Digital technologies, no matter how complex or challenging
for businesses to implement, have been accepted as an inevitable facet of
modern times. The examples of hovering drones delivering products, virtual
assistants like Siri or Alexa answering customer queries, or smart devices like
Google Home or Amazon Echo has become commonplace. The advent of new
technologies is a testimony to the growing customer expectations of glitch-free
products or services. Enterprises, in order to stay competitive and deliver
great customer experiences, are embracing digital transformation in a big way.
Accordingly, legacy systems are being replaced or upgraded with newer
technologies embracing SMAC (Social media, mobility solutions, Analytics, and
Cloud).
As customer experience becomes the catalyst for driving
enterprises to invest in competitive solutions for sustainable growth, QA
assumes significance. To make digital
transformation implementation effective on the ground, the software and
systems need to be tested rigorously. This is all the more important as digital transformation
services touch the most important aspect of people’s lives.
Rigorous QA testing helps in identifying glitches in software and makes it fit
for customer acceptance. The success of any digital transformation journey is
underpinned on the usage of the right tools, standards, processes, protocols, and
methodologies. When the ultimate objective is to deliver a superior customer
experience, then QA should be a part of the digital transformation strategy. In fact, enterprises
should look at the quality transformation to realize the impact of digital transformation implementation.
Why quality transformation is required to deliver digital
transformation?
Quality, as the most critical attribute of a product, can
only be ensured if every process or department in an organization enforces it.
It calls for implementing a set of protocols and regulations cutting across
departments or processes for every transaction or activity. It is important to
realize the DevOps outcomes of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery
of builds. So, how to achieve quality transformation in the first place?
Achieve a speed of testing through test automation: Since the testing of codes should
be for multiple channels, the QA teams should use test automation. The
automated test suites can run quick tests by leveraging virtual users to
achieve DevOps and Agile goals.
Activate the feedback loop: Silo-driven processes can often
be the impediments in giving the right feedback about a product. This leads
enterprises to identify any fault later in the SDLC and rendering mitigation,
time-consuming and costly. However, by incorporating the shift-left approach
where the development and QA teams work in tandem, feedback on glitches can be
exchanged fast.
Incorporate AI-driven analytics: Artificial Intelligence has come
as a shot in the arm for testers and developers. It analyzes past patterns of
data to identify the presence of glitches in processes. This helps in speeding
up the QA process and ensuring a seamless CI/CD pipeline. Moreover, when the
security of applications has become a critical quality requisite, AI-driven
analytics can help in creating robust software.
Let us understand with an example as to why testing
transformation is essential to realize the benefits of digital transformation solutions:
A retail chain going for digital transformation
implementation to deliver great customer experiences can court trouble
if the software contains glitches. This can expose the software to security
breaches and the loss of sensitive customer data. If not addressed in time, the
same can have implications for the retail chain. These may include the loss of
customer trust, inviting regulatory censure or penalties, or class suits from
clients/customers.
Implementing the right digital testing strategy
To gain a competitive edge in the market and deliver the
right customer experiences, enterprises need to tune into the latest trends.
These include big data, mobility services, AI-driven analytics, and cloud
services, among others. In fact, QA transformation can help enterprises to
adopt new and disruptive technologies.
Digital transformation envisions the adoption and
integration of disruptive technologies to provide an omnichannel experience to
the customers. However, enterprises face a slew of challenges when embracing
such technologies. These are mainly related to the integration of both
technologies (new and existing), changing the work culture, and training the
workforce, among others. This is where QA transformation can help enterprises
to take a gradual approach in managing, measuring, and implementing
technologies.
Conclusion
To address the diverse needs and challenges concerning
digital transformation, the quality testing process should be changed
accordingly. It is only by testing the transformation of processes or workflows
that the fruits of digital transformation can be obtained. This encompasses the
conduct of rigorous testing across the value chain comprising cloud, web
portals, devices, browsers, operating systems, and networks.
This article is originally published on digitaldoughnut.com
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