The journey to responsible AI usage is ongoing and there is more work to be done, especially in areas of high-risk AI usage. KJR provided feedback on the federal government’s proposal to introduce mandatory guardrails for high-risk AI.
There is no shortage of both hype and fear mongering about the impact of generative AI on the ways we work, especially within the world of software engineering. However as we approach 2nd anniversary of ChatGPT’s launch, it’s worth examining whether we’re starting to work out exactly what practical benefits are being delivered, and whether there are new risks and issues that we need to contend with.
Feral animals pose a significant threat to ecosystems, agriculture, and native wildlife. KJR’s cutting-edge approach to feral animal management uses drone technology and AI to conduct comprehensive and efficient surveys, surpassing traditional methods.
In recent years, KJR has built a strong partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People through many innovative projects. Recently, we have seized the opportunity to enhance the STEM education of the younger generation by partnering with the Radiant Life College.
Businesses are increasingly relying on AI and ML technologies to drive innovation, enhance operational efficiency, and gain a competitive edge. However, the deployment of AI systems is fraught with challenges and risks that can undermine their reliability and trustworthiness. This is where AI assurance comes into play.
Discover how KJR’s partnership with MOB Academy is enriching education through innovative and cutting-edge technology.
KJR leverages drone technology to enhance and preserve Indigenous rock art and landscapes, blending innovation with cultural preservation for impactful solutions.
KJR was at the 2024 TechDiversity Awards in Melbourne to represent the Indigenous Australian Datathon. Presented by TechDiversity, the awards recognize outstanding achievements in social impact, accessibility, and inclusivity within technology workforces.
KJR champions sustainability, inclusion, and diversity, partnering with organisations to address social and environmental issues.
Dive into how KJR revolutionizes OTT testing in media & entertainment with cutting-edge automated tools for superior data quality assurance.
5 Top Data Quality Assurance Challenges Facing Defence IT Data quality assurance is incredibly important for ensuring the efficiency, reliability, and effectiveness of defence IT operations. Having inaccurate or poor-quality data could negatively impact military operations and decision-making. Split second decisions in military operations can result in life or death. Hence, having accurate and reliable data is extremely important. Without proper data management, databases can quickly become redundant. So here are five common challenges that the defence industry is currently facing with the quality and maintenance of their data. Data Quality Assurance Challenges Faced in Defence IT Data Silos Quite simply, a data silo is a large conglomerate of data held by a single group or party that isn’t easily accessible to others in the same organisation. These siloes are typically created unintentionally, they tend to naturally appear as an organisation grows. They can quickly become problematic as they grow in size because the data can not be properly utilised. Defence organisations heavily rely on accurate high-quality data when making informed decisions about potential threats. When data and information are not accessible, strategies and decisions aren’t able to be made with all the available data resulting in potentially flawed decision-making. This puts the military organisation at a significant disadvantage when making vital decisions. Inconsistent Data Formats Data inconsistency is when the same data exists in separate locations but is stored in different formats. This causes the data to become unreliable and difficult to properly decipher. This occurs when an organisation is broken into multiple parts, with individuals in each department who treat and interpret data in different ways. So, it is necessary to classify the data and to do so, one must utilise different tools and models. For example, to develop the ‘Natural language Processing classification’ model, KJR used the AWS technology stack within one of their phases. However, exchanging data seamlessly, efficiently, and effectively becomes very difficult without data consistency. In order to combat these challenges, defence organisations should implement standardised practices on how different data should be formatted. This way data can be consistent across all databases. Data Duplication Data duplication happens when a piece of data has a copy made of it, creating two pieces of the same data. This creates a database filled with redundant data that can be utilised by the organisation. Duplicate data will take up large amounts of storage space available in a database, this ends up costing you more money and will give you redundant data. Data duplication can occur as a result of user input error, where an individual may mistakenly enter a data entry more than once, it may also occur from data backups. Without a proper response or plan to combat data duplication, defence organisations may experience large portions of redundant and inaccurate information available to personnel. Data deduplication is a common method of removing duplicate content by eliminating copies of the data, helping to clear storage space within the database. Using this method, KJR is able to fix large defence databases filled with duplicate data. Inaccurate Data The accuracy of data is highly important, without real reliable data it can be difficult to make informed decisions about defence operations. Without standardising data practices and entry, it can be very easy for data to become inaccurate and unreliable. In a defence force environment, inaccurate data could alter major decisions regarding their hardware and backup, having big consequences. This is why it’s vital to keep your data as accurate as possible through good data management. Outdated Data Over time data can begin to rot or become outdated, meaning it’s no longer relevant, reliable, and is now redundant. This is typically caused by poor data management, data hoarding, or a change in data standards. Data requires constant maintenance and regulation to ensure it remains relevant and up to date. Outdated data can result in wrongful decision-making and significantly impact defence IT systems and security. KJR fixes this by setting up policies and standardisations of data entry, as well as using methods to remove redundant data. Key Takeaways Poor data management without proper data quality practices can lead to redundant data, potentially negatively impacting combat operations, logistics, system development, and most importantly people’s lives. If you are looking to ensure your data is high-quality, relevant, and reliable then contact KJR today to discuss how we can help you. For 25 years we have been leading in software quality assurance and risk management for defence IT.
