Updated: May 22, 2023
The market demands for software testing QA have been continuously growing in the past few years. Testers detect bugs in the code to ensure the smooth functioning of digital products. Their work facilitates growth and innovation. Its importance is only likely to increase in the foreseeable perspective. In this article, we’ll answer the question “What is the future of software testing in 2023?”. We’ll talk about the responsibilities of such professionals and the reasons why companies hire them.
Software Quality Assurance Testing: What Is It?
Each organization that develops software hires or outsources testers. They ensure the high quality of the products that are about to hit the market. They guarantee that these products meet their initially stated characteristics and the expectations of their target audience. These professionals test various aspects of software: from usability to stability, from functionality to security. They find bugs, identify their sources and submit reports to the developers.
Testers pay attention not only to the product but also to the methods, techniques and instruments that were used to build it. All these components should organically complement but not contradict each other. Testers scrutinize the product documentation to discover any potential errors or wrong assumptions about end-user behavior.
When an app becomes successful, thousands of individuals will be using it simultaneously. If bottlenecks occur, the app would fail to cope with the traffic and would crash. To prevent that, testers should imitate a substantial influx of traffic and make sure the digital product copes with it without a hitch.
Why Are QA Testers in High Demand?
When you think of the IT industry, the quality assurance niche is probably not the first thing that comes to your mind. It tends to be underestimated and overlooked. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to imagine efficient software development without QA.
The process of testing takes a lot of time and effort. The programmers who write the code can’t perform this task for three reasons:
- They need to focus on their top-priority duties
- They will be likely to overlook the mistakes that they made, while a third party will be much more productive at detecting these errors
- The technologies have become too complicated, so it’s better to divide the responsibilities
Previously, companies used to outsource QA. Today, more and more businesses hire in-house testing teams. This enables them to remain competitive and boost customer satisfaction. Apps, programs and digital tools help people in their daily lives and professional activities. The process of developing and releasing new software goes on non-stop.
Is It Easy to Start a Career in QA?
This niche serves as an ideal entry point to the IT industry. To get started, it’s enough to complete a course that lasts a few weeks. Just to compare: to become a junior developer, be ready to study for at least half a year.
There are many successful self-taught professionals in QA. Instead of paying for the courses, they rely on text materials and video tutorials that are available online for free.
However, some companies accept only candidates with formal education and a university diploma. Ideally, you should get a bachelor’s degree in computer science or computer information science.
On the one hand, it’s easier to learn to test software than to become a programmer. A tester needs to know the basics of how to write the code — but they don’t require a profound understanding of it. In addition, it’s necessary to learn functional automation and scripting.
On the other hand, the demands for the professionalism of testers keep rising. To excel at this occupation, it’s essential to keep mastering new tools and techniques as well as expanding one’s theoretical knowledge.
What Do QA Testers Do Daily?
In their daily work, QA professionals carry out the following tasks:
- Inspect the software that is about to hit the market
- Make sure it operates as intended and meets the industry’s standards and regulations
- Subject it to various tests
- Report the detected issues to the developers so that they can fix the bugs and improve the product’s performance
They conduct manual and automated tests. To perform the latter, they rely on dedicated testing tools.
The QA department keeps records of all the work that its staff members do. They put down the details of the detected bugs and the implemented fixes. This information comes in handy for all the company. The developers get to know about their weak sides and strive to avoid identical mistakes in the future. The testers become aware of what to pay special attention to next time.
Why Is QA Indispensable for a Software Development Company?
If the software malfunctions, this might lead to considerable losses for its users. They will publicly complain about that and leave negative reviews about the manufacturer. The reputation of the latter will suffer. They will get fewer new clients. In the worst scenario, they will have to close their business if the customers are consistently unhappy with their work. Testers prevent such situations.
These professionals enable software development companies to retain their shareholders. If the business keeps regularly releasing new products that make customers happy, the shareholders will be unlikely to leave it.
Testers help their employers recover from failed releases. They take preventive measures that can eventually save millions of dollars for the developing company. Thanks to them, consumers restore their trust in the developers and keep using its products even if one of them turned out to be a disaster.
In the past, the demand for testers came primarily from publicly traded companies. In the 2020s, the situation is changing. Organizations from the private and public sectors display an increasingly higher interest in such specialists. They realize it helps them get a competitive edge and perform better than their rivals.
Final Thoughts
The growing importance of QA is one of the major labor market trends in the IT industry. Quality assurance specialists test ready digital products to discover any potential issues in them. They detect the sources and the essence of bugs and report them to the developers. The latter improve the product according to the feedback from testers. Such an approach enables software developers to deliver digital products of consistently high quality, generate a sustainable income and keep their customers happy.
