For the past decade, the Planit Testing Index enabled us to share insights into the ever-growing and changing Software Testing industry. With the next annual Planit Testing Index around the corner, we’d like to share some of the most interesting Software Testing trends discovered across a range of AU/NZ industries, sectors and organisations within the last three years.
Project Methodologies: The Growth of Agile
The adoption of Agile has experienced a significant increase over the past decade to become the top methodology. And its dominance continues to grow, increasing by 10 percentage points from 2013-2015 to 43%. In fact, in this latest study, 89% of organisations were using Agile in some portion of their software projects.
Figure 1: Software development projects by methodology: 2013-2015
Consistent increase in positive market sentiment towards Agile has also been noted over the last three years. 88% of Index respondents in 2013 considered Agile to be as (or more) successful than other methodologies, and this statistic significantly increased to 93% in 2015.
Industry Trends and Innovation
As of the 2015 Index, 26% of respondents noted automation as the stand-out trend expected to significantly affect software development projects over the next 5 years, with DevOps expected to be another key influence on the industry. Additional industry-affecting innovations included Agile, Tools, Mobile, Digital, Service Virtualisation, Test Automation, Offshoring, Outsourcing, Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Shift Left and Security.
The Cloud was noted as a key influence in the tech and government sectors, with 22% of telecommunications and ICT industry professionals and 21% of government and public sector respondents indicating that Cloud technologies will have a significant impact on their roles.
Demand for Technical Skills
Another key trend that has surfaced is the demand for technical skills, as testers are increasingly expected to conduct more technical roles as demand for specialist technical testers spikes. This includes:
Test Automation
The number of organisations across financial services, telecommunications and the full software development industry utilising Test Automation increased significantly from 2013-2015, with over 40% now applying automation as a key part of their SLDC.
Performance Testing
As of the 2015 Index, 25% of organisations apply performance testing techniques as a key part of their SLDC, with significantly higher uptake found in the financial services industry by 33% of organisations.
Service Virtualisation
Whilst 20% of organisations were found to include service virtualisation as a key part of their SLDC in our 2015 Index results, a significant portion of organisations were not realising the benefits of this technology to replace constrained or expensive systems, with 41% of respondents stating no utilisation of service virtualisation.
Conclusion
After analysing our Index results and placing the last three years into perspective, the following industry trends are clear:
- Agile is here, with adoption to continue increasing over the coming years
- The demand for technically skilled resources is growing exponentially
- The need to keep afloat of rapidly developing industry trends is more important than ever before
Will these trends continue, or will we see a significant shift? It’s important to know what the future holds for your career and software projects, and the 10th annual Planit Index will help you gain a comprehensive insight into this information.
Keep an eye out for our 2016 Index Survey to share your insights and experience with us.