The Role of Automation in Software Quality Assurance for Government Processes Automation tests for software quality assurance have increasingly become more common to deliver strong products. Particularly for governments always under pressure to perform efficiently and serve better. They must always stay on top of their game by being strategic in their approach, embracing new technologies when needed and acting and reacting at scale. Benefits of Automation Software Testing vs Manual Testing for Governments The automation testing market expects to grow by USD 52.7 billion by 2027, having a CAGR of 16.4% during the time period. With private sectors already incorporating automation within their tasks, the public sector must follow suit. Governments need automated tests to perform the same steps precisely every time and record the details to get consistent data. Compared with manual testing, automated tests can handle complex features more efficiently. On the other hand, manual testing not only enables personnel to assess software by functionality, but also the overall user experience of using it. It’s difficult to replicate this with automated software testing. Some test scenarios may be too complex or difficult to efficiently automate, making it a lot more realistic to conduct manual tests instead. Keep Up with Updated Malware In the digital technology era, malware and cyberattacks constantly threaten federal agencies. Even minor software updates can leave them exposed, putting extra burden on the developers to find and minimise these risks as they release new software. Through software automation testing, developers can detect errors while the code is being written, and identify the bugs and problems before the software has even been deployed. Reducing Time and Cost Governments need to streamline the process by testing the processes most at risk. Automated test management reduces the disruption time and delivers higher-quality software releases at a faster rate. For example, using impact analysis AI during testing can reveal the estimated effect on schedule, effort, and risk a change can make in a specific application or feature. So, smart impact analysis can result in a 100% risk reduction rate and in cutting the average test scope for release by 85%. Automation Software Testing to Mitigate Employee Churn Public sectors often have high employee turnover rates, due to transfers or having contracted employees. As the new IT employees arrive, releases tend to get delayed as employees must catch up on all the information and ensure they are trained enough to understand and comply with the regulatory standards. So, it is important to incorporate continuous software quality and assurance testing so as to not be affected by employee churn. If you would like to learn more about the successful implementation of software quality and assurance testing, you may refer to our case study on Government utilities. In this study we display how we assisted in uplifting the organisation’s capability in the automation and test spaces. Software Automation Testing Can Eliminate the Human Factor Even the best engineers make mistakes during manual testing, especially because it can get tedious after some time. However, even the smallest mistake can have the biggest impact on government agencies. Using automated test environment management can result in close to 100% accuracy, giving your engineers more time to focus on other more important tasks. Opportunities for Automation in Software Quality Assurance in Governments In recent years, governments around the world have adopted several automation tools to better their civil services. Some of the areas where federal agencies can integrate automation are: Finance Governments have been using multiple software to disperse cash, manage financial processes, conduct budgeting, financial planning and analysis, etc. 80% of these processes have possibilities of automation within federal agencies. Jumping on this idea, in America the FBI is planning to roll out a software bot to pay invoices and update budget lines for both customers and vendors. The implementation of this bot means it will be possible to begin streamlining the entire process, making it significantly more efficient by eliminating the need for manual data entry. This also will help in preventing human error or mistakes commonly made during data entry. Human Resources (HR) With the federal government’s workforce comprising several million employees, most of the administration tasks can be automatable. Quality software can also handle payroll administration, record keeping, recruitment and other in-house activities. Currently, the trend of the digital workforce and Industry 5.0 is set to change the dynamics of the Australian working environment. Electoral System According to the German Constitutional Court, using automation in the electoral process can examine the results reliably without the bias of any specialist’s knowledge. This results in transparency. More and more government organisations are integrating automation frameworks within Electoral Management Systems to set up complex workflows, such as the sign-up process for ballot records to save time and resources. Applications and Processing There are endless applications needing to be processed within governments, ranging from payments and services to social welfare, to visas and tax returns. Software automation testing can help build reliable tools to read and write data, check for consistency and completion, solve quick problems, and even send and interpret emails. Within the US, roughly 30 states are using software to authenticate mobile driver’s licenses. Governments can use it to analyse public sentiments, create data entries with boosted security, and can even generate reports. Automated Test Management Systems are Not Without their Problems As governments increase automated-decision making systems (ADS) within their work, there have been growing concerns about its negative implementations. After all, there have been many cases of families being bankrupted after being falsely accused of benefit fraud. There are also possibilities of ADS reflecting system issues of injustice and inequality, such as discrimination, infringing rights, sorting people into groups, wrongly limiting access to services, etc. Begin Your Automation Testing for Software Quality Assurance While automation has its fallacies, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Governments need to embrace new technologies and look to incorporate automation testing for software quality assurance to deliver the best results for civil-facing tasks. KJR, experts in
