The 12th edition of the World Quality Report 2020-21 (WQR), released by Capgemini, Sogeti, and Micro Focus, shows the steady evolution of quality assurance (QA) from a backroom discipline to an integral part of wider enterprise digital transformation. Contributing to business growth and business outcomes was the highest rated objective for testing and QA at 74% – up 6 percentage points from 2018.
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The WQR 2020 highlights that expectations from QA have been increasing with an upward trend across various strategic objectives including the need for QA to support business growth and the importance of ensuring end-user satisfaction. There has been steady and promising progress hindered only slightly by recurring struggles, also noted in previous editions, that include skill gaps and getting a return on investment on test automation.
The adoption of agile and DevOps is steadily increasing, but challenges remain
In line with the trend observed in the last two years, this year too saw an acceleration in the adoption of Agile and DevOps methodologies. While there is a marked focus in increasing the level of test automation and shifting testing to the left1 using Agile and DevOps, achieving higher levels of in-sprint automation2 and lack of expertise within the QA team to achieve the desired objectives remain challenging.
Expectations of the benefits that AI and ML can bring to quality assurance remain high
The uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in QA has also increased. 88% of respondents said that AI was now the strongest growth area of their test activities, and 86% consider AI a key criterion for selecting new QA solutions. Even though the benefits may not yet be fully in reach, the vast majority are enthusiastic about the prospects for AI and ML. The greatest challenge in applying AI and ML in QA was identified as skill gaps, mentioned by 34% of respondents (down two percentage points from last year).
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Test automation: Organizations are working to achieve greater control of their QA activities
Previous World Quality Reports have consistently shown challenges in the test automation arena. In achieving quality assurance to a professional’s desired level of test automation, the most common challenge in 2019 was the frequency with which applications were changing. In previous years, the lack of people with sufficient specialist skills and experience within test automation was highlighted. In the 2020 survey organizations expressed a degree of confidence when they were asked for their views on various aspects of test automation: 68% said they have the required automation tools while 63% have enough time to automate tests. However, despite these promising statistics, only 37% felt they get a return on that investment, indicating a gap between confidence and results.