The key to government efficiency: A smarter software testing strategy

As federal agencies adapt to tighter budgets and smaller teams, they must find smarter ways to deliver secure, high-performing services. Automated testing offers a practical path to streamlining processes while safeguarding performance, security, and reliability.

Government software development is undeniably complicated. Agency teams balance compliance, security, and legislative requirements while supporting legacy systems, mobile apps, and the latest technologies. That’s already a lot without the additional challenges of cloud migrations, explosive data growth, and the push to integrate AI tools. It’s clear that the demand for faster software delivery will only increase.

Traditional testing methods are too slow and brittle to scale. In this blog, we’ll explore how agencies can streamline development to release software faster, improve quality, and do more with fewer resources. Launch issues? With the right approach, they can be eliminated.

Modern software requires modern testing strategies

Many agencies use Agile, DevOps, and DevSecOps to build and update software, but the roots of their testing programs reach back to slower waterfall methodologies. Manual testing was adequate for waterfall cycles — a distinct, sequential step in months- or years-long timelines. But modern approaches embed testing throughout development, releasing new code weekly, daily, or even hourly.

That’s a bad match. Legacy systems and traditional testing introduce bottlenecks that slow down the innovations government IT teams are trying to make. Manual testing increases costs, limits agility, and raises the risk of human error. It also pulls skilled developers away from high-value work. The old ways of testing can’t keep up.

Maximizing efficiency with automated testing

Modernizing government IT is no small task, but manual software testing shouldn’t be the roadblock. The Tricentis platform offers automated solutions for every process, application, and platform across legacy and modern environments.

Tricentis’s low-code platform empowers federal teams by expanding quality assurance capabilities beyond technical roles, lightening testing workloads, and boosting team agility. Manual testers can easily learn to automate repetitive tasks like regression testing, gaining valuable new skills with minimal training. Meanwhile, experienced developers are freed to focus on higher-impact work that directly supports missions.

Even amid staff constraints, Tricentis helps agencies maintain continuity and resilience by automating essential tasks and upholding high standards of quality. With Tricentis, agencies can achieve end-to-end test automation rates above 90%, reduce the risks of manual testing, and stay aligned with federal compliance mandates.

Saving time with smarter testing

Tricentis empowers public sector teams to deliver high-quality services faster by accelerating testing and optimizing how resources are used. With automated testing that fits directly into existing DevOps pipelines, agencies can scale their efforts without adding headcount.

Consider how we partnered with the state of North Carolina to accelerate its digital transformation efforts. As the first state to build a unified technology and community network connecting health care and human services, it launched the NC FAST web portal to streamline access to programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and child welfare.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services changed its testing strategy to ensure a smooth rollout of NC FAST. The team automated nearly 3,000 tests, reducing regression testing time by 30%. They reclaimed more than 40 hours per release, valuable time that can be focused on its core mission of strengthening the state’s families and communities.

Streamlining collaboration for faster, more reliable results

Speed, accuracy, and effective collaboration are the essential components of a successful IT project. However, manual testing and disconnected tools often delay progress and threaten deadlines. That’s where a unified testing strategy makes the difference.

By centralizing and automating testing workflows, development and testing teams work together in sync, with shared visibility and accountability. The result? Faster, more reliable software delivery.

Tricentis empowers this shift with a platform built for end-to-end automation, even in environments that include cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software, such as SAP, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, and Oracle. With Tricentis, government agencies and enterprise teams have cut test cycle times by up to 80%.

When testing is unified, collaboration follows. And with better collaboration comes better results — for agencies, for teams, and for the communities they serve.

The future of software testing in government

The pace of digital transformation isn’t slowing — and neither can the public sector. Legacy testing methods weren’t built for this moment. Agencies need testing strategies that are as Agile and ambitious as their missions to meet these rising expectations.

By modernizing software testing, agencies can:

• Boost accuracy and security across every deployment
• Unlock smoother collaboration and efficiencies between developers and testers
• Accelerate innovation even with reduced staff and resources
• Deliver faster, more reliable services to the communities they serve

Tricentis gives government teams the power to move faster with confidence — empowering agencies to lead with technology, deliver with excellence, and stay focused on what matters most: their mission.

Ready to make the change? Download Agency-wide migration in 6 steps: A guide to moving away from legacy testing tools.