By Riti Newa, Research Associate-MIPC
The increasing global presence of Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing and IoT is expected to propel the software testing market to transfigure the software testing approaches. As these trends are being used widely by the software market to base their product and application deliverables, the testing market is shifting accordingly. The software testing market is expected to grow at 14% CAGR in next few years with the rise of agile testing and DevOps.
Market Challenges and Threats
Uber, Bitcoins, Fitbits among many other companies are using IoT, sensors, and Big Data in their software applications and services. The implications of these trends can be seen in the software testing market. The software testing market is posed by the threats of cyber security and challenges to provide integration as well as quality services in the software while maintaining shortened software development cycles to keep up with the complexity and rapid changing dynamics of the software market.
The challenges faced currently by the software testing market is conceivable with the recent fall of prices in the Bitcoin. The collapse of MtGox that led to the loss of about £200 million worth of asset was due to a bug in the bitcoin software that was initially not realized by the developers. Since then MtGox sold out and the current Bitcoin price is facing worst first quarter in 2018. This was all due to a loophole in the software development that was exploited by a group of hackers.
Similarly, when Uber developed self-autonomous software for a self- driving car, it was a new milestone for the company. However, the self-driving car crash had fatal results when it led to death of a woman in Arizona. Uber had to question its self- driving car software on the issue which was followed by mass media outrage on the fatality that a software bug might have caused.
As the emerging trends are providing overwhelming prospects to software market, they are bringing disruptions in the testing market. The software glitches that went undetected in the development phases and testing as in case of Uber and Bitcoins are imperative of the blind spots in the software testing market at current. In the dynamic and accelerating software market, compliance to quality and cyber security is the key issue the testing market is struggling to address.
Adoption of Agile Methodology
Increasing number of companies are adopting the agile methodology as a part of continuous integration in the software development. As the software market is becoming more dynamic than ever with software product life cycles shortening, developers now want to launch their products as early as possible.
Agile methodology which was introduced more than a decade ago is slowly increasing its dominance over the software testing market. “Timely and Responsive”, the agile methodology adoption is on the rise as it allows for continuous integration and development. In agile methodology developers and testers collaborate at early stages of the product life cycle and then continue working together throughout.
The agile methodology facilitates the experimentation and adaption leading to a continued use of apps. About 55% of the companies have already shifted to the agile methodology and the number is expected to increase. Currently Citi, a leading global bank, announced the national digital banking service to its clients. This was attributed to the Citi’s adoption of the agile operating methodology and co- creation to develop a new mobile app.
DevOps with Agile Methodology
DevOps is at the forefront of the software testing market and is gaining a central presence in the testing market. While agile methodology is a form of continuous integration culture in the software testing, DevOps is more of a continuous development culture. The companies are adopting this extension of agile culture which integrates the agile tactics or infrastructure of software testing with collaboration of development and operations in the software development life cycle.
While the agile infrastructure ousted the waterfall methodology, DevOps is slated to collaborate with agile to extend the prospects of agile culture in delivering qualitative and fail- safe software applications.
Recently, IBM demonstrated a Cloud Garage Method that could help the startups and enterprises to launch new clouds and software projects. IBM will be displaying this methodology at IBM Think confab which uses the Agile and DevOps expertise and architecture simultaneously. The companies will soon be vying for the effective coordination of the Agile techniques with the DevOps expertise to launch software projects that relate to digital transformation.
Test Automation- Aiding Agile and DevOps
While the Agile and DevOps are the trending strategic culture of the software testing, test automation is the technology that will be responsible for effective implementation of these cultures in testing. The QA principles that Agile and DevOps focuses on cannot be as easily achieved by manual testing. The software testing in light of Agile principles is a continuous process and test automation is the emerging technology that could ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the process.
Already Tricentis, a leading Continuous Testing Platform announced release of Tricentis Tosca as an expansion to the scriptless software test automation. According to the Chief Product Officer of Tricentis, test automation helps to maintain sophisticated end to end tests required for the enterprises adopting DevOps. Test Automation market is slated for a significant growth in the coming years.
Crowdsourced Testing
Usage of crowdsource as a scalable outsourcing strategy is growing and can have a significant market coverage in the future. Crowdsourced testing allows the tests to be performed in various user platforms rather than internally leading to a reduced cost and improved robustness of the software programs.
The global software testing market is at the threshold of disruption with gradual adoption of agile and DevOps culture. As challenges of cyber security, such as improved quality and timely service increases, emerging agile culture with test automation and crowdsourcing technology will have a significant market coverage in software testing.
