows and generate testing results in the human-readable form.
Security testing
Web users share a lot of private information online. We log into applications using Google, Apple or Facebook accounts, we enter credit card information on different web shops, social security numbers and tax numbers in online banking systems. We should reconsider how we interact with sensitive and private user information. QA engineers will play important roles in this process.
Three main goals of security testing are:
- Increased software and product security
- Increased awareness of security importance between all industries
- Conducting security testing in early stages of development
Companies in all industries should put their focus on securing their software more than anything else. Cyber security will be a big deal in future, so companies should invest a lot in testing their products.
Finally, one question arises: Does manual testing have a future at all ?
As all technology aspects evolve, so does manual testing. QA engineers need to create universal testing strategies which limit total automation and test performing costs. Software testing without manual testing is incomplete. Automation increases testing speed and efficiency, but it can not cover different aspects like usability, user experience and user interface. No automation will ever replace human intelligence in complex UX tests. Balance between manual and automated testing in software development process is future of testing.
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