Test Automation Trends to Watch Out for in 2023

The automation testing market size is expected to grow from $20.7 billion to $49.9 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 19.2% during the forecast period. This rise is owed to the increase in the adoption of automated testing methods among enterprises and SMBs. Automated testing has completely changed the way businesses operate, especially in terms of delivery and GTM.

In this article, we will look at some of the top test automation trends for 2023.

#1 Smart Test Execution:

Instead of spending hundreds of hours to execute thousands of tests against each build, smart test execution goes through your application and searches for changes in your code, and runs tests on the changes to validate them. There is an added channel of compliance when the code is tested. It automatically identifies the specific tests which are required to run for the particular check-in. Therefore, only fewer tests will be run.

Smart Test Execution will not only help you save time but also help in saving costs and reducing the number of resources in the testing process. If you encounter any test failures, you can identify the correlation between the time the test was taken and the check-in.

#2 Centralized Testing Platform:

Even though the trend was started long ago, it was given a push by the Covid-19 pandemic which forced everyone to work from home. In 2023, you will see a number of centralized testing platforms that will allow remote workers from different locations have full access to your test infrastructure. The testing environment will use the same technologies that are already being employed- central repositories, central reporting portals, managed resources, access-anywhere, etc.

Apart from that, testing will also start working with offline models. The models will resemble the application in some way which can be used to write and automate test cases from everywhere.

#3 Observability:

Observability is defined as “a measure of how well internal states of a system can be inferred by knowledge of its external outputs.” Testing environments these days are pretty complex, you cannot understand them without addressing the issues that keep growing. Merely monitoring on the outside will only fetch you brownie points, not serious results.

You need to have an observable system, in other words, you need to know what’s happening in your software. Observability focuses on developing the application to which will do regular checkups of the software. A tool like Selenium Grid will help you with observability.

#4 Codeless Automated Testing:

Built with the help of artificial intelligence and visual modeling, codeless test automation enables the accelerated formation of test cases that cater to test automation. With the help of such advanced automated testing tools, QA engineers can create test case scenarios with zero coding knowledge and there is even the possibility of reducing the time spent on recurring test cases.

Here are a few advantages of codeless automated testing:

• Since the test cases are generated without any code, they are great for non-technical people. Even non-technical stakeholders can review it easily
• Those who are not familiar with any programming languages or coding can not only generate test cases but also build test cases.
• Because the learning curve is less, test case formation is extremely fast and the process of automation also becomes accelerated

#5 Cloud-based Cross Browser Testing:

There was a time when you had to make sure that the website you develop is responsive for specific mobiles, tabs, and desktops. Thankfully, that isn’t something businesses need to bother much about anymore. All they care about is developing a mobile-first website.

Given the number of devices in the market with their own resolution and browsers, it will be ridiculously expensive to create a testing infrastructure of that volume. That’s why most businesses are moving towards cloud-based cross-browser testing frameworks. By using such tools for this purpose, you can test your web application across hundreds of devices and OSs. You will see a huge adoption of cloud-based cross-browser testing in the coming years. 2

#6 Automation for risk compliance and security testing:

When developing a product, ensuring that you are compliant with the regulations is critical. Regulations do not allow using customers’ data by a company for any purpose other than their own internal uses with respect to their business. There are privacy laws that you need to adhere to, based on the complexity of the product.

Thankfully, there are automation tools in the market that scans your software system to find out if there are test data that are not in compliance with data security standards.

In 2023, the usage of automated test management tools helps with data masking, synthetic test data generation, simulating real users’ data, and complies with privacy laws while doing all of this.

#7 Continuous Testing:

Companies should understand the value of testing as early as possible. Testing in each stage of the development process helps get feedback quickly about the code and catches issues that might have been left for later. Most of these tests could also include unit, API, UI, and security tests, and a variety of other tools which are available to support the tests.

Continuous testing supports some of the trends such as DevOps and CI/CD integration. Early testing, that too with the help of automation is something that you will see a lot in 2023 as well.

#8 Adoption of automated tools for Blockchain:

Thanks to its ledger-based technology, blockchain is one of the most sought-after technologies in the world. From securing financial transactions to safely sharing enterprise data, its use cases are mind-boggling. Name any industry, and you will find that blockchain provides a host of benefits to the industry.

In 2023, there will be an increase in demand for testers who have specific knowledge of blockchain app testing. Blockchain development follows an agile approach to development, but for testing, it follows the Shift left approach.

