Organisations aim to continuously improve in order to maintain competitive advantages and drive profitability. The challenge they face is knowing how successful they are at improving.

‘Seeing is believing,’ so they say. But what if you cannot see, hear or walk for that matter? Does that diminish your value in society? No. Then why are we as businesses failing to respond to the requirements of the differently abled?

The growing focus on Agile delivery has had a ripple effect on software testing priorities – transforming how the service is delivered across businesses. So, how can testers make the most of changing business and technology dynamics? I’ve detailed five trends that testing teams can capitalise on and meet customer expectations.

As millennials continue to drive up the demand for an ‘always-on’ mobile eco system, mobile apps have become a natural extension of web applications. Added to that, our desire to access everything from a single device have made mobile applications a necessity that most of us need, to thrive.

Every software application is different. As such, not all applications need to be performance tested. Additionally, the same application may not require repeated performance testing for every release/cycle. This begs the question, ‘under what conditions will an application need performance testing?’

Identifying risks to the performance of an application is a good way to start. You should look at risk factors that include the user population, application type, application technology and changes to the application features and function. Let’s look at each of these in detail.

1. User population

Individuals who use your application are crucial to helping you make the decision on its risk potential. This becomes even more important if your customer base is continually growing. You should ask the following questions:

The selection of a performance and load testing tool is not one that you can easily make. It should be chosen based on a number of factors including application type, number of users, organisational preferences, timelines, technical expertise and the IT landscape (which includes existing and future technologies such as mobile, cloud, IoT and big data).

In software testing, no one’s a hero without a zero defect product or service. An effective software test process is a prerequisite for developing software that’s free of bugs, fit for purpose and delivers on business objectives. Yet, despite substantial efforts to improve the quality of products, achieving zero defects remains the Holy Grail for software testers. This could be due to a variety of factors including the increasing complexity and volume of software coupled with customer expectations for more value faster.

Are your development and testing teams struggling with poor quality software, escalating testing costs and longer time to market? As software projects increase in complexity and size, customers and users tend to get demanding in the face of the need to contain costs and release on time. This in turn makes it quite a challenge to effectively test software.

The recent software glitch in Eurocontrol’s air traffic system caused widespread flight delays. God forbid! It could have been a worse disaster. More importantly, this sorry situation could have been avoided with accurate quality checks.

As businesses focus on providing superior user experiences faster, QA and Testing functions must ensure that these applications are adhere to the highest quality standards and are attuned to user expectations across platforms, devices and locations.

The season of good cheer will soon be upon us. And would you believe it, test automation can play Santa in helping you make the most of the festive spirit, not just for your customers, but also for your business.