Exploring the QA Automation market in Israel Q1 2013
In Q1 2013, we conducted research on the latest trends and direction of QA automation, one of the markets we’re finding a lot of our customers interested in.
Our research mainly revolved around a survey aimed at some of our biggest existing customers, and in what proved to be a very interesting survey, even we were surprised at some of the answers.
Below is a summary of the survey.
Background
12 customers and consultants that Galil Software work with were interviewed for the survey. The survey itself concentrated on the knowledge and understanding of those questioned, as well as their awareness of the QA automation industry in Israel, and budget considerations.
All interviews conducted for the survey were one on one, either face-to-face or through a conference call.
Main Findings
In what was probably the least surprising feedback of the entire survey, ALL of those questioned were looking into automation and believe it will bring added value to their business. 75% of those questioned believe that QA automation is becoming mainstream and is a must in any R&D organization.
ALL respondents also believe the QA automation will grow further in their organizations once implemented, with over 70% responding that QA automation should increase significantly in their organization.
90% of respondents were willing to consider a cloud automation solution, a number that definitely impressed us.
On the other hand, less than 50% have no idea how to measure the ROI of moving to automation. Which is fairly consistent with expert opinion, with many believing it will be difficult to measure ROI in the short run, meaning that perhaps it would make more sense to measure it as part of the product life-cycle.
The Main Benefits of QA Automation
When questioned about what they saw as the main benefits of QA automation, over 50% responded that Time to Market would definitely be enhanced.
40% responded that Regression Testing would majorly benefit, while 25% saw an increase in Coverage.
QA Tools and Solutions
When asked about tools and solutions, it wasn’t much of a surprise to hear that 100% of respondents prefer open source tools/solutions.
We’ve definitely seen a move towards open source over the last few years, and experts also believe that many SMBs will go with open source tools. On the other hand, enterprises will still likely go with closed source tools.
From our own experience, and in tandem with many experts, we believe that open source tools/solutions are overall a better option, certainly in terms of the flexibility and functionality they offer.
QA Automation in the Israeli Market
Most of those questioned in the survey had no idea on the automation market size in Israel. To give an example, one expert estimated that only 25% of QA activity in Israel is automated.
Budget Considerations
A crucial aspect of QA automation is, of course, budget allocation. We were pleasantly surprised to see that 75% of respondents indicated that they have either an allocated or dedicated budget for QA automation, while 100% indicated that they will spend more on test automation in the future.
Another budgetary factor important to many customers is the ability to set KPI for QA automation. This is certainly a challenge as many of the survey respondents indicated, but a challenge that provides great value to customers.
The final factor influencing budget considerations for the respondents in our survey is the implementation of Agile. Without a doubt, Agile methodology is speeding QA automation adaptation. But It is also a negative and more expensive risk as using Agile typically means keeping resources close at hand. Although, as we previously mentioned in this article, geographical factors don’t always have to play that big an issue when you have the right outsourcing provider in place.