Page - 43 - in The Future of Software Quality Assurance

The Tester SkillsProgram 43 • Autonomousdrones, trucksandcarscantransportproducts,materialsandpeople • Physical products needn’t be ordered, held in stock and delivered at all––3D printingremovesconstraints. Mankind has built some pretty impressive systems (of systems). The most complex systems ever used to be the Space Shuttle with 2.5 m parts, but this was supersededby the Nimitzclass supercarrierwhichhasonebillionparts. In fact, the carrier comprises thousands of interconnected systems and with a crew of 5000– 6000, it couldbecomparedtoanaverage town––afloat. Compare thiswith a ‘SmartCity’.A SmartCity is anurban development vision to integratemultiple informationandcommunication technol- ogy (ICT) and IoT solutions in asecure fashion to manage acity’s assets––the city’s assets include, but are not limited to, local departments’ information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals,powerplants,water supplynetworks, wastemanagement, law enforcement, and other community services. (Wikipedia) Withasmartcity, thenumberofconnectednodesandendpointscouldrangefrom a million to billions. The smart city will be bigger, more complex than anything before.Connectedcitizensandmanyof thesystems: • Move in the realmof thecityandbeyond • Interact inunpredictableways • Areplaceswherecitizensarenothand-pickedlike themilitary;crooks,spiesand terroristscanusuallycomeandgoas theyplease Unlikeships, smart cities arehighlyvulnerable toattack. Digital systems will have a social impact on all citizens who encounter them. Therearehugeconsequencesas systemsbecomemore integratedwith the fabricof society. Systems already monitor our every move,our buying, browsing and social activities. Bots pushsuggestionsofwhat to buy,where to shop,who to meet, when topaybills tousminutebyminute. Law enforcement is affected too. CCTV monitors traffic, people and asset movement and our behaviours. The goal might be to prevent crime by identifying suspicious behaviour and controlling the movement of law enforcement agents to placesofhighrisk.But thesesystemshavethepotential to infringeourcivil liberties and the legal frameworksarebehindthe technology. Digital affectsall industries. Unlike Agile, which is an ongoing IT initiative, Digital is driven by Business. Agile has taken more than 15 years to get halfway implemented in the software