At the EuroSTAR conference in Antwerpen, the Sixsentix team had a chance to immerse themselves in the latest developments and trends shaping the software testing industry. After an array of insightful sessions and engaging conversations, here are the 5 key takeaways from this event:
1. Everyone wants to automate testing, but should they?
Test automation continues to be a hot topic in the industry as organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks. At EuroSTAR we had a chance to meet some of the best solution providers and were impressed by the tools they showcased.
However, test automation does not solve all your problems. Remember: test automation is just a means to increase efficiency. So, would it be smart to automate everything?
Instead, Sixsentix uses a risk-based approach, which enables our clients to identify the most critical business processes and therefore understand what should be tested first to cover the most risk, rather than simply investing in maximum automation. We prefer quality over quantity and focus on the end result instead of the method.
2. AI is transforming the testing and QA landscape
AI technologies, including chat-based language models like ChatGPT, are revolutionizing many industries - even ours. Even though AI alone isn’t a sufficient solution yet, it can empower us as testing architects to improve test coverage, identify correlations between requirements and bugs and detect inconsistencies more effectively. Also, we find AI useful to get input regarding test case design and reporting. We need to stay updated on the development and use AI to our advantage.
3. The increasing importance of embedded testing
With the rise of connected devices and IoT technologies, embedded testing has gained significant importance. Hey, at EuroSTAR we even learned that today’s smart adult toys have poor cyber security and compromise the safety and security of military personnel (Yes, this was definitely news to us too).
What isn’t news to us as QA service providers is, however, the increasing significance of validating the functionality, performance, and security of embedded systems. As a matter of fact, we have strong experience in embedded testing, compared to the industry standard. After realizing how critical these skills are, we will continue to work on the unique challenges and techniques required to ensure quality in this specialized area.
4. Never, ever neglect collaboration and communication
It is clear that effective collaboration and communication within QA teams is fundamental for success: to exchange knowledge, include different perspectives in discussions, and support one another. Many test communities are emerging now, where one can connect with similar-minded people and develop themselves in a professional context with support from their peers.
Furthermore, the test architect can also be seen as a mediator between two parties that don’t understand each other: the users who know what they want but don’t know how to formulate it clearly, and the developers. Testers, therefore, have a lot of responsibility, and interpersonal skills are key.
5. EuroSTAR is the best place to meet peers and kick off partnerships
At Sixsentix, we are very well aware of our size and specialty. That’s why for us it is extremely important to feel the pulse of the community and launch as many healthy partnerships as possible.
Knowledge sharing, exchanging experiences, and building valuable relationships within our industry are invaluable. We are impressed by the many curious, intelligent, and enthusiastic peers we met at EuroSTAR and extremely thankful for the interesting and engaging conversations we had.
Being surrounded by this community of enthusiasts inspired us greatly and truly fuelled our creativity on how to create more value for our clients, also with the support from our new partners.
Get in touch! Otherwise, we’ll see you at EuroSTAR 2024 in Stockholm!