We have a unique report on the state of quality and software testing that will answer those questions - and several others - waiting for you. The report has two distinguishing features: one, it is based on over 1,500 quality engagements; and two, it has been created by quality practitioners. But more than anything else, the report serves as a handbook, providing you the opportunity to benchmark practices within your organization with what is happening outside, across peers and competitors. 

The genesis of this report is interesting.

After successfully completing over 1,500 quality engagements with more than 400 global organizations in the last few months, we could not resist asking ourselves the question - what is the real value delivered by quality today? Are organizations spending too much on quality or too little? What is the right amount to spend? How has the practice of testing changed in the light of DevOps, Agile and Continuous Delivery? How has it evolved under the pressure of impatient customers? What has been the impact of technologies like mobile and cloud?

These questions consumed us - just as we are sure they consume you.

So we began looking for real answers - from customers. We sat down with our analytics team and began making our way through data from more than 1,000 quality related RFPs and RFIs and over 50 advisory and consulting engagements (there is a lot more, but we'll leave you to go through our freshly-released quality report and see the astonishing depth of detail we had access to). We fed the data into our proprietary intelligent quality platform, IntelliAssure, and waited for the results.

So what did we see?

We'll give you the good news first. We saw that quality had gone from reactive testing to a proactive discipline of Quality Engineering and Assurance. Testing had evolved from a humble caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. Everything about the practice, from the speed, structure and skills (what we call S³) had changed.

There really is no bad news that the report holds. What it tells us are the imperatives of digital transformation that are sweeping across industries. It tells us why strategically interleaving test solutions at the right moments in the lifecycle of a product enhance speed of delivery. It looks why the luxury of a separate test window and a central test organization are evaporating and what your most reasonable alternatives are. It delves into when you should use central testing capabilities and when you should use decentralized capabilities. It examines the skills required for testing that have undergone a massive transformation. Today, testers need to be skilled programmers and programmers need to be skilled at testing. This is giving rise to new roles like Quality Engineers, substantially changing the game of quality testing.

The report has insights into several other aspects of quality. Importantly, it reveals the developing trends in Automation, Performance Engineering, End Customer Experience, Test Data and Environment Management, and the Emergence of Quality Engineering. Test professionals will appreciate the depth and breadth of insights.

Actually, the report may hold some bad news after all. If your organization is still stuck with traditional testing methodologies, your peers may be getting ahead. It is time for you to catch up.

Arun Melkote - General Manager And Global Head, Testing Services, Wipro, Ltd.

Arun is the Global Head of Testing Services at Wipro where he is responsible for business growth, delivery, operations and Client relationship management. He is an acknowledged leader in the Quality Engineering and Assurance Space with 20+ years of industry experience. As a core member of the team that set up Testing Services Practice at Wipro, Arun has seen Testing Services evolve in his career. He has led Quality Assurance and Engineering practices at multiple Business units and has forged strong customer relationships, deep technical expertise and tremendous employee orientation as a leader.