Nagarro research project on 'Artificial Intelligence for Testing' drastically reduces testing effort

Vienna, Austria, November 04, 2020: Nagarro, a global leader in digital engineering and technology solutions, today announced that the results of the first year of AI4T (Advanced Intelligence for Testing) – a Nagarro research project on ‘Artificial Intelligence for Testing’ – is out. The data confirms the company’s thesis that costs and time spent on software testing could be reduced by 38 to 75 percent (depending on the area) by leveraging the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

Funded by the Austria Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the project investigates the possible applications of Artificial Intelligence in test automation. Through ML, the research team was able to significantly improve the scope, hit rate and relevance of the test cases. The time spent on analyzing test results was reduced to a quarter of the original.

Thomas Steirer

Test automation: Hidden champion for innovation

Testing or test automation is vital and indispensable for the digital world. Untested applications bear existential risks, making testing a critical factor for innovation projects. Thomas Steirer, project manager and expert in the global Nagarro Testing Competence Team, is convinced: "If we succeed in automating test lifecycles to a large extent, this will be a milestone for quality assurance and for future software-based innovation projects worldwide."

This in no way is to suggest that human testing capacity and expertise will become redundant in the future. The objective is to ensure that human effort or the role of a tester is more productive qualitatively.

Research under live conditions

The result of the first year is based on four out of nine planned use cases, for which Nagarro was able to win Vienna Airport as a project partner. The work was based on anonymized test data from practical scenarios. The research project is designed for a total of 3 years (until 2022).

Philipp Urbauer

With the University of Applied Sciences, another valuable research partner has come on board, in order to include the next generation students in the project. Speaking about this partnership, Prof. Dr. MSc Philipp Urbauer said: "In our focus on "Data-Driven, Smart & Secure Systems" at the FH Technikum Wien, we concentrate on practical applied research topics, in this case, current approaches of artificial intelligence. Through the active participation of the students, forward-thinking knowledge is integrated directly into our curriculum, and extended competencies are acquired for future professions".

Preliminary results:

• 75% reduced effort in analyzing test results
• 38% lower code refactoring costs
• 70% reduced maintenance costs in a test automation suite.

While it is still early days, these are undoubtedly encouraging preliminary results. Testing and test automation are among the fastest growing services in the industry because of digitalization. The need for specialists for this time-consuming, largely manual task continues to grow and is increasingly becoming a bottleneck for innovation projects in many companies. Given this scenario, it might be safe to say, that AI4T is here to stay.

About Nagarro

Nagarro is a global digital engineering leader with a full-service offering. Nagarro specializes in “change the business” technology services, including digital product engineering, e-commerce and customer experience services, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities, cloud and IoT solutions, and consulting on next-generation ERP. The company has a broad and long-standing international customer base, primarily in Central Europe, particularly Germany, and in North America. This includes a number of global blue-chip companies and leading independent software vendors (ISVs), other market and industry leaders, and public sector clients. In total, the group employs over 8,400 people worldwide (as of June 30, 2020). Further information is available at www.nagarro.com.