To be a leader in any industry is to be a leader in technology. In the whirlwind of digital transformation, innovation happens every day with software and software quality at the forefront.
To not be left behind, now more than ever, CEOs, team leaders, and decision-makers should rethink software quality - the single most important element that determines their success.
In this article, we discuss how automated testing can help alleviate the business challenges in the digital age and test automation ROI.
Technology's ever-changing and innovative nature brings as many opportunities as challenges. The prevalence of software in every aspect of life shows that business leaders should keep a close eye on the state of quality engineering to prevent stagnation in continuous improvement.
The software industry and software quality assurance found themselves in front of the unprecedented evolving macrocosm of technology.
Advancements in:
quantum computing
IoT
big data
5G
edge computing
are bringing software to an unparalleled level of complexity.
Businesses utilizing these innovations as core technologies have to adopt the most cutting-edge, state-of-the-art testing solutions. Adaptable, AI-powered, intelligent testing tools must be leveraged instead of traditional testing methods that are obsolete in supporting quality improvement for such disruptive engineering.
Software is customer-facing, therefore it holds a crucial role in ensuring:
competitive advantages
customer digital experience
retention rate
To fulfill customers' and businesses' expectations, software architecture must intertwine with:
the end-to-end business process
customer service practices
operational activities
This requires software to be adaptive and updated frequently to ensure security, and compatibility with operating system updates.
Regular updates impact software testing immensely in terms of:
Once again, the fragmented and outdated software quality assurance approaches cannot accommodate the current high-speed, competitive, and demanding market.
Manual-only and conventional quality engineering approaches are no longer sufficient to support:
agile software development
continuous deployment
rapid feedback loop
Without the correct mindset on testing, quality assurance will be an afterthought, a disorganized process that fails to accomplish its ultimate mission - quality improvement.
The consequence of inadequate testing is poor-quality software with weaknesses that can jeopardize:
a business's reputation
competitive advantage
customer satisfaction
It is estimated that poor-quality software costs 2.08 trillion dollars* in the US, UK, and Australia.
Appropriate and timely investment in test automation as part of your delivery lifecycle can save your organization from the consequences of insufficient software testing.
The ROI gained from applying test automation is magnified when organizations undergo digital transformations.
The examples below show how an effective test automation strategy ensures success for companies in three key industries.
| Industry | Core Focus |
|---|---|
| Telecommunications | 5G adoption, cloud-based infrastructure, IoT |
| Energy and Utilities | Renewable energy, smart grids, smart meters |
| BFSI | Customer-facing applications, security, integrations |
In the Telecommunication sector, companies are in the race to adopt 5G (and beyond) technology, converting from communications service providers to digital service providers.
As the infrastructure becomes more cloud-based and relies on IoT, ensuring quality for additional dimensions of security and privacy becomes increasingly challenging.
Testing complexity increases due to:
screen sizes
OS versions
manufacturer modifications
M2M communication involving sensors, gateways, and CLIs in IoT systems requires efficient API testing tools while its complexity makes it difficult to detect errors.
Comprehensive test automation solutions can:
streamline the testing workload
reduce manual effort
provide appropriate test environments/configurations
to validate the software's behavior/reliability, thereby confidence in test coverage, compliance, and expected outcomes.
Energy and Utilities (E&U) is an industry that is exceptionally susceptible to vulnerabilities and oversight and cannot afford poor software quality.
AI/ML, IoT, cloud infrastructure, and Big Data enable:
renewable energy
distributed energy resources
smart grids
smart meters
To ensure quality in such a complex system, the software testing solution applied must:
be robust
provide end-to-end coverage
be API-centric
support data-driven strategies
Furthermore, E&U companies need a fit-for-purpose testing solution that they can scale and customize.
To assure quality through such complex infrastructure and demanding business needs, a comprehensive automated platform that can support all facets of test coverage necessary is a must.
Software quality - the nucleus of energy and utility digitalization
Digital transformation is happening at a rapid pace within the BFSI sector globally.
