Software Development Updates

Outsourcing software testing  may not be new to those who have worked in the IT field for some time. However, while numerous businesses are eager to outsource quality assurance abroad, others are still clueless about it. Research indicates that the outsourced software testing industry will expand from 2023 to 2028, with a CAGR of 14.41%. Also a  growth will be seen around USD 30.46 billion for the market size.

Quality assurance is an efficient method for creating software that reliably outperforms expectations. In this post, we’ll look at the cases when outsourcing QA testing services makes sense for businesses, as well as some best practices for doing so.

1. What is QA Outsourcing?

When an enterprise outsources quality assurance services from a software testing company, it sends its software or applications to a dedicated third-party company for analysis.

To keep it simple and practical, the company that built the program/software is not supposed to be engaged in the software testing and QA, and the QA engineers  that were hired to do the job are not supposed to be participating in the building of the product in any way.

To guarantee the program has great performance, accessibility, and safety, QA outsourcing services should be hired as it is an essential element of the software development lifecycle and testers require the necessary expertise. The QA team has to keep up with the most recent tools and standards in the industry.

Outsourcing QA has grown into a necessary service since internal QA teams may be costly in terms of time and resources.

2. When & Why to Outsource Quality Assurance?

While outsourcing software testing is essential, there are situations and reasons where it is absolutely necessary for businesses. Here we will discuss the reasons when and why you should adopt QA outsourcing services for the testing process.

2.1 Time Constraints

Let’s suppose your in-house development team has nearly completed the software development process and is about to enter the testing process. Following your R&D, you feel that launching the software as soon as it’s ready. Unfortunately, your team is missing the necessary knowledge or time to accomplish this goal. Delaying the launch might be an option, but doing so would reduce your return on investment and damage your standing with potential backers.

Hence, software testing is best outsourced under such circumstances. The outsourced dedicated team will have the knowledge and skills to speedily establish the best workflow and deliver outstanding quality testing.

2.2 Require More Staff Members for a Quick Project

In comparison to the update & maintenance teams, the QA team usually holds a more limited capacity. Due to development delays or other factors, the QA window is often cut shorter than ideal, and the company or project at hand may require software outsourcing testing services  to be completed as soon as possible.

Such a situation may call for making the most of available assets to complete thorough testing, or for extra staff to be brought on board. As a result, having the task done by a reputable QA and testing firm is the best alternative.

2.3 Not Enough Expertise Among Internal Team 

No in-house team can possibly know all of it. The manual testing expertise and automated testing tools knowledge  may be put to good use by startups. They understand the strategies, best practices, and testing procedures required to get the best possible results out of the QA process. The QA outsourcing firm provides access to experts test engineers who see to it that the software is released without a hitch.

Let’s say your team of developers has created a fantastic mobile banking app. But they don’t have the resources to test it thoroughly. With QA testing outsourced, you may choose the most qualified company for the task.

2.4 Temporary Project Requirement

Temporary or short-term projects lead to more cost savings. If the project isn’t going to last, there’s no use in hiring a QA staff. 

Let’s suppose your company’s customer relationship management software and customer care platform will soon be integrated thanks to an API your team is developing. So, you anticipate this project to take no more than a few weeks to complete. You need to ensure the program functions properly, but you don’t have in-house QA engineers  at the moment. To guarantee the safety of sensitive corporate and client data, outsourced software testing should be considered. 

3. Benefits Of QA Outsourcing

Expenses can be reduced, development times can be shortened, and access can be gained for professionals with niche skills by outsourcing testing to a third party.

The following are a few of the benefits of QA outsourcing:

3.1 More Focus on Other Important Tasks

Outsourcing quality assurance might let you relax and concentrate on your main business operations. When you outsource quality assurance, you are able to concentrate on what you do best while someone else handles the chores that aren’t important to your organization. Your business could benefit from increased productivity and quality as a result.

3.2 Cost-Efficiency

When compared to staffing up internally, QA outsourcing may save you a lot of money. It is a cost-effective solution to increase quality and efficiency. To increase quality and efficiency without breaking the bank, many companies are turning to QA  outsourcing. This is due to the fact that external service providers possess the necessary knowledge and equipment to do the task successfully and quickly.

3.3 Less Time to Market

Time-to-market (TTM) refers to how long it takes from the moment an idea is conceived until it is available to consumers. The amount of flaws and errors that need fixing can be minimized with the assistance of a skilled QA team.

3.4 QA Resources Enhancement

When it comes to finding, interviewing, and integrating foreign QA engineers, QA outsourcing firms have years of experience under their belts. As a result, you won’t have to go through countless job applications and online profiles in search of the ideal QA professional.

Send a note to your preferred QA outsourcing firm outlining the type of QA team you need and the types of tasks you’d like them to analyze and test. In a couple of days, if not hours, the QA outsourcing company will have a shortlist of qualified applicants ready to meet with you for interviews.

3.5 Maintain Product Quality

Outsourcing quality assurance is crucial because it raises the bar for the performance of the product. When it comes to product testing and problem identification, third-party partners offer new viewpoints.

3.6 Enhanced Customer Experience

As QA testers will find and remove all product flaws prior to going open to everyone, outsourcing software testing staff would help enhance customer experience. Customers may rest certain that they will receive only top-notch services because of this.

