While rigorous testing and quality control have always been important steps in the software release and update processes, they take on new and heightened significance in an increasingly digital world. And it’s not just a matter of making sure everything works as expected and bugs are fixed (as important as that is).
New and emerging trends in software testing and quality assurance address everything from a rapidly evolving cybersecurity environment to sustainability to a tighter focus on end-user needs. Below, 20 industry leaders from Forbes Technology Council outline some of the latest software testing trends being adopted by development teams and QA engineers, and how these moves can help ensure a smooth rollout.
1. AI-driven testing
The shift to AI-driven testing will revolutionize software quality assurance. AI can intelligently predict potential bugs, adapt to changes, and optimize testing processes, making products not only reliable but also innovative. This approach allows us to focus on creating user experiences that are intuitive and delightful. – Roshan Pinto, Tavant
2. Human oversight of AI software testing
As AI software development accelerates, it is crucial to implement guardrails to ensure trust, transparency and reliability. Because AI is still in its early stages, software testing should include human oversight so that risks can be mitigated as effectively as possible. Zooming out, organizations must differentiate between demo-able and deployable AI software to avoid costly mistakes before bringing new products to market. – Eoin Hinchy, Tines
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3. Self-healing test scripts and visual tests
AI-driven test automation is the trend that almost all of our customers have been asking for in the past year. Combining advanced self-healing test scripts and visual testing methodologies has proven to improve software quality. This process also reduces time to market by breaking down complex tasks. – Shiboo Varughese, CirrusLabs.io
4. GenAI-based testing and remediation
The rise of Generative AI has revolutionized software development, with faster code generation being a primary benefit. GenAI adoption is growing and has astonishing potential. However, these advances also introduce new vulnerabilities. Proactive measures, including GenAI-based testing and bug fixes, have become increasingly important to mitigate potential software security issues. – Chris Wysopal, Veracode
5. Strict security checks and testing
With many new applications relying heavily on third-party APIs or software libraries, rigorous security auditing and testing of these services is crucial to prevent supply chain attacks on critical services. The tech industry narrowly avoided this scenario during the xz Utils backdoor incident, and these types of attacks are likely to become more popular in the future. – Matthias Pfau, Tuta
6. A focus on added value and business alignment
I think automated testing has become a norm. More importantly, QA professionals need to think about the end game: what is the added value of testing and how does it impact the business overall? QA professionals need to have sufficient knowledge about the business, the operating model, and the products and services and apply that knowledge to their testing strategy. – Vishal Patel, Webster Bank
7. Ensure compliance with ethical guidelines
As artificial intelligence and machine learning models are integrated into more applications, ensuring that these systems behave ethically and without bias will become a priority. Testing strategies will increasingly focus on detecting and mitigating bias in AI models and ensuring that these systems align with ethical guidelines. This will require new methods that go beyond traditional functional testing, including fairness and transparency checks. – Cristian Randieri, Intellisystem Technologies
8. Shift-Left Security Testing
One trend that is becoming increasingly important is shift-left security testing. As software development accelerates, security risks increase. By integrating security testing into the early stages of development (shifting left), teams can identify vulnerabilities earlier, reduce remediation costs, and ensure secure coding practices, ultimately leading to more secure software releases. – Sarah Choudhary, Ice Innovations
9. Integration of AI for predictive analytics
An emerging trend in software testing is the integration of AI for predictive analytics. This approach anticipates potential errors and system failures before they occur by analyzing historical data and test patterns. As software systems become more complex, leveraging AI becomes critical for proactive quality assurance, significantly improving efficiency and reducing time to market. – Craig Davies, Gathid
10. Chaos technique
A growing trend in software testing is chaos engineering for the purpose of resilience testing. By introducing controlled failures, teams can evaluate how the system responds under stress. This helps teams identify vulnerabilities early, ensuring reliability and robustness in complex distributed systems. It is crucial for maintaining stability in today’s interconnected technology landscape. – Roman Vinogradov, Improvado
11. Accessibility testing
Accessibility testing is growing in popularity. The tech industry’s increasing emphasis on inclusive design makes accessibility a priority. Also, legal mandates in the EU, UK, and US (including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) force companies to comply or face legal consequences. Finally, corporate social responsibility initiatives and consumer pressure motivate organizations to create accessible products. – Konstantin Klyagin, Redwerk
12. Create detailed security plans
One of the things you’ll want to do before you launch your software is create a detailed security plan. Hackers can crack passwords more easily than ever before. Make sure you have options in place to keep your business and your customers safe. For example, multi-factor authentication is a must so someone can’t log into an account from a new device without verifying their identity. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
13. Test-driven development
Test-driven development is becoming increasingly important. In TDD, developers write test cases before coding to ensure that software meets specifications. By generating comprehensive test scenarios with robust coverage, TDD helps reduce bugs and leads to a more reliable codebase, especially as systems become more complex. – Suman Sharma, Procyon Inc.
14. Durability testing
With a growing emphasis on sustainability, testing software for energy efficiency and minimizing carbon footprint will become a major trend. This involves ensuring that applications use minimal resources without sacrificing performance. This trend is gaining popularity as organizations align their operations with global sustainability goals. – Jagadish Gokavarapu, Wissen Infotech
15. Automated regression testing
Customers expect new functionality to be delivered to them quickly and directly via a software as a service model. That’s why testing is more important than ever. I think automated regression testing will become increasingly popular as developers ensure that new functionality doesn’t break existing functionality. – Josh Dunham, Reveel
16. Testing in production
I know testing in production sounds scary, but it’s the only way to truly build trust in your code. Staging can’t do that; at best, it can show that your code is probably logically correct. Testing in production, amidst the chaos and concurrency, is the only way to verify that your code does what it’s supposed to do, and the only way to truly see your users’ experience. – Charity Majors, Honeycomb.io
17. AI-enhanced observation
AI-enhanced observability is emerging as a transformative trend in software testing. By integrating AI with observability tools, testers can gain deep insights into system performance and user interactions in real time. This convergence enables proactive bug detection and performance optimization, significantly improving the efficiency and reliability of the software development lifecycle. – Rohit Anabheri, Sakesh Solutions LLC
18. Specialized training for QA engineers
Investing in specialized training for QA engineers is becoming increasingly important. As software becomes more complex and deployed across devices, QA teams must thoroughly understand both the technology and the user context. Enhanced training ensures that they can create comprehensive test cases, increasing software reliability and user satisfaction. – Rodion Telpizov, SmartJobBoard
19. Digital Twins
One trend in software quality testing that we’re seeing growing in importance is the use of digital twins. These virtual replicas of real-world systems enable QA teams to simulate diverse real-world conditions, identify issues early, and ensure software reliability. By testing in complex, dynamic scenarios, digital twins improve quality assurance by accurately reflecting operational environments. – Jabin Geevarghese George, Tata Consultancy Services
20. Continuous testing
Continuous testing is tightly integrated into continuous integration and continuous delivery pipelines, enabling real-time feedback and rapid deployment cycles without sacrificing quality. In a hyper-competitive market, the ability to quickly release stable, feature-rich software is a significant differentiator. – Vamsi Krishna Dhakshinadhi, GrabAgile Inc.
