Test plans are essential for communicating intent and requirements for testing efforts, but excessive documentation creates confusion—or just goes unread. Try the 5W2H method. The name comes from the seven questions you ask: why, what, where, when, who, how, and how much. That's all you need to provide valuable feedback and develop a sufficient plan of action.

Data-driven API testing can enable feedback much sooner and more often during development while being just as comprehensive as classic functional black-box testing. There are many methods of API testing, but that shouldn't intimidate you. Testers looking to advance their careers should consider learning some coding in order to test their programs at the API level.

IoT security is a large and changing topic, but there is one basic starting point where device security can be improved during development and testing: the user interface. The UI should be the first line of defense, but it’s currently weak in most IoT devices. Implementing better practices during the initial UI setup will go a long way toward improving security.

As with any other quality attribute, it is ideal for accessibility to be incorporated in the early stages of design and engineering. But organizations that didn’t initially take accessibility into account can still address it now—it’s better late than never. Here are the main attributes you should consider from the design, development, and testing angles, whether you're building accessibility in from the beginning or adding it now.