What’s Changing in Software Testing and What Isn’t?

SmartBear conducts a number of surveys each year, many of which we’re proud to see be referenced by data analysts and journalists throughout the tech industry. My personal favorite survey report that we put out is the Software Testing Survey Insights Report. 

In this report’s third year, we collected over 2,500 responses from a variety of roles, including: quality engineers, exploratory testers, managers, as well as “non-testing” (but equally quality-minded) developers, business analysts, product managers and consultants. These responses came from every industry imaginable, from automotive to wholesale trade, and an even larger number of geographic locations from across the globe.

The report also covers a wide range of testing disciplines or practices:

I can’t really get too into our findings in this blog since the report hasn’t actually been publicly released yet by my colleagues who spent countless hours putting it together, and who would kill me for spilling the beans early. However, you can be among the first to be granted access to it, and you can learn some of what we found most interesting about this year’s findings by RSVPing for a webinar we’re presenting on Wednesday, January 22nd. 

Click here for immediate access to this report, and to view our recent webinar where we shared some of our biggest takeaways and answered questions around some additional findings!

I can share one big takeaway that I, personally, have been pondering heavily each time I look closely at this year’s report. That’s around how obsessed we often become with finding out what’s changed in our industry—and how limiting that focus can be. We always want to be prepared for what’s different, what’s new, what’s no longer in-demand, or what we didn’t see coming. But, what I believe, and would defend, is that being just as keenly aware of what hasn’t changed and what may have “stalled,” (and why!) is equally important. 

Being prepared for when you find yourself content with an unchanging status quo should trigger plenty of curiosity and/or concern, and I talk a little more about that in our webinar, and will continue to do so in some future content down the road.