Software Development & Testing in 2023: A New Era

Things before unimaginable are now the foundation of the future possibility. IBM’s Q System One revolutionized computing, the James Webb telescope broke the laws of physics, and DALL E redefined art, just to name a few. As we continue to discover and better understand our universe, the limits of our imagination expand.

The IT sector is one of the innovation’s HQ. Going hand in hand with technology, it strives to blur the line between fiction and reality. Naturally, QA creates favorable conditions to facilitate this mission by upholding quality in every action.

While the fast-paced progress of technologies, the ever-advancing customer expectations, and the fluctuating world realities transform software quality standards, QA needs to be one step ahead. To prosperously live within this stable instability, let us untangle the IT industry trends for 2023.

Reaching Sustainability One Better Software at a Time

The not-so-recent shift in priorities has gained significant traction in the last decade – sustainability is now the driver for innovation. The precedence to reduce CO2 emissions for a cleaner and safer world encourages customers to favor businesses that support sustainability as a necessity. Sustainability has (finally) moved up from being a slow-burning hype to the new norm. And to keep pace, businesses need to adopt practices that endorse this mission.

#1. Greenifying software

As existing and emerging technologies are advancing at the speed of human thought, computing demand for them rises in parallel. Accordingly, in 2022, 57% of companies began implementing climate-friendly and energy-efficient technologies, as per Deloitte.

The sustainability imperative motivates organizations to embrace methodologies and techniques that reduce the negative impact on the planet. Consequently, environmentally sustainable computing is steadily transforming into a tradition.

Integrating green software values into each stage of product development will escalate. Thus, there will be a stronger focus on QA services to reduce carbon footprint and support sustainable technology strategies.

#2. Uprising agile & DevOps

Agile and DevOps practices are gaining popularity. From 2020 to 2021, the adoption of agile in software teams has increased by 49%. Similarly, DevOps’ market size is predicted to grow by 19.01% annually until 2026.

As both methodologies emphasize faster and better development, in combination with the sustainability trend, they open new possibilities for progress and cooperation that prioritize quality.

Agile and/or DevOps will be habitually applied to business processes to generate better products. In effect, this means engaging experts with multi-faceted skills and more unit testing.

#3. Shifting quality left

Shift left is not a new concept. And in the view of quality development and sustainability, a collaboration between SDLC agents turns critical. For instance, ITIC found that an hour of network downtime can cost up to $5 million. Thus, by placing QA into the earliest stages of production, businesses can substantially reduce time-to-market and significantly enhance their output.

Adopting the shift-left approach ensures high-grade units within an application, thus increasing its overall worth. Accordingly, there will be greater attention to security and compliance testing as every portion of software will have to be faultless.

#4. Reaching cloud 9

The great cloud migration is at its peak as of 2022, and it is expected to lift off. Fortune Business Insights predicts that the market size of cloud computing will go up to $1,712.44 billion by 2029. As various as-a-service models have proven their value in data recovery, security, and cost efficiency, more companies will opt for cloud computing.

Businesses will shift to optimal cloud solutions to better manage their product development. To ensure secured and effective transfer, E2E cloud testing and DevSecOps will see a surging demand.

So, these four tendencies for the following year have quality and sustainability at the core. Practices that foster this duo will reinforce their value within multiple, if not all, sectors.

Refining Developing Technologies

Making sci-fi concepts an actuality is a widespread dream. Good news – futuristic tech is here, and it is ramping up. Testing the boundaries of technology reveals improvement routes and initiates innovation. ‘The future is now’ may be the motto for 2023.

#5. Artificial intelligence

AI has come a long way from being a regular cameo in movies to the leading power of tech advancement. According to Forbes, AI usage among businesses increased by 300% just in the last 5 years.

Critical sectors such as supply chain, construction, healthcare, energy, and aerospace rely on AI to advance their services and procedures. Active cloud relocation and Big(er) Data permit fast and improved machine learning, hence AI is on the sure path to perfection.

Companies will continue to adopt and enhance their AI algorithms. Therefore, testing for artificial intelligence and machine learning will see a rise in employment and quality.

#6. Internet of things

The amount of IoT devices is forecasted to grow by 120% within the next decade, which is almost 30 billion interconnected gadgets. Industries benefiting most from this tech are healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, finance, and hospitality, and the upward trend is bound to stay. Companies will proactively use this advantage as IoT creates new and amplified ways for automation and data collection/exchange.

With more appliances joining the shared network, businesses will need to focus on the productive and successful connection between units and main modules/analytics platforms. This calls for advanced data management and integration testing/adaptation of its approaches.

#7. Blockchain

The pleasant surprise born from cryptocurrency is now conquering various industries and technologies. While blockchain is relatively new, with no universally defined operation protocols, it is finding new implementations across a range of sectors. Supply chain, medicine, and finance benefit most from it. The high level of security it offers drives businesses to embrace blockchain as the leading force behind reinventing cybersecurity.

