Systems | Development | Analytics | API | Testing

Last month, TestGuild’s Joe Colantonio sat down with two of SmartBear’s product wizards to discuss the world of developer observability and upcoming trends. Eran Grabiner is co-founder of distributed tracing tool Aspecto, which was acquired by SmartBear earlier this year. Right now, he works as Director of Product Management for Aspecto spearheading observability projects. Justin Collier is a longtime member of the SmartBear team and currently serves as Senior Director of Product Management.

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.

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” – Steve Jobs In the world of software testing, this quote couldn’t be more relevant. If you’re a manual tester, you know the pressure to deliver high-quality results, often within tight deadlines and limited resources. Yet, with today’s fast-paced software development cycles, meeting these demands through manual testing alone is increasingly challenging.