Software Testing Statistics

Fixing a problem late in the game costs way more than resolving an issue in the early stages of a project. Software testing statistics show that detecting and fixing issues before production yields long-term savings, not to mention, helps keep customers happy. Testing teams should gather individuals with various skill sets to cover a wide range of issues. The team must follow the full life cycle of the product and ensure the final success. Let’s have a glimpse at some of the interesting facts and stats about software testing.

Software Testing Statistics (Editor’s Choice) 

• The software market size surpassed $40 billion in 2020. (Global Marketing Insights)
• The US testing industry is worth $6.3 billion in 2021. (Ibis World)
• 20% of the demand for software testing comes from the Federal and State governments. (Ibis World)
• IT and telecom hold 20% of the software testing market share. (Global Market Insights)
• 35% of companies hire or use non-testers for software testing. (The QA Lead)
• 44% of IT companies automated 50% of testing in 2020. (RWS) 
• 24% of companies saw an instant increase in ROI once they started automated testing. (Software Testing News)
• Only 5% of companies use fully automated testing. (Software Testing News) 
• Up to 56% of software testers are self-taught. (The QA Lead)

Software Testing Industry Statistics

1. The software testing market size surpassed $40 billion in 2020.

The software testing services market is further looking at an estimated CAGR growth of 7%, due to the higher integration of AI, during the years between 2021 and 2027.

(Global Marketing Insights)

2. The US software testing industry is worth $6.3 billion in 2021.

Growth in the current year has been estimated at 2.5%. Stats further indicate that for the US, the software testing services annualized market size growth has been hovering around 9.3% between 2016 and 2021, according to software testing statistics.

(Ibis World)

3. The US consumer technology sector will hit $461 billion in sales in 2021.

This represents a 4.3% increase compared to 2020. What’s more, with the streaming and software spending being at $112 billion in 2021 — marking a record — and an 11% increase since 2020, the demand for testing can only go up.

(Global Market Insights)

4. Federal and state governments generate almost 20% of the demand for software testing.

Software testing industry statistics show that this is where the biggest opportunity lies as US government consumption and investment are projected to grow, opening up more space for expansion, underscoring the promising future of software testing.

(Ibis World)

5. IT and telecom held over 20% of the software testing market share in 2020.

Another large boost to the adoption of software testing comes from the IT and telecom industries which already account for 20% of the testing market. Their share is further projected to grow by 7.25% by 2027.

(Global Market Insights)

6. Software testing stats show that 74% of testers do scripting and automation as well.

A lot of testers do other work in the company in addition to software testing. Up to 57% complete data management tests. 

(The QA Lead)

7. Some 35% of companies hire or use non-testers for software testing tasks.

Still, 55% of companies continue to use professionals for most of their testing needs. Industry stats meanwhile show that demand for trained testers that can handle all parts of the product life cycle is still on the rise.

(The QA Lead, Global Market Insights)

8. Up to 77% of testers worked on web testing in 2019.

The web remains the platform where most testing happens. Software testing trends, however, point to a small drop from 2018 when 79% of testers had at some point worked in web testing. 

(The QA Lead)

9. There are an estimated 25 billion Internet-connected devices in 2021.

The connections between devices, apps, people, and their homes are multiplying at an astounding speed. As recently as 2019, there were 14.2 billion connected devices and this number is to surpass 25 billion in 2021. This requires major leaps and increased demand for testing and development as well as the introduction of new software testing methodologies.

(RWS)

Test Automation Statistics

10. Spending on cybersecurity is expected to reach $133.7 billion by 2022.

Heightened demand for cybersecurity and risk compliance is yet another important field for testing. Data breaches are a constant threat and security systems must be frequently tested against new threats. The same goes for mobile applications as the global mobile application market size is projected to reach  $407.31 billion by 2026. These two industries, along with big data, are expected to underpin the demand for automated testing.

(World Finance Review)

11. 44% of IT organizations automated half of their testing in 2020.

Automated software testing quality statistics show that test automation services make up for 50% of testing in almost half the companies. Its benefits include executing recurring tasks, identifying bugs quicker, precision, and non-stop feedback — all of which save time, personnel, and ultimately lead to a lower software testing budget.

(RWS, Simform)

12. 24% of companies saw immediate return on investment on automated testing.

Another 24% reported an ROI increase within the first six months and 28% waited up to a year. For some 15%, it took more than a year and only 9% reported not being successful, according to automated software testing statistics.

(Software Testing News)

13. Only 5% of companies carry out fully automated testing.

Two-thirds of software development companies conduct the tests in a 75:25 (manual:automation) ratio or 50:50. Only 9% of survey respondents do only manual testing. As for their future plans, up to 73% would like to reach a 50:50 balance or a 25:75 balance. Around 14% would wish to eliminate manual testing in full.

(Software Testing News)

14. UI is the most popular automation in companies with 82%.

After that comes APIs with 62%, cross-browser/platform with 55%, test data/environment 55%, performance 53% and integration 47%. Automation in the ecosystem is at only 6%. According to software testing statistics the majority of respondents also reported:

• 94% are using test execution tools and automation to support testing efforts 
• 57% of the generation of test data
• 49% deployment of environments. 

(Software Testing News)

15. Sourcing automation testers come in as consultants in only 3% of cases.

Most software testing companies do not outsource the testing workforce and prefer to have their testers in-house. As many as 62% use in-house testers, while 12% bet on in-house contractors. Then, 51% of companies want to retain their testing teams, while 38% want to hire permanent staff.

(Software Testing News)

16. Quality assurance testing statistics show there are six common roles in QA.

With various kinds of tests needing different specialists, the main employee software testing types are:

• Software test engineer
• Test analyst
• Test automation engineer
• Software development engineer in test
• Test architect
• Test manager

(AltexSoft)

17. Bug reports are the most common test documentation for 79% of companies.

Looking at software development testing statistics, 76% of software testers use tools for bug tracking and 59% mostly use agile workflow tools. Untested and broken code was the top bug, found in 60% of cases, while erased databases followed with 10%.

(The QA Lead)

18. 48% of quality assurance teams have anywhere from one to five members.

QA and Quality Control teams work side by side, and even though they perform different tasks they are tightly connected. 24% of testing teams meanwhile have six to 15 testers, according to QA testing statistics.

(The QA Lead)

19. 65% of testers say they have learned the job by simply doing it. 

In contrast, only 18% actually officially studied for it. Up to 56% are self-taught, having learned by reading books on testing, and 44% completed classes or obtained course certificates. Around 24% of people became software testers “by accident”, QA statistics indicate.

(The QA Lead)

20. There are 11 most important test automation metrics. 

According to The SeaLights test metrics guide, these are:

• Total test duration
• Unit test coverage
• Path coverage
• Requirements coverage
• Passed or failed tests percentage
• The number of defects found in testing
• Percentage automated test coverage of total coverage
• Test execution
• Useful or irrelevant results
• Defects in production
• Percentage of broken builds.

(Sealights)

The Bottom Line 

Life has become more digital than ever and the trends exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic show no signs of stopping. With almost all digital markets expanding, the need for testing only grows stronger. Software testing statistics show that security is still the number one industry challenge, covering everything from applications, networks, and systems to sales and end-users. The evolution of artificial intelligence meanwhile is set to push manual testing to the side as it loses ground to automation which is already revolutionizing the field.

Sources: Global Marketing Insights, Ibis World, Global Market Insights, The QA Lead, RWS, Software, Testing News, World Finance Review, Simform, AltexSoft, Sealights