Top Seven Software Test Automation Trends

Despite lingering uncertainties stemming from the pandemic, there was significant growth in and demand for test automation in 2022 to support digital transformation. A recent global survey by Forrester shows few signs that the economy will derail growth in automated software testing, with 50 percent of organizations considering turning to a fully automated approach by 2025.

As uncertainty continues into 2023, every organization is searching for new ways to improve efficiency and resilience. Automating software testing will become critical to achieving these goals.

Automation is an intrinsic part of Keysight Eggplant’s DNA, and we strive to help enterprises maximize the value of test automation. Here, we share seven key trends taking shape in 2023 and how we can help you take advantage of them to drive growth in your business.

No.1: AI-Driven Software Testing Will Be Enterprise-Ready

Last year, there were groundbreaking advancements in AI, driven by ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Copilot. In 2023, we expect a significant impact on various applications, including software testing. Regardless of global economic conditions, software testing will become a greater focus for enterprises.

According to Gartner, seven out of ten enterprises will implement an active use of AI-augmented testing by 2025. Innovative technologies, from intelligent computer vision to natural language processing, will further increase testing efficiencies and save costs. For example, Albertsons and Lines have already demonstrated how they accelerated testing cycles by using AI to generate test scripts.

Read the latest Gartner® Market Guide for AI-Augmented Software Testing Tools

No.2: The Digital Twin Model in Testing Will Take Off

Industry 4.0 connects the physical and digital realms, and the digital twin model is crucial to fulfilling this vision. Gartner projects that the digital twin market will experience double-digit growth to reach $183 billion by 2031.

In 2023, we expect that the digital twin model will also gain momentum in software testing to address test challenges and more complex software content to make cross-platform testing more efficient. With a digital twin model, testing professionals can map virtual schematics, user interfaces, or processes on any platform, device, or operating system to save time and resources. In addition, it will take less time to create digital twins using intelligent test automation tools that can effectively ingest behavior-driven development documents, code snippets, and automated test cases.

No.3: More Enterprises Take “Shift Left” to the Next Level

The “shift left” movement is not new. It is a way to find and prevent defects early in the software development process.

Organizations have seen various benefits of pushing testing to earlier stages of the software development life cycle (SDLC).

First, doing so saves money. According to IBM, it costs $80 on average to fix defects early in development instead of $7,600 during production. The second benefit is better security. In industries like aerospace and defense, the shift left approach enables the incorporation of security testing much earlier in the SDLC. Shift left is also the stated policy within the U.S. Department of Defense’s Enterprise DevSecOps 2.0 plan which urges developers to shift “both development tests and operational tests left.”

In 2023, organizations will take the shift left approach to the next level by emphasizing real user experience to improve a product’s competitiveness. They will seek solutions like intelligent test automation to incorporate actionable analytics that shows how real customers use the software. These insights get integrated into the earlier stages of the software development and testing process. As a result, development teams can react quickly to customer needs and improve the customer experience continuously and in real time.

No.4: Web 3.0 Will Become the Next Frontier for Digital Mobile Testing

The level of growth in Web 3.0 will continue in devices and software. From augmented reality and virtual reality (AR / VR) to blockchain applications, the emergence of new technologies will offer mobile testing an entirely new level of complexity.

Traditional testing approaches will no longer meet the efficiency and coverage requirements. It is no longer a matter of whether to automate mobile testing for large and constantly evolving ecosystems but when; this year looks like an inflection point for the broader adoption of mobile test automation.

No.5: Intelligent Automation Will Help Industries with Their Most Critical Challenges

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is ubiquitous across healthcare, finance, and other industries. Living up to its nickname, “macros on steroids,” the initial iteration of RPA solves multiple challenges, from reducing errors to cost-savings. As a result, according to Gartner, the RPA market will register double-digit growth worldwide in 2023.

Besides wider adoption, RPA will also become more intelligent. The variety of workflows the bots can automate will continue expanding with advancements in AI technologies such as computer vision and natural language processing. Intelligent automation, or RPA 2.0, is well-positioned to provide greater business efficiency. You can expect an RPA 2.0 bot to be self-guiding; it will do the following:

No.6: Digital Experience Testing Will Be Even More Crucial

No matter the industry, customers are united in high expectations for their digital experience across all channels. Do you think your customers are satisfied with your digital offerings? A new survey reveals that only 15% of consumers across the U.S. and U.K. would agree.

Quality software is the foundation upon which organizations can win digital experience competitions. As innovative technologies and devices emerge, it will be necessary to test numerous user journeys efficiently and consistently, including the most unexpected. In 2023, testing experts will segue from traditional testing methods and strategies towards cross-platform test automation with the goal of making omnichannel digital experiences more robust.

AI-driven model-based testing is one of the strategies that will help testing teams place the digital experience front and center during software development. This testing enables all user journeys and helps uncover bugs even the best manual testers would need help finding. Each screen a user sees and every action they take appears within a model, regardless of the codebase.

No.7: New Analytics Capabilities Connect Testing Insights to Action in Real-Time

Data-driven insights are top-of-mind for companies everywhere today.

Software testing leaders will rely more on their data to shorten testing cycles and react quickly to changes. Beyond traditional testing metrics like defects per release and leakage, testing leaders need actionable insights to bring applications to launch readiness while also having confidence in the accuracy of observed data. Access to the data in real-time can make a stark difference in industries like healthcare, aerospace, and defense, where the stakes are high for critical systems.

We expect test automation tool analytics capabilities to mature in 2023. The level of intelligence is growing, and far more reliable predictive analytics will become more available and accessible.

Conclusion

It is an exciting time to be in the software testing industry as we watch test and automation intelligence solutions play an increasingly critical role in driving digital innovation across industry sectors. These innovative solutions have contributed to some of the world’s most critical missions, from COVID-19 virus tracking to NASA’s Orion. Looking ahead, we are confident that software test automation will continue to grow.

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