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State of DevOps Report: AI in Testing Edition 2026
- Chapter 1: The Current State of Testing
- Chapter 2: The Role of AI in Testing
- Chapter 3: The Trade-Offs of AI-Powered Testing
- Chapter 4: Evolving Roles and Responsibilities
- Chapter 5: Governance and Compliance in Testing
- Chapter 6: Measuring the Business Value of Testing
- Chapter 7: Regional and Industry Variations
- Chapter 8: Recommendations for the Future of Testing
- Bottom Line
Report > State of DevOps Report: AI in Testing Edition 2026
Chapter 4: Evolving Roles and Responsibilities
Quality ownership is spreading across delivery teams. This chapter benchmarks how QA focus is shifting toward analytics, governance, and orchestration, and how developers and business analysts are increasing involvement in test creation.
Back to topThe Shift in QA Team Focus
QA teams are evolving into Quality Engineering teams.
Benchmark
41% report QA prioritizing quality analytics and governance. 39% report QA focus on orchestration across pipelines, environments, and data. In addition, 87% agree that AI will move engineers toward intent and system design rather than syntax and manual scripting.
What it means
As execution becomes more automated and distributed, QA value shifts toward measurement, risk management, and enabling repeatable delivery practices.
Recommendation
Update the QA charter explicitly to include analytics, orchestration standards, governance, and enablement for engineering teams.
Back to topDeveloper and Business Analyst Involvement
Testing is becoming a shared responsibility.
Benchmark
53% of developers report directly authoring tests. 38% of organizations report increased involvement of business analysts in test creation.
What it means
Developer ownership can improve feedback speed. Business analyst involvement can improve alignment between test coverage and business requirements, but only if standards and review processes are clear.
Recommendations
- Empower Developers: Encourage developers to create unit and component tests, allowing QA to focus on analytics and strategic oversight.
- Engage Business Analysts: Involve them in test creation to ensure alignment with business logic and customer needs.