Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Computer and Mathematical Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 15-1253.00
Develop and execute software tests to identify software problems and their causes. Test system modifications to prepare for implementation. Document software and application defects using a bug tracking system and report defects to software or web developers. Create and maintain databases of known defects. May participate in software design reviews to provide input on functional requirements, operational characteristics, product designs, and schedules.
AI exposure
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Very high· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.519
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.49–0.55· 3 ISCO-08 groups
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
ILO value for each linked ISCO-08 group
- ISCO-08 2512Software Developers0.53
- ISCO-08 2519Software and Applications Developers and Analysts Not Elsewhere Classified0.55
- ISCO-08 2529Database and Network Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified0.49
AI exposure (OpenAI rubric)
30 rated tasks · 28 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (93.3%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
Tasks
Task statements from the O*NET® 31.0 Database, core tasks first.
| Task | Type | β (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Design test plans, scenarios, scripts, or procedures. | Core | 1 |
| Test system modifications to prepare for implementation. | Core | 1 |
| Develop testing programs that address areas such as database impacts, software scenarios, regression testing, negative testing, error or bug retests, or usability. | Core | 1 |
| Document software defects, using a bug tracking system, and report defects to software developers. | Core | 1 |
| Identify, analyze, and document problems with program function, output, online screen, or content. | Core | 1 |
| Monitor bug resolution efforts and track successes. | Core | 1 |
| Create or maintain databases of known test defects. | Core | 1 |
| Plan test schedules or strategies in accordance with project scope or delivery dates. | Core | 1 |
| Participate in product design reviews to provide input on functional requirements, product designs, schedules, or potential problems. | Core | 0.5 |
| Review software documentation to ensure technical accuracy, compliance, or completeness, or to mitigate risks. | Core | 1 |
| Document test procedures to ensure replicability and compliance with standards. | Core | 1 |
| Develop or specify standards, methods, or procedures to determine product quality or release readiness. | Core | 1 |
| Update automated test scripts to ensure currency. | Core | 1 |
| Investigate customer problems referred by technical support. | Core | 0.5 |
| Install, maintain, or use software testing programs. | Core | 1 |
| Provide feedback and recommendations to developers on software usability and functionality. | Core | 1 |
| Monitor program performance to ensure efficient and problem-free operations. | Core | 1 |
| Conduct software compatibility tests with programs, hardware, operating systems, or network environments. | Core | 1 |
| Install and configure recreations of software production environments to allow testing of software performance. | Core | 1 |
| Collaborate with field staff or customers to evaluate or diagnose problems and recommend possible solutions. | Core | 0.5 |
| Identify program deviance from standards, and suggest modifications to ensure compliance. | Core | 1 |
| Design or develop automated testing tools. | Core | 1 |
| Coordinate user or third-party testing. | Core | 0.5 |
| Perform initial debugging procedures by reviewing configuration files, logs, or code pieces to determine breakdown source. | Core | 1 |
| Visit beta testing sites to evaluate software performance. | Core | 0 |
| Evaluate or recommend software for testing or bug tracking. | Core | 1 |
| Conduct historical analyses of test results. | Core | 1 |
| Modify existing software to correct errors, allow it to adapt to new hardware, or to improve its performance. | — | 1 |
| Recommend purchase of equipment to control dust, temperature, or humidity in area of system installation. | — | 0 |
| Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements. | — | 1 |
Occupation information
Sources and attribution
This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database (https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html) by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. AI Changing Work has modified all or some of this information: the O*NET-SOC code, title and task statements are reproduced in English without change; task-type labels are shown in the page's language and tasks are listed core first; any Korean occupation title shown on the Korean-language page is AI Changing Work's translation; any KSCO-8 unit groups linked to this occupation were paired with it by AI Changing Work's judgment, and the relation labels and statuses are AI Changing Work's additions. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Any AI exposure figures on this page are published by third parties, not by AI Changing Work, and none is part of the O*NET information. OpenAI publishes task-level scores (MIT License) for O*NET 27.2 task statements; each is shown next to the O*NET 31.0 task statement with the same task ID, whose wording can differ from the 27.2 statement that was scored. OpenAI also publishes occupation-level scores for O*NET-SOC codes in the same release, and any such score is shown on the O*NET occupation with the same code. Anthropic publishes an observed exposure index in the Anthropic Economic Index (CC-BY), and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes relative AI exposure categories (public domain); both are published per SOC code, and each value is shown on every O*NET occupation with that code. The International Labour Organization publishes a generative AI exposure index in ILO Working Paper 140 (CC BY 4.0) for ISCO-08 unit groups; AI Changing Work links those groups to O*NET occupations by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC and 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC crosswalks as published, without case-by-case selection, and these crosswalks match many groups only in part. Where several unit groups are linked, each group's published value is listed, and any summary shows only the lowest and highest of those values with the number of groups; no exposure figure is averaged or recalculated. Any employment figures are published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the SOC group containing this occupation. Each source is credited where its figures are shown.
O*NET OnLine: 15-1253.00 Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
KSCO 코드·명칭: 한국표준직업분류(제8차 개정) — 통계청 고시 제2024-328호 (2024-07-01 고시, 2025-01-01 시행). 저작권법 제7조 제2호의 고시 항목이다. 명칭 표기(가운뎃점·띄어쓰기)는 해설서 2차 정오 반영판의 표기를 따랐으며, 고시 항목표와는 18개 명칭에서 가운뎃점 글리프나 띄어쓰기만 다르다. 통계청은 2025년 10월 국가데이터처로 개편되었다. 이 페이지의 KSCO 연결은 통계청·국가데이터처의 공식 연계표가 아니다.