Want to improve the quality of your software without investing too much money or growing your team? Outsourcing your quality assurance may be the solution you need.
This calculated strategy not only reduces costs but also provides access to state-of-the-art testing tools and a worldwide pool of highly qualified testers.
In this blog post, you will see the benefits and potential drawbacks of QA outsourcing before deciding whether it is a viable investment for your firm.
What is QA Outsourcing?
Unlike traditional testing services, outsourcing Quality Assurance (QA) entails assigning software testing and quality control responsibilities to specialized external companies. These companies provide a range of specialized testing services, such as load testing, performance testing, big data testing, usability testing, and manual testing.
Companies outsource QA testing services to a professional QA expert team to lower operational expenses and scale testing efforts on demand. It can boost product quality, reduce time-to-market, and enhance your business’s competitive edge.
Following are the six steps of QA outsourcing.
Define the software requirements: Outline the precise features, performance requirements, and user expectations your software must meet.
Planning and preparing the test: Create a strategy and framework for conducting testing, including schedules, resources, and tools required.
Making cases for both automated and manual testing: Create thorough test cases to evaluate the software’s functionality with manual and automated.
Test execution and bug reporting: Execute tests to detect any software flaws or problems, then record your findings so the development team can fix them.
Regression testing: Test the program again after updates or modifications to ensure that the original functionality is still operational and that no new bugs have slipped in.
Release testing: Before making the program publicly available, ensure it satisfies all requirements for quality and is ready for user deployment.
QA Outsourcing Models
Location-Based Outsourcing
Following are the three outsourcing types based on geographical locations.
Nearshore QA outsourcing: Assign QA work to a company in a neighboring country to take advantage of reduced travel times, cultural alignment, and suitable time zones with the US. When compared to onshore outsourcing, this method gives more cost reductions.
Onshore QA outsourcing: This approach entails hiring a software testing company from the same country. Although it is more expensive than nearshoring and offshore, it guarantees the optimum alignment of cultures and time zones.
Offshore QA outsourcing: Hiring QA personnel in a distant country (such as India or China). While you may save money, you may also encounter substantial language and communication limitations.
Based on the Project’s Scope
You can entrust a part of your QA testing services or the complete process to an external vendor.
Full QA Outsourcing: This model entails contracting all quality assurance tasks, including testing service design and execution, bug tracking, and reporting. With this approach, the business can concentrate on core development while professionals manage the entire QA process.
Partial QA Outsourcing: With partial QA outsourcing, you may get specialized expertise while supporting your in-house team by handing specific QA duties, such as usability testing, security, or performance testing, to an outside software testing business.
Three options exist for hiring quality assurance testers: crowdsourced testing (using a global pool for extensive insights but requires HR management), independent testing (involving freelance testers for short-term projects), and testing organizations (providing pre-vetted professionals for both short- and long-term projects).
Benefits of QA Outsourcing
Cost-Effective
Outsourcing QA services eliminates the need to invest in and maintain internal infrastructure, such as office space, testing servers, and specialized tools. It also lowers the overhead costs of hiring a full-time QA staff, which include pay, benefits, and training.
Shorter Time-to-Market
Outsourcing quality assurance eliminates the need to establish internal infrastructure. This dramatically accelerates defect identification and resolution, ensuring your product fulfills quality standards quickly.
Furthermore, by working side by side with your internal development team, external QA teams can expedite the release cycle by finishing the development and testing stages at the same time.
Also, due to time zone differences around the globe, outsourcing can offer round-the-clock testing capabilities, expediting the time to market for your product.
Access to Cutting-Edge Technology and Advanced Expertise
By outsourcing quality assurance, businesses can access experts in the most recent testing techniques and quality standards, which may not be easily accessible while performing traditional testing services internally.
Also, these outside teams frequently employ cutting-edge testing tools, providing a degree of accuracy and effectiveness that you might not be able to obtain internally.
More Compliance with Industry Regulations and Security
Outsourced QA partners will stay updated on the newest compliance and security testing requirements, guaranteeing that your software not only meets but exceeds industry protocols such as BASEL III and HIPAA. It increases consumer trust while protecting critical data.
Their ability to quickly react to regulatory changes keeps your product compliant, which is critical in ever-changing industries such as banking and healthcare.
Flexibility and Scalability
Outsourcing quality assurance allows you to scale testing efforts up or down depending on project needs and market expectations without the cost of employing or training new employees.
Consider a tech business. As the launch draws near, the company’s complexity rises, and more specialized testing services, such as functional testing, are required. Initially, the startup would require little in the way of QA testing or software testing services. That eliminates the need for a permanent, sizable QA workforce and guarantees comprehensive testing when it matters most.
Access to the Global Market
You can utilize local experience by contracting with companies in your target market to provide QA testing services, such as accessibility and exploratory testing. This guarantees that your product is customized to satisfy the unique needs of people in the area.
Risks of QA Outsourcing
Here are a few potential difficulties you may encounter while outsourcing QA tasks:
Less Control Over the QA Processes
If you outsource QA, you may have less control over the testing processes, which could lead to discrepancies between the company’s expectations and the testing done by external teams. Because of this, it could be difficult for businesses to implement changes or enforce particular QA requirements quickly.
Security concerns
Outsourcing quality assurance services means sharing sensitive information with an external team. It increases the possibility of data breaches and noncompliance with stringent data protection laws, particularly if the company has inadequate security measures.
Miscommunication
When outsourcing to teams in other countries, particularly in offshore models, you may encounter severe language problems. This may result in costly mistakes, project delays, and a product that does not adhere to rules and specifications.
Hidden Costs
Hidden costs in QA outsourcing services can arise from numerous sources, including miscommunication, additional testing rounds not covered by the initial contract, fees for employing specialized tools or testing environments, and unexpected project delays.
Partner With the Best QA Outsourcing Firm, Hashe
At Hashe, we prioritize quality assurance by carefully testing software at each development stage, guaranteeing error-free products before market release.
This method increases the productivity and effectiveness of your software projects while ensuring that the end products meet your specifications and expectations.
We provide skilled QA engineers with specific training, QA test automation engineers, and Software Development Engineers in Test (SDNT) to help accomplish that goal. Our QA testing services include automated testing, API testing, mobile testing, QA consultancy, and managed testing services.
Get in touch with us today!
