What is the Right Approach to QA Outsourcing?

The effectiveness and usability of a software’s User Interface and Application Programming Interface, including desktop and mobile apps, are important to its success. Software must be secure and functional in a wide range of circumstances, which needs extensive testing. To achieve this, you have two options: test in-house or outsource testing to a third party.

Outsourcing occurs when work is delegated to an external vendor/company rather than being completed by the internal core team. Many businesses opt to outsource their QA or software testing.

In order to execute software projects on schedule and with the fewest errors possible, managers must decide whether to outsource software testing, deploy an in-house team, crowdsource, or avoid having testers completely. Outsourcing software testing has a number of advantages, including time savings in HR, training, and tool and equipment expenses. On the other hand, finding the correct outsourcing partner might be difficult. There are several factors that influence the desire for outsourcing, and some considerations should be made before selecting an outsourced partner.

Why is QA Outsourcing Gaining Prominence?

Almost every organization struggles to focus on its core functions or high-priority tasks due to limited time and resources. Outsourcing software testing allows such firms to prioritize workload and drive innovative solutions.

Additionally, it provides the hiring firm to leverage the talents of the testing service provider to ensure the best product quality and positive business outcomes. Regardless of the magnitude of the project or the frequency of your testing requirements, outsourcing software testing to QA professionals saves you time and money. Some convincing reasons to outsource software testing are as follows:

Less Burden Upon in-house Testers

By assigning time-consuming and repetitive testing tasks to an outside software testing firm, the in-house testing team can freely shift their complete focus on acquiring new and complex projects or core business functions.

Faster Delivery

Professional QA testing vendors are well-equipped with the latest and robust technical test resources and have defined testing platforms/infrastructure for each testing requirement. Allowing them to deliver the finished product faster.

Budget-Friendly

One of the primary advantages of QA outsourcing is cost savings. It assists you in saving money on a variety of parameters, including testing costs, pricey infrastructure setups, and testing tool overhead.

Greater Testing Efficiency

Expert software testing vendors do testing using a professionally approved and systematic strategy based on worldwide best practices. They also ensure that the greatest procedures, completely compliant processes, and cutting-edge instruments are used to provide top-grade testing efficiency.

Independent QA Approach

External testing service providers typically lack knowledge of modifications that occurred during the software development process. This ensures that you receive unbiased quality assurance and testing.

Best Practices to Consider while Outsourcing

Prioritizing Communication on Both Sides

While outsourcing the software testing work to the third-party vendor, it’s important to recall that some part of your working hours will still be spent on answering emails and assisting with problem resolution.

Communication continues to be a critical facilitator in determining the success of any software testing partner. What is vital here, though, is to communicate with a goal rather than simply inundating the customer with the meaningless information.

Outsourced suppliers must ensure that only the appropriate information and analysis are delivered to the appropriate individual within the organization with whom you are working.

Establish Goals & Strategies at the Beginning

Having a well-developed plan is always beneficial for each type of project. A solid testing strategy, process, etc. helps to mitigate uncertain future risks and avoid conflict of different opinions within the group.

Ascertain that all parties are familiar with the plan. Provide testers with all of the information they require to begin testing, including the required standards. It’s also critical to establish expectations early on so that testers know what to aspire for.

Build a Bridge of Trust

For a successful outsourcing project, having mutual trust between both parties is crucial. The term trust here represents their belief in the fact that everyone is on the same page, shares the same objectives, can count on each other, and are capable of connecting without any barriers.

Follow these tips for building a strong bond of trust with the outsourced tester team:

Appreciate them as Individuals – To build trust, showing empathy for them and understanding them as an individual is one method to gain their trust. Inquire about their well-being and get to know them beyond where they live and what they do. Have regular video chats to get to know each other better than you could over the phone. Simply seeing each other’s faces humanizes the interaction. They will appreciate your regard for them as persons first and testers second.
Being Genuine – Don’t make up an excuse for why you’re upset with a particular outcome just to save their feelings. Give them constructive feedback so that they can believe you when you are pleased with their effort.
Understand their Needs – Listening to the outsourced team’s concerns makes them feel included and heard. This will increase reliability and trust between partners and will be more likely to build a long-term business relationship.

Points to Remember Before Choosing the Right Partner

Before initiating a contract with your software testing service provider, it’s essential to decide and get clarity on your requirements and expectations from this outsourcing. As you evaluate different companies, keep all of the possibilities described below in mind.

Identify the Type of Engagement your Business Wants

An organization’s requirement for software testing will ultimately determine the duration and level of involvement with a software testing provider. Whether the engagement will be brief, such as one-time projects, or as a complete outsourced staff for a suitable firm.

Make sure to have clarity on the following:

The engagement model your firm needs; managed testing or staff augmentation
Types of testing services required; whether consulting or test execution
The duration of involvement with a third-party vendor (Short or Long)

What do you want in a Software Testing Provider?

Once the engagement and relationship status with the outsourcing party is clarified, it’s time to evaluate some of the qualities of such testing service providers.

The capacity of the firm – If the primary focus is on specific QA needs then small-to-medium-sized testing companies can be advantageous. They will have a high level of competence since they commit a big percentage of their resources to deepen their testing knowledge over all else. Because of their scale, high-level executives are nevertheless heavily involved in client projects including day operations.
Demography – While setting up with an offshore and nearshore company, ask yourself these questions: Do we have any preferred city? Do we need the same time zone? These questions carry their own price benefits and quality.
Communication skills – Is it crucial to you that the testers understand and speak your language? Having the same language creates a comfortable work environment. Helps in engagement and real-time communication and reduces communication lag.
Rates – Hourly rates charged by service vendors greatly influence the outsourcing decisions. Factors like location, and the level of skill required for the job highly affect the rates. Of course, if you want a specialist in their field of testing, they will charge more than a junior or manual tester.

ImpactQA is a pure-play QA & software testing firm that offers expert consultation and testing services in a variety of disciplines via an experienced team of testers and cutting-edge tools. Contact us right away!