With the holidays right around the corner, it’s only natural that many have turned their attention to the Hallmark Channel, wood burning fires, and Bing Crosby music. However, while the rest of the world settles in for another season of watching Kevin McAllister best the "Wet Bandits," our Sauce Labs experts are busy with their crystal balls trying to predict what the future holds for DevOps, Automated Testing and the general UX trends to be aware of heading into 2023.
1. Companies Will Adopt Modern Alternatives to "DIY" Real Device Testing
Marcus Merrell, VP of Technology Strategy at Sauce Labs: “Mobile app usage is now the consumer default—meaning developer teams need to have continuous and convenient access to devices for testing mobile apps on real and virtual devices. Further, data shows consumers are keeping their devices for shorter intervals, meaning developers need to have instantaneous access to a bevy of new, expensive devices as soon as they’re available and a diverse set of operating systems in perpetuity. But there are quicker, better solutions that can streamline this process through cloud-based real device testing that lets developers test across various devices without ever leaving their browser.
"We expect companies to adopt modern solutions for mobile app testing at faster rates, especially in adapting to a hybrid-first workforce.” - Marcus Merrell, VP of Technology Strategy at Sauce Labs
2. Mobile Testing Will Continue to Expand and Evolve
Nikolay Advolodkin, Senior Solutions Architect at Sauce Labs: “Over the last couple of years, foldable devices have begun to return. 2019 saw the release of foldable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, the Huawei Mate X, and the new Motorola Razr. In addition, let's not forget mobile payments, artificial intelligence such as face recognition and voice recognition, and even 5G. As a result, mobile app development and mobile app testing will be more challenging than ever. Hence, creating a mobile development strategy that prioritizes shifting testing left to find more issues earlier is essential—also, shifting right to develop effective monitoring of unforeseen production issues."
Related resources: Mobile App Testing Trends to Look for in 2023 and Mobile Development Trends to Look for in 2023
3. API Testing Will be More Critical than Ever
Nikolay Advolodkin: “More companies recognize APIs as the building blocks of modern software. The rise of serverless architecture, the growth of API management, and the growth of artificial intelligence and machine learning are just some of the trends driving the proliferation of APIs. Creating a proper test strategy for APIs will be more critical than ever."
Nikolay says a proper API testing strategy should include:
Designing API first
Creating contract tests to ensure appropriate communication between services
Utilizing technology and tools to be able to mock out third-party APIs
Testing for API performance and reliability
Testing for API security
"Skilled engineers utilizing the appropriate methodologies and tools for API testing will be in massive demand in 2023." - Nikolay Advolodkin, Senior Solutions Architect at Sauce Labs
4. DevOps Now Includes Security. Say Hello to DevSecOps
Marcus Merrell: “Most of our users in the test space are being asked to do security testing as part of a shift-left motion. I believe 2023 will see more widespread security testing happening in parallel with application development, rather than at the end, right before release. The ability to add in OWASP Top 10 scanning alongside existing tests will be a differentiator.”
5. The Developer Experience Will Become More Critical Across DevOps—and to Retaining Talent
Martha Jensen, Chief People Officer at Sauce Labs: “Developers and QA professionals are some of the most sought-after skilled laborers who are acutely aware of the value they provide to organizations. As we head into next year, this group will continue to leverage the demand for their skills in pursuit of their ideal work environment. Companies that do not consider their developer experience and force pre-pandemic systems onto a hybrid-first world set themselves up for failure, especially when tools for remote and virtual testing and quality assurance are readily available. Developer teams also need to be equally equipped for success through the tools and opportunities that can help ensure an innate sense of value to the organization – and if they don’t have the tools they need, these developers will find them elsewhere.”
"Companies that do not consider their developer experience and force pre-pandemic systems onto a hybrid-first world set themselves up for failure, especially when tools for remote and virtual testing and quality assurance are readily available." - Martha Jensen, Chief People Officer at Sauce Labs
6. Hybrid-First Work Will Win
Martha Jensen: “The trending excitement towards remote work makes it easy to get swept up in thinking that it is the best option for everyone. While many tech workers want to see this trend continue – with some surveys stating that over half of developers want to work remotely – there’s a divide between legacy developers who’ve been working in this space for years and new entrants who want more opportunities to learn from their peers.
HR professionals are noticing that new developers are craving connectivity—the opportunity to learn from peers in a live environment, in the same way their managers did when they were first entering the industry, long before a global pandemic that left remote work as the 'new normal.' To meet this need, companies should encourage collaboration both in person and remotely, as often as possible to break down silos and facilitate opportunities for new dev team members to learn from each other and from people with years of experience.”
7. Everyone Finally Realizes that the Customer Experience Affects our Everyday Lives—and Brands’ Bottom Lines
Marcus Merrell: “According to a recent Sauce Labs data study, nearly a quarter of consumers (23%) say they encounter an error or issue that keeps them from accomplishing a task online at least once a day, which is highly detrimental to brand trust and customer loyalty. With nearly one in five (18%) users saying they won’t wait any length of time for an error to be fixed, they’ll simply go somewhere else, and as tech becomes more pervasive, we expect end user tolerance for errors to continue to decline—making the customer experience a top priority for IT leaders.”
8. Companies Will Start Thinking of the Customer Experience as Synonymous with Brand Equity
Marcus Merrell: “Poorly designed experiences, errors and technical problems can lead to a bad reputation for a brand. Beyond causing late deliveries and shouting at computers, errors and bad experiences can cause permanent damage to a brand’s reputation and lead customers to draw false conclusions about the brand’s priorities. A brand’s reputation is synonymous with the digital experience it provides—meaning a buggy product will result in zero brand faith. Developer managers should proactively recognize where testing and diagnosis of issues are most critical to protect brand trust from potential damage.”
9. Accessibility Will Become a Hot Button Issue and Will Improve in 2023
Marcus Merrell: “As many as 19 million Americans are excluded when digital experiences are not designed for people with disabilities. Sixty-two percent of those who use assistive technologies—like screen readers, tactile keyboards, and more—say they frequently experience errors on a given day and 44% of those who use this tech experience errors that keep them from accomplishing a task on a daily basis. Many organizations haven’t focused on ensuring their tech is available and accessible to everyone, making them behind on their digital accessibility journey.
In 2023, we expect companies who are not prioritizing digital accessibility to lose users extensively in favor of companies who are ensuring their websites, applications, digital documents and more are readily available for all their users—including those with disabilities—and putting steam into testing for digital accessibility. For those organizations who haven’t given the care and attention needed in this area, we expecting to see them launch new efforts to incorporate digital accessibility into their brands.”
10. Testing and Observability Will Converge in an Effort to Understand Real-World Behavior
Ryan Vesely, VP, Global Solution Engineering at Sauce Labs: “2023 will see the beginnings of a convergence of testing and observability. We’re starting to see consolidation in both the market and in the user personas we’re all chasing. Testing companies are offering monitoring, and monitoring companies are offering testing. This is a natural outcome of the industry’s desire to move toward true observability: deep understanding of real-world user behavior, synthetic user testing, passively watching for signals and doing real-time root cause analysis—all in service of perfecting the customer experience. The widespread and rapid adoption of OpenTelemetry and OpenTracing (and their implementation into many testing tools) is indicative of what’s coming.”
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