The “desired” vs. “the actual:” The rise of automated testing and how to find your ideal partner

The COVID-19 period has been interesting for automated testing. Two years ago, for example, many industries had recognized the idea that automated testing was crucial for software development -- but those industries were forgetting the first word, and not automating the tests. COVID-19 and personnel adjustments + different developers and testers working in different locations and not communicating as directly did seem to lead to a rise in automated testing globally, and there was a big growth projection headed towards 2026.

At Serengeti, we were excited about this trend, as we’ve done a number of automated testing projects, including to ensure quality in healthcare and to accelerate business growth in the financial transaction industry. 

Let’s look a bit more at the growth of automated testing and what you need to be looking for if you work with an outsourced partner on automated testing projects.

Why is automated testing growing right now?

First and foremost, it’s very important for business growth and development. Writing test scripts and using automation tools allows developers to test and compare the actual outcome with the desired outcome. The closer you can bridge that gap (make “actual” into “desired”), the better your end products and services will be. Once your end products are more quality, that positively impacts marketing campaigns, sales strategies, customer retention, and future product launches, rollouts, and iterations.

Throughout the tech world, there’s an increasing amount of expertise about automated testing -- and more tools to make the processes better. It’s understandable that it’s growing. 

Because the testing is automated, even though expert developers work on the scripts, there’s a good argument for scale, easy of use, and return on investment -- all of which resonate with executives making cost-related decisions. If COVID exposed a cash-on-hand problem but software development is still crucial to your business (it is), then you can find cost efficiencies and incredible value at the same time by embracing more automated testing.

What is one of the major concerns that comes up about automated testing?

When you work with specific automated testing vendors, there are some concerns that we’ve heard crop up -- often from clients who moved from a specific vendor over to us. 

“Promise the world:”
Vendors try to promise the world because, well, they want the sale and the contract. But each company is unique. If you don’t have a dedicated team that operates as an extension of your team, the project will fall apart over time. You can’t promise the world to everyone and deliver. You need to meet companies where they are and deliver on the project they need completed, then move to the next one if the funding is there.

Bolt-ons:
Automated testing vendors will often “bolt” (add) more functionalities or tests later in a sprint to hit a deadline or look better to the client (“Look at all this other stuff we did within this automated testing project!”) That’s a poor way to solve the particular problems of that particular organization, but it happens a lot.

How could you get better results with automated testing?

Work with truly expert developers and testers in a team extension model. That means that the partner (in this case us) serves as an extension of your team, so we work together and co-create on strategies, sprints, deadlines, project goals, timetables, tests needed, development rollouts, and more. Even if we’re not physically with you (can’t be, because of COVID), we are a physical extension of your team.

Expertise + extension means the projects go smoother, stay on cost, and hit the right goals. The tests work and close the gap from actual performance to desired performance. 

Choosing an outsourcing partner seems to some people like a cost decision. That is part of it, but not the entire decision. Here are some factors you should be considering, and yes, expertise and value are among the biggest: