This article is written to help you pick a software testing company. If you are looking for independent software testing services, in manual or automation field, this article will help you out.
Practically every software development project comprises software testing. Various companies outsource software testing work. Outsourcing implies going for a work agreement or abroad to another company. The trend of outsourcing testing services is prevalent in the IT world.
Things To Consider When Evaluating Independent Software Testing Services
Classify all the actions of the company into initial & subsequent tasks. If software testing falls into the following task section, then, in that case, you should go with outsourcing the testing services.
Following are the reasons why you should outsource:
- Reap cost benefits
- Reduced in-house efforts
- Independent QA
- Access to an efficient & highly proficient team
- Get a team whose primary focus is testing
- Increased application quality
- Quick deliverables/ Boosts up software testing efficiency
- Thoroughly-tested final products
- Aspects To Consider Before Outsourcing Testing Services
- Outsourcing Testing Services
Let’s discuss these aspects one by one:
1) The Engagement Models
This is one of the important steps in outsourcing. You have to understand the business plan and business model, as well as select the geographic area and choose which type of outsourcing you are interested in. You can go with either incremental outsourcing or total outsourcing.
2) Team Location
One of the most significant issues to answer is whether to pick an offshore testing company or a company in the same country?
Offshoring can perform high-quality at a lower cost. However, incurring the work in a different country (i.e. relocation) often possess a more significant risk due to communication barriers, cultural variations, and language difficulty.
3) Service Level Agreement (SLAs)
It is the agreement signed between the service provider and the client that determines the output required from the service provider. Describing SLAs upfront is very crucial to ensure a 100% association of goals between the service provider and the client. SLAs should be related to the action model, KPIs, and the type of testing.
4) Mobilization
In the mobilization phase, the companies come together for outsourcing to take place. The agreement, statement of work, and service level arrangements should be settled and communicated to the preferred service provider. The authentic interests of both vendors & clients should be protected. Moreover, building a productive long-term relationship between the concerned parties is critical.
5) Flexibility & Scalability
Outsourcing contracts demand a degree of flexibility to assure that the timescale variations are met. Flexibility should be determined by considering factors like robustness, modifiability, new capacity, and efficiency.
6) Quality Improvement
One of the main goals of the client is to gain a vital quality improvement through outsourcing. As the contract matures, the means and working techniques should be tried to improve continually. The final target should be an overall increase in the end product.
7) Change Management
There might be frequent demand changes from the client end, which affects the testing cycle, if not handled properly. To overcome the additional cost, time and efforts of managing the requirement changes, service providers should maintain a secure change management system.
8) Intellectual Property Protection
IPR protection is one of the essential aspects to examine while outsourcing testing assistance. One of the most significant hurdles is to protect the businesses’ intellectual property when it is outsourced. The service provider should protect the Personally identifiable data(PII) provided by the client and not to be used for any other meaning apart from the meant business.
9) Communication
Seldom communication barriers between client & service providers create a roadblock in the work to be done. So, it is essential to discover a proper communication channel between the two parties. The list of POCs for each area of action should be exchanged between client & vendor.
10) Security
Protecting data is very significant from a business viewpoint. Outsourcing providers have data security policies & standards. Many service providers get their dedicated team to work in an ODC (Offshore Development Center) where only the team for a particular client project sites.
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