Table of Content
Agile and DevOps methodologies have shifted software testing and software development teams away from traditional silos. As the role of QA moves closer to the end user, the definition of testers has also changed.
In the past, organizations could afford to take a siloed, waterfall approach to change delivery. With digital at the core of the enterprise, organizations are constantly looking for ways to expedite software delivery and innovation. At the same time, they must be careful not to undermine quality. The key is getting there before the competition, and winning customer satisfaction.
A recent survey of senior enterprise IT decision makers in the U.K. and the U.S. commissioned by Panaya is looking at the evolving role of quality assurance and software testing.
This block renders a quote for the post drawn from the post's custom fields. Modify the quote below the content editor in the Quote fields.
Agile and DevOps – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
A similar survey was conducted in 2017. We asked IT executives, how they anticipated DevOps practices would change the role of testing within the next three years. We asked the same question in this year’s survey. We found that, as time goes by, more and more IT professionals understand that QA and developer roles will need to merge (28% in the 2017 survey vs. 38% today).
With agile software development becoming more pervasive, we also note the growing popularity of beta testing. This is where end users unknowingly become testers (29% in the 2017 survey vs. 33% today).
2018: Rise of The Full Stack Tester
That being said, as organizations scale agile methodologies and remove siloed operations teams, traditional dev, and test management roles will change or come together. 28% of survey respondents say testers working more closely with product owners and developers is a benefit they see from agile. Likewise, 51% see testing team members assigned to cross-functional teams and 48% note they will become full-stack testers. All of this means that enterprises today require a solution that supports cross-functional team work.
Coming Soon…To an Enterprise near You
DevOps is emerging in the enterprise as an enabler for expedited change. Cross-team collaboration is helping speed up time to market. As a result, DevOps has also transformed testing methodologies and routines. The short development cycle associated agile are also reshaping our definition of release readiness and consequently, testing. Our survey results only validate what we’ve already known. Agile and DevOps can no longer be ignored as a passing trend. Not only are they here to stay but they are also gaining popularity within the enterprise.
Is your organization an exception to these trends? Or does it lay down the marker for others to follow? To find out, download the White Paper, The State of Functional Testing, Revisited: The Who, What, When, Where and Why of Testing.
Get full insights into the recent survey from Panaya. Benchmark yourself against IT executives in leading organizations, on some of today’s most burning challenges and trends of the Testing industry.