State of Digital Quality 2024: 100,000 bugs uncovered in Europe

Applause, a company specialising in digital quality assurance and testing, has released its third State of Digital Quality report for Europe. Over the past 12 months, the report has identified nearly 100,000 bugs across various domains, including accessibility, artificial intelligence (AI), digital payments, functional testing, user experience (UX), and localisation.

The report draws from real-world testing data across Europe. It highlights significant issues in digital banking, streaming media services, wearable devices, online shopping platforms, voice-activated devices, and enterprise software. Applause suggests that these issues can be mitigated by adopting digital quality frameworks, which help organisations improve and maintain high standards in digital quality. This year's edition adds new AI and UX testing frameworks, outlining essential practices and processes for teams aiming to achieve excellence.

Despite the variety of methods European companies employ to assess digital quality, the report reveals a general lack of formal systems and documentation, particularly in UX testing. Accurate localisation, crucial for attracting and retaining customers, is often overlooked. Just 45% of organisations test with live payment instruments, and a mere 21.2% conduct beta testing with in-market customers, missing opportunities to garner valuable feedback.

Luke Damian, Chief Growth Officer at Applause, commented, "This year's report uncovered a range of challenges that arise when development teams aren't looking beyond basic bug fixes. Organisations need to 'shift left to get it right' and can leverage digital quality frameworks for areas like accessibility, AI, payments, and UX to set attainable goals for achieving excellence. In markets like ecommerce – a trillion-dollar industry – organisations leave money on the table if they're not embedding quality throughout the software development lifecycle."

The report also underscores the importance of compliance, particularly with the European Accessibility Act coming into effect next year. Damian noted, "Digital quality also plays a key role in compliance. Inclusivity for all should be high on the agenda for European companies. Real-world testing involving people with disabilities will ensure organisations are compliant ahead of the June 2025 deadline. Rigorous AI training and testing will also help organisations manage AI complexities, mitigate risk, and navigate regulations stipulated in the European Artificial Intelligence Act."

Functional testing remains a critical component of quality assurance. While automated functional testing has improved with advancements in AI, manual functional testing remains indispensable. This process involves testers verifying that digital experiences operate as intended by executing test cases. Companies that excel in digital quality also address the nuances of specialised testing areas, such as customer journey complexities, emerging payment methods, accessibility laws, and the use of assistive devices, ensuring apps and devices work well for all users.

The 2024 State of Digital Quality report is based on data gathered from 748,000 test runs across 70 industries in 156 countries. It includes insights from the 2024 Digital Quality Benchmarking Surveys, which assess the levels of testing maturity in organisations globally.