Why Is Software Testing Facing a Crisis? Insights from Huawei’s Experience

Signs of a Crisis

The author, a Huawei tester, notes that recent testing conferences focus only on automation and app testing, with many test experts shifting to agile coaching or DevOps roles, indicating a waning industry focus on testing.

Internally, Huawei’s 2017 graduate recruitment eliminated the software test engineer position, favoring full‑stack engineers who can self‑test.

Causes of the Crisis

After the peak of testing around 2000, rapid software evolution lowered technical barriers, challenging the necessity of dedicated testers, especially in small startups where products can succeed without them.

The rise of open‑source tools and frameworks makes building custom solutions easier, pushing the industry toward a labor‑intensive model where both development and testing face similar pressures.

DevOps promotes cross‑functional teams where developers handle testing and operations, raising development standards but reducing dedicated testing roles.

Huawei Testers' Situation

Huawei maintains a high tester‑to‑developer ratio (1:3‑1:4) due to strict quality requirements and the IPD process, leading to extensive testing deliverables, reviews, and meetings that ensure quality but hurt productivity.

Testers fulfill three roles: control (process and data governance), quality service (executing tests and reporting results), and engineering capability (building tools and improving productivity).

In cloud services, tester‑to‑developer ratios drop to 1:7‑1:10, yet testers still handle many quality deliverables, security checks, and extensive coordination with other teams.

Future Direction for Test Professionals

Testing remains essential for quality assurance; the goal is to increase its value by developing broader skills such as coding, networking, and business understanding, and by focusing on automation, DFX, and risk prevention.

Automation will grow, but human expertise is still needed for scenario exploration, tool‑based testing (e.g., monkey, fuzzy), and complex UI changes.

Testers should aim to become quality guardians who anticipate risks, improve development processes, and contribute to product success beyond merely finding bugs.