It has never been as easy to get lost in the rapidly advancing tech environment as it is today, when there is penetrating nearly every aspect of our lives and new technologies are constantly emerging, producing disruptive avalanches of change. The world is evolving faster than ever, and those who cannot embrace the new reality and do not take the time to learn new skills will be left behind.
This simple truth is especially relevant in connection with embedded software testing, which has significantly changed in the last decade. Software testing has always been one of the most important phases in embedded systems development, requiring a heightened code coverage and security level. However, since the traditional waterfall model made way for continuous delivery, it has become the biggest challenge for many embedded developers.
Let’s take a closer look at the key characteristics that define an embedded software-testing leader and separate a successful embedded company from the pack of so-so businesses unable to adapt to the changeable conditions to attain ambitious goals.
A Well-Defined Testing Strategy
It is not a secret that a well-defined testing strategy is essential for any software development project. A clear roadmap for testing activities enables the good planning, management, and tracking of processes. This usually includes a testing objective, total time and resources needed for a project, testing methods, and other guidelines that help engineers perform testing in a systematic manner.
An Agile Approach to Testing
Since time is money and businesses need to move faster to reach the market before their competitors, embedded companies can no longer leave testing until the end of the development cycle. This explains the increasing popularity of the Agile approach, which allows for frequent testing throughout the project and the simultaneous performance of traditionally sequential tasks.
Thus, the Agile methodology and DevOps model have become important principles of leadership in embedded software development. Their adoption can be rather challenging; however, with these approaches, scarce specialists can be deployed more efficiently, problems can be caught early, the software revenue cycle can accelerate, and customer satisfaction can skyrocket.
Best Testing Practices and Techniques
There is a wide variety of software-testing practices, methods, and techniques, but it is vital to understand which work best for the embedded software domain and lead to the most efficient results.
The software-testing practices that may turn a follower into a leader include a common automated testing framework (third-party or in-house), a remotely accessible hardware testing lab, and continuous integration with automated tests and reports for each build.
Another leadership feature that cannot be overlooked is test automation. More than half of test processes are automated by almost 80% of embedded software-testing leaders. This is a smart way to speed up testing activities while reducing routine manual testing and eliminating the human factor.
You may have already guessed that this is not a full list of industry leaders’ characteristics, but only an introduction to get you started. Join us and follow our news updates to review your industry peers’ thoughts on how embedded testing has changed and learn what separates the leaders from the followers in software-testing practices.