3.7 Rapid Growth of Businesses

If you want to grow your company fast and efficiently, QA is the way to go. Your business can grow at a rapid pace when you outsource quality assurance. For one thing, it’s not uncommon for third-party contractors to have all the tools and knowledge you need to grow your business fast and efficiently.

3.8 An Objective View on the Project

When you outsource quality assurance to a third party, they will review your products and services with an objective eye, unlike employees working in-house. Also, unlike in-office recruits, they are less likely to become embroiled in office politics, therefore they are better able to remain neutral.

3.9 Make Expertise Available

Your company might have access to qualified specialists in the sector through QA outsourcing. When you work with an outsourced QA team, you have access to experts with product-specific expertise and industry experience. 

You may let them handle quality assurance in its entirety while you attend to other pressing matters. You can rest certain that your product will be up to par with industry standards and delivered on time.

3.10 Ensure Minimum Risks

The capacity to reduce risk is an essential part of any QA outsourcing strategy. Decrease the amount of development-related errors by assembling a trustworthy team that is well-versed in your product.

4. Software Testing Outsourcing Models

Companies need to implement efficient software testing methods as they prioritize rapid quality, cost management, and time to market.

So, although QA  outsourcing has grown in popularity and reached its full potential, it’s crucial to grasp the inner workings of outsourcing in the IT sector. These days, businesses may choose from a number of different QA outsourcing methods.

To begin with first, in software testing, there are two main services:

• Traditional Testing Services
• Specialist Testing Services

4.1 Traditional Testing Services (TTS)

Under the Traditional Testing Services (TTS) paradigm, a dedicated in-house QA group inspects each product release for bugs and notifies the development team of their discovery. From there, the development team addresses those issues. When all the problems have been resolved, the testing process starts over.

When it comes to complicated applications specifically, TTS is frequently sluggish, ineffective, and hard to scale. Specialist Testing Services (STS) is one alternative quality assurance offshore model that a growing number of tech companies are choosing.

4.2 Specialist Testing Services (STS)

Hiring QA testing from third-party expert testing vendors is what STS, which is also called Independent Software Testing Services. Unlike many broader QA personnel, these independent test specialist vendors have extensive knowledge in a wide range of subjects, including:

• Enterprise fraud
• Future operations
• Artificial intelligence
• Data warehousing
• System security

You can recruit STS in one of three ways:

• Objectivity in Evaluation

Freelance testers, or independent testers, are self-employed individuals who are paid for the job or task. Their optimal duration is less than six months, making them ideal for shorter tasks and initiatives.

• Testing Organizations

Businesses that offer testing services are known as testing organizations. The testing companies’ quality assurance staff has already passed a battery of tests designed to measure their intelligence, work history, and command of the English language. Accordingly, you will spare yourself the trouble of vetting prospective employees’ portfolios, LinkedIn profiles, and resumes.

• Crowd Testing

An innovative method of quality assurance, crowd testing makes use of a huge group of testers located all over the globe, making them accessible at all times. This QA outsourcing model is the most likely to assist you in finding and fixing bugs, thanks to the large number of individuals testing your services in different conditions and markets.

When compared to more conventional methods of outsourcing, crowdsourced testing offers significant scalability advantages. On the other hand, you’ll have to take care of all the HR-related details on your own, like hiring and managing staff, because you’re selecting testers manually.

5. Best Practices for QA Outsourcing

Choose the right provider: Indeed, choosing the correct provider should be your first and essential concern. The benefits of selecting the right QA outsourcing company are already covered thoroughly above.

Sign a comprehensive SLA: QA outsourcing partnerships rely heavily on Service Level Agreements. Each stage of testing has its own set of standards, restrictions, and deadlines outlined in the SLA. It protects them both by providing a binding legal precedent for their future dealings.

Cooperation Among the in-house and outsourced team: The internal QA team and the outside testing team need to work together more effectively and have a shared knowledge of the project goals if they want to move things along more quickly and easily. The proper person in the company should be reachable. Poor comprehension of the product specifications, unclear bug complaints, untimely improvements to the test plan, and failed delivery deadlines can all stem from a lack of appropriate collaboration and interaction between the two sides.

Dedicated focus during testing: The quality assurance duties should be the sole emphasis of the outsourced team. They can put bias into testing if you let them handle development duties. To execute the QA process successfully, test engineers must know types of testing like performance testing, integration testing, manual testing, automated testing, mobile testing, security testing, compatibility testing, exploratory testing, extensive testing, functional testing, API testing, and testing methodologies and also should have knowledge about test automation tools, test cases, test scenarios, test management, test documentation, all the testing phase, testing strategy and many more. 

Regular reviewing: To achieve your QA goals, it is helpful to examine your QA outsourcing partner on a regular basis. Before making any changes to your present company structure with the provider, you should assess the organization’s existing status, examine the testing records, detect any hidden activities, and determine the cost drivers.

6. Conclusion

This article explains all you need to understand about QA  outsourcing. We covered the upsides of outsourcing, different models for software testing outsourcing, things to think about before outsourcing, and some helpful hints for outsourcing quality assurance.

Now that software testing services can be outsourced and offer so many advantages, companies are increasingly realizing the need, which is leading them to outsource software testing.