A UK survey of software developers and testers has found that the need for software testing is increasing as businesses face pressure to develop more sophisticated applications in shorter timeframes. Organisations are looking for ways to eliminate the risk of launching poorly-tested applications, yet over half of the IT professionals surveyed said their organisations did not spend enough on testing. The survey, conducted among the 300 attendees at the December 2009 TestExpo, also found that the majority of respondents (73 percent) consider there to be a shortage of software testing skills in the UK.

When asked which software testing processes and methodologies they liked and relied upon, automation was the most frequently mentioned, chosen by 50 percent of respondents, followed by Accelerated Automation (13 percent). When asked which processes or methodologies they didn’t currently use but would like to use, Software Testing as a Service (STaaS) was the most desired, selected by over a fifth (21 percent) of respondents.

When asked about preferences over offshoring or onshoring, responses were mixed. Over a third (34 percent) of respondents said that they currently had some software testing conducted offshore, nine percent said they planned to offshore, and 52 percent said they didn’t plan to offshore any software testing in the future.

“This survey reflects what we are seeing in the market,” said Richard Terry, deputy CEO of survey sponsor Sogeti. “Software testers and developers are painfully aware of the need to thoroughly test applications before they are unleashed on consumers or business users, but managers need to ensure resources, such as time, budget and headcount, are available to support thorough and methodical testing.”