Novel methodologies for software quality assurance in mission-critical financial processing systems

Posted: Feb 19, 2023

• Ava Taylor
• Avery Nguyen
• Charlotte Jones

Abstract

The exponential growth in financial transaction volumes, coupled with increasing regulatory complexity and cybersecurity threats, has exposed critical vulnerabilities in conventional software quality assurance approaches for mission-critical financial systems. Traditional testing methodologies, developed during an era of simpler financial products and slower transaction speeds, now face fundamental limitations when applied to modern high-frequency trading platforms, real-time settlement systems, and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The catastrophic consequences of software failures in these environments—from the 2010 Flash Crash to more recent cryptocurrency exchange collapses—underscore the urgent need for transformative QA approaches that can anticipate, detect, and prevent failures before they propagate through global financial networks. This research addresses the fundamental mismatch between traditional software testing paradigms and the dynamic, interconnected nature of contemporary financial systems. Our work introduces a comprehensive reimagining of financial software quality assurance through three synergistic innovations, including a quantum-inspired testing framework that fundamentally reconceptualizes test case generation and execution.