To finally establish blockchain and gain most from it, proper functional definition and testing standardization are needed. Hence, blockchain testing and expertise necessary to find best practices for it will be critical in upcoming years.

Following up, there is an explicit tendency for implementing in-dev technologies. While they are not flawless as of now, to miss this bullet train would be a mistake. AI, IoT, and blockchain will lead the way to the next-level digital space.

Welcoming New Reality

Living in the ‘Ready Player One’ universe is still far from reality. But maybe we can create something even better. While it is not yet obvious where technology will lead us, its motives frame modern practices.

#8. Metaverse

Even at its incipient stages, the metaverse significantly shapes business strategies. The meta vision molds next-gen experiences and products, putting not the consumers but humans at the center.

All in-progress tech, including immersive technologies, such as XR and spatial computing, will be crucial in the process of relocation to cyberspace. And as social media as a market accumulates its power, the way users interact with businesses is bound to find new development vectors within the metaverse.

As companies begin finding their place in the metaverse, consumer collaboration and data interoperability become vital for enhancing the quality and expanding the borders of digital space. Thus, the need for diverse knowledge and mastery in supporting meta-related tech will be on a steady increase.

#9. Web 3.0

The next phase of the WWW is still more of an idea. But it does not stop businesses from pursuing Web3 technologies as foundations for the future. Breakthroughs in AI, deep machine learning, and decentralization will lead Web 3.0 formation as it continues to accelerate. Web3 will minimize the use of complex coding software, simplify coding processes, and prompt companies to improve existing systems.

With the establishment of DAOs and DSNP, companies need to break free from legacy processes and capitalize on adapting to Web 3.0 tech. There will be a growing need for niche expertise, E2E Web3 apps testing, and interoperability, with an emphasis on security and data management.

Both metaverse and Web 3.0 are still tiny compared to conventional tech. But their influence is huge due to the vision they carry. The promising tomorrow compels new generations to take on yet-difficult-to-grasp technologies and work alongside them for a better future.

Revamping QA

Seeking to improve technologies means growing the application of QA practices. At the same time, it presses for an overhaul of present workflows.

#10. Automation

Agile and DevOps become more prevalent, specifically intensifying the focus on continuity. To keep up with the delivery pace, test automation services will reach new heights of implementation. By 2026, the global AT market size will reach almost $50 billion.

The progress in AI and ML allows for scriptless test automation/autonomous testing and new solutions on the way to E2E test automation. Thus, more companies will include ‘standard package’ AT, like automating regression testing, and extend the practice to other operations.

Organizations need to determine viable test automation strategies to bridge the gap between current automation levels and their potential. Accordingly, QA engineers must acquire domain skills to be proficient in automation/respective frameworks and tools.

#11. QAOps

An even stronger emphasis is put on quality and continuous development. Thus, amplified employment of the shift left approach calls for parallel growth of QAOps’ scale. Research from Capgemini defines QAOps’ must-have skills as most important for successful agile execution – >60% of companies share this perspective. Further, as businesses strive to enhance CI/CD processes, QAOps will be significant in continuous testing and increased automation.

Companies will go forward with broadening QAOps reach in SDLC. Consequently, cross-functional skills and domain knowledge will be a priority in IT teams due to closer cooperation.

#12. Maximizing cybersecurity

With the active adoption of advanced and establishment of novel tech, there will be an increased focus on cybersecurity. That is why the market will hit $266 billion by 2027 (Markets and Markets). 2023 will be the year of reconsidering tried and tested approaches to data protection. Existing procedures will have to be enhanced to account for new attack vectors. Sequentially, AI will play a big part in the process of cybersecurity adaptation.

Enterprises should prioritize updating current data security protocols and forming processes that allow for constant and effective monitoring of their digital borders. And as for QA experts, there will be a greater demand for ethical hacking. Thus, they should strengthen their skills and strategies in the digital security field.

#13. Open source testing tools

Achieving greater quality and security will be at the forefront of 2023 software testing trends. Thus, increased usage of open source testing tools is expected. These ensure an easier introduction to the testing processes for new QA agents. Also, QA engineers can effectively integrate various applications to capitalize on defect prevention and superior safety. Selenium IDE, Kobiton, LambdaTest, Appium, and Katalon Studio will be dominating open source tools.

Companies should upgrade their testware to accommodate progressing demand for high-grade products. Similarly, QA experts should further master and expand their testing toolkit.

It is apparent that quality assurance will find itself at the heart of technological development. As important as QA is, it needs to go toe to toe with innovation.

To Sum Up

For the IT sector, ‘think fast or fade away’ is more relevant than ever. So, businesses and professionals that want to have a leading edge in the following years should embrace the change and capitalize on the current course of progress. Technological development will take a leap in 2023. Its exponential evolution demands equal transformations in development and testing. And these ‘lucky 13’ trends will define the next decade.