There are several undeniable benefits of outsourcing QA testing for your software. Some of the obvious reasons, why you should outsource your QA, testing and test automation efforts include lower operational costs and a highly improved product that can be launched faster to the market. However, you must be careful while choosing your software testing outsourcing vendor and should strategically outsource your QA work in order to ensure best results. In this article we will list some important tips for successful QA outsourcing.
Tips for Successful Software Testing Outsourcing
If you are an organization struggling to execute the entire scope of your QA & testing needs, then you should consider software testing outsourcing. This can potentially save your business a whole lot of money since the cost of training expert QA and software test engineers from within the organization can be both time consuming as well as expensive.
QA outsourcing also provides organizations the access to virtually unlimited pool of excellent QA resources and software testing experts. This ability to quickly scale up your software testing team can greatly help especially when you are trying to maintain tight project deadlines. Here are some expert tips on hiring some of the best QA services companies and making the QA outsourcing process a great success:
1. Do Research Before Selecting the Best QA Outsourcing Company
There can be various reasons and different benefits behind your decision to outsource the QA work. But before finalizing a QA services partner, you should come up with a list of different software testing outsourcing vendors before making a final decision. Here are some points to help you during the QA services vendor research:
– Which time zone is the QA vendor located in? Consider the vendor’s time zones since the time differences between their software testing team and yours may affect scheduling.
– Are they able to communicate well in English? Don’t underestimate the challenges that may arise from language barriers. e.g. it is quite normal and possible to find a Indian Software Testing Team that speaks great English but to expect the same level of English from a team from Eastern Europe or from Middle East is going to leave you frustrated.
– What past projects does the QA outsourcing firm has worked that was similar to yours? Do they have a solid list of reviews and testimonials from former clients?
2. Ask for a Comprehensive Contract Agreement with Clear SOW and SLA
Statement of Work (SOW) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) are two must-haves in any contract agreement. SOW defines the list of services that are provided by the QA outsourcing service provider. SLA defines the various metrics for measuring these QA and Software Testing services. They both should be part of the master contract.
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Doing this not only protects and safeguards both the agreeing parties, but it also provides a detailed outline of project specifications and delivery deadlines. This also addresses any other issues that may arise during the outsourcing QA project.
3. Facilitate Smooth Collaboration between Outsourced and In-House Teams
Let’s face it! The most important key ingredient to any successful team is great inter-team collaboration and high morale. Striving to maintain a high level of team morale is essential for successful QA testing. In order to achieve this, treat your outsourced testers and internal testing teams similarly. Both in-house testing team and the outsourced QA team must feel appreciated and respected. This will motivate them to perform at their best and deliver great results. Appreciation for team members can be shown in a variety of ways, including the following:
– Appreciate great work and give proper credit when it’s due.
– Offer appropriate incentives to recognize excellence in their work.
– Make sure the communication channels are always open and is bi-way.
– Support the testing team with latest and up-to-date automation testing tools and training.
4. Keep Your Outsourced Testing Team Focused on QA
If you are hiring an outsourced quality assurance team then it is advised to limit that team just to QA and software testing activities and not other project related work such as coding or programming etc. Inadequate testing is more likely to occur in such case since developers may be more hesitant to identify and disclose their own defects.
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Hence, if a neutral software testing vendor is outsourced for QA testing, their testing processes will more likely follow the required quality assurance protocols. This will ensure quality. When your outsourced QA testers are thorough they will report all defects and faulty functionality etc without any reservations. Thus small issues can be fixed at early stage of the project before they become costly errors.
5. Communicate with Outsourced QA Team Effectively
Since many outsourced software testing teams often work in a different country, the timezone and geographic distance can result in feelings of isolation. You can make your outsourced software testing team feel right at home by offering them with various communication channels to stay connected with the in-house teams. This can be easily achieved via modern communication platforms such as Skype, Slack, Zoom.us, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts or any other similar messaging and video calling tools that operate in real time.
Conclusion
QA testing outsourcing, when done smartly, can be of great benefit to your company. By following the above suggestions when selecting a software testing service provider for QA Outsourcing, you can expect a very successful quality assurance outsourcing experience.
At CredibleSoft, we have years of Industry experience, we use latest tools and technologies and offer highly competitive rates. We also have a solid automation testing framework. So what are you waiting for? Use this form to request an estimation and we’ll prepare and share the same with you free of cost.
