Dr. Armin Metzger has over 25 years of experience in software development and testing in industry and research projects and international committees. He has been Managing Director of the German Testing Board e.V. (GTB) since 2018.
What challenges will software testing have to face in the future?
We have always been used to changes in technological platforms. We will cope well with this if we stay on the ball. I see greater challenges in the increasing dependence on software and its penetration into our everyday lives. This shifts the priorities of the quality features to be tested. Just think of usability and IT security, which still often receive too little attention. In addition, as a result of the agile transformation, testing is increasingly changing from an independent and autonomous function with its own organizational units to an integral task of the development teams.
What ideas or solutions could address these challenges?
Of course, technological developments will also improve testing methods and new techniques will emerge. But above all, against the backdrop of the challenges mentioned, we need to raise awareness of quality as a key factor for project and product success and thus increase acceptance and management support for testing. And, of course, we must ensure that the expertise required for professional and systematic testing is also fully available in the organization and adequately distributed in terms of personnel in line with the respective process model.
What does future testing look like? How will we test?
We are developing for increasingly networked and volatile application environments. The systems will therefore increasingly have to adapt independently to the volatile environment. The static and deterministic test scenario in the laboratory will be less and less suitable for this. Concepts such as simulation or product certification, which have so far only been used marginally or only in certain industries, are starting points for possible (additional) solutions and quality assurance must move into the production environment. Non-functional quality features such as IT security will become increasingly important and ethical issues must also be taken into consideration.
How can testers and test managers prepare for this today?
The measures result from the challenges. The aim is to continuously establish testing as a prerequisite for project success in agile teams and in management. Marketing for testing itself. And it is important, especially in agile teams, to strengthen and improve the skills required for this, or even to develop them in the first place. Acceptance, budgets and skills have tended to deteriorate in recent years, as shown by the Software Testing Survey 2020 and the World Quality Report 2020-21, among others. Build a strong culture of a quality assurance community. And train the teams in line with the changes in technical and procedural requirements. Not entirely unselfishly, I would of course like to refer here to the globally established standard scheme for training on the subject of testing, the ISTQB Certified Tester.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which quality characteristics are often overlooked during testing?
According to this assessment, usability and security still receive too little attention. The reason lies in our growing dependence on software and its pervasive presence in everyday life: The more people use a system on a daily basis, the more the priorities for the quality characteristics to be tested shift away from purely functional aspects toward non-functional ones.
Is the agile transformation changing the organizational role of testing?
Yes. Testing is evolving from an independent, autonomous function with its own organizational units into an integral task of the development teams. This also shifts the focus to the question of competencies: The expertise required for professional and systematic testing must be fully available within the organization and appropriately distributed among personnel according to the respective process model.
Is it enough to further develop testing methods from a technical standpoint?
No. New techniques emerge naturally with technological development, but they do not solve the underlying problem. What is also needed is an awareness of quality as a key factor for project and product success, so that testing gains acceptance and management support. Without this backing, the prerequisites for using methods effectively are lacking.
Why is laboratory testing losing its significance?
Application environments are becoming increasingly networked and volatile, and systems must adapt to these environments autonomously. A static, deterministic test scenario in the laboratory is increasingly unable to simulate such behavior. The result: Quality assurance must extend into the production environment rather than being completed before rollout.
What role can simulation and product certification play in testing?
Both concepts have so far been used only marginally or in specific industries. They serve as starting points for additional approaches when systems operate in volatile, interconnected environments and traditional lab scenarios are no longer sufficient. In addition, ethical considerations must be taken into account alongside non-functional characteristics such as security.
Have budgets and acceptance for software testing improved?
No, on the contrary. Acceptance, budgets, and skills had actually deteriorated in the years leading up to 2022. The article cited the 2020 Software Testing Survey and the World Quality Report 2020–21 as evidence. This leads to the recommendation to continuously further establish testing as a prerequisite for project success in agile teams and among management—in other words, to promote testing itself.
How can testing expertise be built up in agile teams?
Through three approaches: specifically strengthening, improving, or initially developing the necessary skills; establishing a strong culture within a quality assurance community; and training teams to adapt to changes in technical and process requirements. The article cited the ISTQB Certified Tester as a globally established standard framework for testing training in 2022.
