Conclusion

In this chapter, we considered data points about an increased split of QA effort in development projects as against production support. This aligns with the need for more QA in new development projects associated with digital transformation. We also considered the trend of increased QA effort in the design phase, which aligns with the need for Shift-Left and Shift-Right principles in the DevOps life cycle.

We considered data points relating to the future of centralized with regard to the decentralized models of QA and concluded that the future will see the use of hybrid models. Organizations will continue to use MTS and Centralized COEs for business as usual functions to carry out QA efficiently. For the digital transformation initiatives and projects in the Agile/DevOps life cycle, the projects will carry out testing in the decentralized mode. Distributed Agile is an option that is also considered.

We then discussed future testing engagement models with a 3-plateau approach to business and IT— BAU, Industrialize, and Innovate. The providers as well as clients operate in each of the three plateaus. With digital transformation on the rise, it is expected that the current pyramid of three plateaus may get reversed in favor of more innovate engagements and less BAU.