New global survey from nearly 4,000 software development and delivery leaders reveals AI-driven development is outpacing quality and security practices
Sembi, the premier SaaS portfolio for testing and security solutions, released its first-ever Software Quality Pulse Report, a global study examining how organizations are managing software quality, testing, and security in the age of AI. The report is an expanded continuation of TestRail’s previous four Software Testing and Quality Reports, containing insights from the full portfolio of Sembi enterprise quality and security brands.
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Surveying nearly 4,000 QA engineers, security professionals, developers, and engineering leaders, the Software Quality Pulse Report examines key trends across software testing, application security, and the growing convergence between QA and security.
Based on insights from nearly 4,000 QA engineers, security professionals, developers, and engineering leaders, the Software Quality Pulse Report examines key trends across software testing, application security, and the growing convergence between QA and security teams. The findings highlight a fundamental shift in how software is built and a growing gap in how it is validated, secured, and delivered.
“Over the past year, we’ve all seen just how quickly AI is changing the pace of software development,” said Christian Beatty, Vice President at Sembi. “Teams are moving faster than ever, but that speed is putting real pressure on how quality and risk are managed. Our research shows just how difficult it’s becoming to keep testing, security, and delivery aligned.”
Key Trends and Takeaways
- AI is now central to software development and increasing testing demands: Organizations report that 53% of their code is AI-generated or AI-assisted, signaling a major shift in how software is built. As a result, more than one-third of teams say AI-driven development has increased testing demands by 26-50% or more.
- QA and security remain misaligned despite widespread recognition of the problem: Fewer than 35% of respondents report strong alignment between QA and security priorities, yet 68% say improved alignment would be highly valuable, highlighting a disconnect between organizational intent and execution.
- Security concerns are delaying software releases: While speed has historically been the primary pressure point in software delivery, 86% of organizations now report that security issues delay releases at least occasionally, reflecting a growing tension between rapid innovation and risk management.
- Automation progress is slowing without deeper integration: On average, 57% of tests are automated, but only 1.82% of organizations report fully integrated QA tools within their DevOps pipelines, limiting the impact of automation and contributing to fragmented workflows.
- AI adoption is rising, but governance concerns remain: 63% of respondents cite privacy and security concerns as barriers to adopting AI in QA, signaling that trust, auditability, and compliance are now critical factors in scaling AI responsibly.
The Software Quality Pulse Report’s findings point to a clear need for organizations to adopt “integrated quality operations,” where testing, security, and development are unified within an intelligence-driven system. As software systems become more dynamic and AI-driven, organizations can no longer rely on siloed approaches. Instead, they must align QA and security around shared goals, visibility, and accountability to effectively manage quality and risk at scale.
“AI has redefined what ‘quality’ means in software development,” said Judy Bossi, Vice President of Product at Sembi. “Teams are no longer testing for deterministic outcomes, they’re evaluating probabilistic systems. Because of that, you can’t rely on traditional testing approaches. Quality becomes continuous and shared across teams, which requires new strategies, stronger governance, and much closer alignment among QA, engineering, and security.”
Drawing on deep expertise across its portfolio, Sembi brings a unique perspective on how modern teams build, test, and secure software at scale, and how those practices are evolving in response to AI-driven development. The Software Quality Pulse Report reflects both the challenges organizations face today and the direction the industry must take to manage quality and risk in the next phase of software development.
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