Staying updated on testing methodologies has become a necessity in the dynamic software development market. With the increased adoption of test automation it becomes imperative for test engineers to constantly upgrade and keep themselves updated on test automation trends. This post outlines how testers today can stay ahead of the curve by identifying which skills are currently in demand.
Identify Demand
Testers need to constantly identify which tools are in demand in the changing testing scenario. Looking at job listings gives testers a fair idea on what current skills are in demand and also identify growing interests. Identifying growing automation trends benefits not only the tester but the organization as well.
Identify downward trends
Testing tools such as LoadRunner, despite being popular, are on the decline. Almost every HP tool used for test automation also show a downward trend. This is primarily due to the rise of open source tools which are more cost effective and show a faster time-to- market while offering equivalent functionality.
Open source v/s vendor tools
Success in test automation also lies in the capability to select the right tool for the job. Open source testing tools such as Selenium offer far more advantages than the conventional vendor tools because:
It supports a variety of languages
It is well suited for agile methodology of testing and coding.
It can be easily integrated for a roust framework
It has a bug management tool
It a freeware and is integrated with other open source tools
Coding Skills
While it may not essential for testers to learn coding, the requirement for test engineers who are also coders is on the rise. They don’t have to be programming superstars but basic coding knowledge is slowly becoming a key requirement for QA and testing jobs.
Heavy focus on Headless Testing
Testing engineers also need to update themselves on applications used for Headless Testing such as soapUI, PhantomJS and Jasmine. These applications can be used for testing widely used technologies such as API, REST and JMS I. Headless Testing makes the tests faster, more reliable and also help in reducing maintenance costs.
