An Overview of Outsourcing Testing Services

Posted by The Byte Guy on January 11th, 2019

Our lives to a great extent are controlled by software such as the applications used in cars, healthcare, medical systems, banks, stock markets, airline reservation systems, software in our mobile phones, etc. Even a slight malfunction can cost lives or result in catastrophic financial losses.

Most of these snags could be traced to the software testing practices being followed, such as:

• Are the testing methods being used effective and robust?
• Are automated tools required?
• Is the testing team well equipped with the required expertise and tools knowledge?
• Does the testing need to be outsourced to a software testing company?

A software development services provider or any company that has in-house development can choose to outsource the testing task to a software testing company. Studies have confirmed that this approach results in improved application quality, on-time delivery and reduced costs.

The benefits of this concept are detailed as follows:

• An organization specialized in testing has in-depth knowledge of the tools and their use. They have the required infrastructure in place. There are different kinds of testing such as performance, security, compatibility, etc. that these specialised teams can handle better since testing is their core competency.

• Some organizations have centres of excellence and labs for testing where they conduct research and development exercises on this discipline.

• These organizations have domain expertise gained through testing similar applications across industries. Therefore, the probability of a rigorous examination of the application is higher.

• The organization has an objective view while testing the application. It will be able to provide a more accurate analysis of the application as per the industry standards.

• Mitigating the risk of software failure.

• It could help in reduced time to market. Since the development team will be totally focused on the development tasks including unit testing, they will have more bandwidth to complete their tasks.

Normally a software testing organization has different engagement models for its clients. Sometimes clients prefer outsourcing the complete testing project, while in other scenarios clients may want a small team to be present in their premises for a specific duration. They would like to manage the work using the expertise and skills of the outsourced team.

Outsourcing a project for testing requires careful selection of a software testing organization that meets the criteria such as:

• Has a strong hold on the industry processes,
• Follows best practices
• Is a cultural fit
• Can work at the same pace as your development team and
• Finally, should be able to add value, bring suggestions and ideas that can help focus on the right area and right technologies.