Today, the demand for high-quality applications has never been greater. Agile methodologies, coupled with the rise of continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), have significantly increased the frequency of software releases. Companies now deploy updates daily or even multiple times a day, placing immense pressure on QA teams to ensure reliability without slowing down the development pipeline.

At SmartBear, we’ve always believed in the power of open source software to drive innovation, transparency, and collaboration. Open source is part of our DNA through Swagger, Pact, and Cucumber, which have become foundational tools for developers worldwide. Today, we’re announcing an important milestone in Cucumber’s journey: SmartBear is transitioning stewardship of the Cucumber project to the Open Source Collective.

Observability refers to understanding a system’s internal state by examining its external outputs, like logs, metrics, and traces. Borrowed from control theory, it’s the ability to infer what’s happening inside a system without direct access. To visualize observability, consider the human body. We don’t need to open it up to understand its internal state. By measuring external signals like body temperature, heart rate, or blood pressure, we can infer what’s happening inside.

SmartBear is thrilled to announce our acquisition of QMetry, a leader in AI-enhanced test management solutions, into the family. This merger is not merely about expanding our already robust solutions—it’s about revolutionizing the delivery of software quality across industries. In today’s fast-paced tech landscape, addressing software quality issues is critical; they can significantly impact customer satisfaction and financial growth, while flattening the quality cost curve.