AI/ML, RPA (Robotic Process Automation), blockchain, and Big Data are some of the most adopted technologies of the key players and emerging BFSI companies.
This is being done to:
improve customer experiences and retention
improve the efficiency of services
improve transaction transparency
The sector is overflowing with customer-facing applications that differentiate:
business capabilities
services
success criteria
Updates and enhanced features are rolled out constantly.
Quality validation strategies applied need to be sufficient in verifying:
large-scale BFSI systems
ever-changing, complex functionalities
security standards
An extensive automated software testing strategy is the only approach to satisfy:
short (aka ‘quick’) release dates
increased workload involved in maintaining application capabilities
Fintech apps are never stand-alone apps. They connect with many others (supplemental, 3rd party, etc.) to create an ecosystem that best serves the users.
With such a level of integrations, the software quality testing solution must support:
API-specific testing
complex data-driven testing
intensive business-process-driven testing
with highly actionable and visible insights on test coverage applied.
Businesses are continuing to increase their digital footprint, rapidly expanding and upgrading infrastructure and software capabilities.
Software and applications for business ought to:
work seamlessly on every device
work seamlessly on every OS
work seamlessly on every manufacturer platform
and provide a smooth, uninterrupted experience under all circumstances.
The sooner you adopt automation testing within your delivery workflow, the higher the ROI (Return on Investment).
A survey by Axon shows that almost 24%** of respondents cite late adoption of test automation as one of the reasons they cannot achieve the desired level of automated QA.
Quantifiable benefits of test automation
Reduction in:
environment setup
test case creation
test execution
test maintenance time
are some of the most significant quantifiable benefits of automation.
A test environment is a structure in which quality engineers execute test cases written to address application requirements.
To accurately verify behavior in real-life scenarios, the test environment needs to be well-design and maintained.
With test automation:
Deployment is automated by integration with CI/CD tools
Reproduce the same test environment every time by reusable test profiles
Cloud-based environment reduces the cost of the physical infrastructure of multiple devices
The more complex an application is, the more time it takes to write test cases.
Manual test case creation and open-source frameworks require significant effort and programming expertise.
Low-code test automation platforms enable collaboration across different technical skill levels.
The Katalon Platform provides:
low-code and no-code testing
full-code scripting mode
Tunaiku reduced 60% of the time creating automated test scripts for GUI and API testing after adopting the Katalon Platform.
| Testing Method |
Execution Capability |
|---|---|
| Manual testing | Two testers execute two test cases |
| Test automation | Two testers execute multiple tests simultaneously |
Cross-browser and cross-platform testing further reduce execution time and expand coverage.
Automated tests can run overnight or on weekends with built-in reporting.
Care Logistic cut regression testing time by half and increased productivity with the Katalon Platform.
End-to-end testing is difficult to maintain due to workflow changes.
UI testing suffers from flakiness caused by small, uncritical UI changes.
Flaky tests increase stress and investigation time.
Katalon’s AI-infused features address this effectively.
| Feature | Function |
|---|---|
| Self-healing | Automatically adjusts scripts according to CSS or UI changes |
| Smart Wait | Eliminates timing issues with Selenium test scripts |
Business value and ROI
These benefits bring measurable business value.
Head over to our ROI calculator to see how we quantify these values for you.
Reducing testing time is essential to speed up development.
Manual-only testing cannot deliver confidence with short release cycles and frequent updates.
Test automation enables skilled testers to focus on complex, high-value scenarios while ensuring quality.
In the age of digital transformation, a sophisticated software quality management platform is the most pragmatic way to ensure software quality at speed.
The value brought from a quality management platform is entirely quantifiable with our test automation ROI calculator.
Let us help you run through the numbers on how you can save with Katalon.
* https://www.it-cisq.org/the-cost-of-poor-software-quality-in-the-us-a-2020-report.htm
** https://www.apexon.com/resources/white-papers/the-role-of-testing-qa-in-digital-engineering/