Some of the most popular tools for testing blockchain applications are BitcoinJ, Ethereum Tester, Populus, Embark, and Truffle.

#9 Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence:

The above are two technologies that will always feature in test automation trends for the coming years too. Although the technologies will remain the same, the use cases will only keep increasing. Here are a number of areas where you will see more use cases for testing:

• Predictive analytics- It will estimate pivotal parameters and specifications of the end-customer’s behaviours and find out more areas where it should concentrate.
• Defect analytics- It will find out more areas and defects which the company should take care of.
• Log analytics- It will concentrate on exceptional test cases which will make it necessary to involve doing both manual and automated tests.
• Test optimization- It will eliminate redundant test cases.

Automation testing teams can leverage AI/ML to improve their testing strategies. They should optimize test suites after weeding out unneeded test cases and by making sure optimal test coverage is done by inspecting keywords.

Even though it is impossible for humans to predict customer behaviour, ML-enabled analytics can help by detecting unexplored sections. The insights can be used to predict likely outcomes with the help of historical data.

#10 Mobile application automated testing:

The number of mobile apps and mobile devices in the market is growing exponentially as we speak. With smartphones becoming more and more powerful, mobile application development is seeing a huge spurt in growth. It is imperative that mobile app tests have to be done across multiple operating systems and devices. There has been an influx of highly complicated apps that are capable of handling a variety of needs, but the right testing strategies are not available yet. There is no doubt that there will be more concentration on mobile app testing automation.

#11 Scriptless Test Automation:

There are different types of apps that are being released in the market. It implies that testers should keep updating themselves with the latest technologies that are available, including knowledge of programming languages. It can be a time-consuming process. Thankfully, we have something called scriptless test automation which helps testers. You can see it gaining more acceptance in 2023.

Scriptless test tools can automate robust tests with the help of AI/ML algorithms within a self-healing mechanism. The entire process is user-friendly, mitigates maintenance costs, helps bridge technical gaps, and also provides fast results.

#12 More RPA adoption:

There is an ongoing battle amongst the number of automation platforms that are present, such as business process automation (BPA), integration platforms as a service (iPaaS), low-code application platforms (LCAPs), artificial intelligence platforms, and RPA systems.

It looks like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is going to be the winner. RPA platforms can incorporate functionalities that are critical for enterprises, such as low-code build environments, democratization support, and scalability.

#13 Customer Experience and Usability Testing:

Thanks to the pandemic, there has been a lot more focus on user experience. There are many users who are trying digital products for the first time as they have been forced to do so because of the immense digital shift that we have seen in the past few months. Users with different levels of tech experience should be able to use the software product comfortably.

The ones who use software products shouldn’t be struggling to make sense of what it is and how to navigate on the website or application. This is where concentration on usability testing will become important. While focusing on customer experience and usability testing is one of the most basic tenets of testing, it will gain a more important form in 2023.

#14 Multi-experience testing:

It refers to a user’s whole experience with one application spread across a number of digital touchpoints. The touchpoints include websites, chatbots, mobile apps, augmented reality, virtual reality, wearables, etc. The goal of multi-experience testing is to support a smooth and consistent user journey across the whole spectrum.

Users will expect that the applications run as smoothly as possible, that’s why you need to do multi-experience testing so that they will have a consistent experience throughout. When new modalities and devices come into the market, the number of user touchpoints will increase. Multi-experience testing is one of the most effective ways for businesses to grab the attention of its user base.

#15 Performance testing of IoT-based apps:

It is expected that by 2025, there will be more than 27 billion IoT devices. With more and more interconnected devices flooding the market, its performance should also be tested. Companies should focus on testing their interconnected devices so that it offers the right kind of solutions without fail.

Going by the latest trends in test automation, you will also see an increase in the number of tools such as MATLAB, IoTIFY, Simulink, and a number of other simulators. The automated testing tools should check how optimized the apps are, and also see if it can handle the load of multiple devices.

Conclusion:

The above trends that we have discussed here will certainly have a huge bearing on the test automation industry. Above are some of the top test automation trends you need to know while heading into 2023. While some of the trends are not mainstream yet, there are a few which have already been talked about, and all of them will prove pivotal in different capacities over the next few years.

If you are looking to equip your organization with automated testing capabilities, Zuci is here to take care of it. Get on a call with us, and we will help you understand how our automation testing services will provide a great fillip to your business.

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