App Testing Now Consumes a Quarter of IT Budget

App Testing

Projected Growth of QA Budgets

As a percentage of the IT budget, quality assurance spending is increasing. 2012: 18%, 2013: 23%, 2015: 28% (projected)

Transformational Projects Grow

The percentage of high values versus maintenance projects is increasing as well. 2012: 41%, 2013: 46%, 2015: 49% (projected)

Breakdown of Quality Assurance Investments

Infrastructure investments continue to dominate. Testing hardware and infrastructure: 40%, Tools and software licenses: 28%, Human resources: 23%

Nature of the Quality Assurance Team in 2013

Year over year results for 2013, however, show momentum is moving toward centralization. A combination of centralized and decentralized functions: 35%, Centralized as one team: 26%, Highly decentralized: 13%, Testing handled by external vendor: 12%, No separate testing function: 14%

Shift to Test Center Operational Excellence?

As part of centralization, a shift to Test Center Operational Excellence (TCOE) center is underway. Fully operational TCOE: 19%, TCOE already started with completion in two years: 13%, Plan to use third-party TCOE: 19%, Plan to develop internal TCOE in two years: 23%, No plans in place: 26%

Metrics Uses to Measure QA Effectiveness

Most measurements are reactive rather than proactive. Number of defects found: 73%, Cost per test case: 55%, Cost per defect found: 52%, Reduced time to market: 45%, Cost savings from preventing defects to reach production: 39%

Testing Service Delivery Models

Reliance of external testing services is on the rise. Internal or in-house: 41%, External managed service providers: 20%, Staff augmentation and contractors: 14%, Co-Managed projects: 14%, Capped or fixed capacity professional service: 12%

When Does Quality Assurance Get Involved in a Project?

Most of the time quality assurance’s project involvement occurs too late. Project planning phase: 22%, Requirements definition phase: 20%, Implementation phase: 20%, Production or maintenance phase: 15%, Realization of system development phase: 10%

The Rise of Mobile Testing

The majority of IT shops are now seeing more mobile app testing. Yes: 55%, No: 45%

Barriers to Mobile Testing

Methodology is now a bigger problem than the tools. Lacks the right method or process: 56%, Devices are not readily available: 52%, Mobile testing experts not available: 48%, Lacks in-house testing environment: 38%, Lacks the right tools for testing: 37%, Lack of time to test: 33%

Focus of Mobile App Testing Efforts

The focus on security has jumped considerably. Performance: 59%, Security: 56%, Functionality: 43%, Portability: 38%, User interface: 36%, Certification of application: 34%, Compatibility and regression testing: 29%