In many ways, 2023 continued on from 2021 and 2022, and stuck rigidly to the ‘challenging’ theme. So many global and local issues were at play that severely affected supply chains and undermined financial confidence. But, despite this, the world continued, software development accelerated, and test professionals continued to be under pressure to test faster and cheaper. Luckily, Calleo was there to offer our own unique insights.
In all seriousness, 2023 was pretty intense; globally, there was escalating tension, with active conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and the continued impact of COVID-19 on supply chains, particularly in China.
Here in the UK, the cost-of-living crisis continued, and we had wave after wave of industrial action, from train drivers to doctors. We felt the impacts in everything from food prices to software investment.
Throughout all this chaos, companies have continued to develop software, and testers are working their butts off to increase quality, accelerate projects and reduce costs.
Calleo have done our bit to help, with another 50+ testing insights to help software professionals test better than ever before and consider testing from a different perspective – today we look back at the 3 most popular of these insights.
1. Is Software Testing a Dying Profession?
Wow. This proved controversial. It was the most provocative article we’ve ever written, and it attracted many comments from people with wildly varying opinions.
The practice of software testing has evolved and is still evolving, but what does this mean for software testing as a profession?
In this insight we looked at how automation, DevOps, Agile, and AI present an existential threat to the traditional testing roles and responsibilities.
We analysed the threats and looked at what testers can do to not only address them, but embrace them and become more vital than ever before.
Read the full insight here: Is Software Testing a Dying Profession?
2. Software Testing & Mental Health
While the previous insight was controversial, this one proved to be anything but. Many test professionals got in touch to echo our thoughts and tell us about their own personal struggles.
This was the first insight to really break out of the testing and tech arenas and was picked up by many people in completely unrelated fields.
If you’ve not read it, it’s definitely worth checking out. Anyone who has worked in the testing space for even a few days will identify with the challenges and hopefully get something beneficial from the insight.
Read the full insight here: Software Testing & Mental Health.
3. How Will ChatGPT Impact Software Testers?
In many ways, 2023 was ChatGPT’s year. It’s crazy to think it was only launched in November 2022 given how much impact it has had.
This remarkable tool can do your kid’s homework, pass professional exams, and compose performance tool-related rap battles, and it is already having an impact on the daily lives of software testers.
In the article, we look at some of the many positives that chatbots offer, like helping you create scripts, reducing testing effort, and interfacing with other testing tools. However, we also highlight some negatives and particular areas of caution.
Overall, we feel should you be excited about the potential impact on testers, but we provide a list of cast-iron actions you can take if you’re worried.
Read the full insight here: How Will ChatGPT Impact Software Testers?
What’s in store for 2024?
Last year we precited that 2023 would continue on from 2022 – and this year again, we expect more of the same.
There will be ever-tightening budgets, and an increasing reliance on test tools to save time and cost. More and more companies will use AI to get ahead of the game and accelerate testing.
You can rest assured that whatever happens in 2024, Calleo will keep you informed.
Happy New Year!
