This article analyzes [highlight dark=”no”]the most popular and interesting trends of software testing[/highlight], that we meet every day.

So let’s start.

Myth 1: DevOps can be used for testing

It’s probably true. The more releases we have, the more testing will be performed.

Numerous companies try to implement software testing, built on DevOps methodology, in software development: a QA department has no time for running hundreds of manual tests, they need to think about automation, web infrastructure, and related processes, that will give them the speed and flexibility.

That’s why during the last years, automation tools became more and more popular: for example, Puppeteer, Cypress, and Playwright.

Testers also need to change the way they perceive the work and take some skills that developers have into account: automation, scaling, interaction with sprints.

Myth 2: Machine learning and artificial intelligence

It’s not true yet. For the recent years, AI should have become permanently used, even in a quality assurance field.

Numerous start-ups, whose purpose is to generate and analyze test data by using AI, appear. For example, the following companies offer this: Functionize, Applitools, ReportPortal.

And this primarily affects manual testers. A manual testing field tries to find a solution to optimize the software testing process.

This trend is not popular everywhere yet but we can say for sure that it will be.

Myth 3: optimizing the costs spent on testing

It’s more true than not. According to the poll, the costs spent on testing decreased by 13-15% in 2021.

Not only the global pandemic is responsible for its decrease but it’s also due to the rapid development of digital technologies (that make our lives easier).

Myth 4: focusing on general test automation

It’s not about test automation as it seems from the first look. It’s about automating software testing in general: from test case creation to bug reporting.

This trend is the clearest. The more people are engaged, the more processes are executed automatically.

Myth 5: work with test data and test environment

It’s true. It’s very hard to work with test data and test environments but new tools are used gradually to do these tasks.

In time, test environment, and test data will be moved to a cloud: testers use numerous tools to manage test data and operate popular tools to virtualize information and servers.

Myth 6: the pandemic helped product companies to change

The global problem of COVID19 didn’t only increase the requirements for performing security testing to access a selected number of software development/testing tools remotely.