Is Outsourcing Software Testing Right for Your Organization?
Poor software quality cost US companies $2.08 trillion in 2020. Buggy releases that require a regular stream of patches and upgrades to work properly disappoint users, compromise security and in the case of medical devices put lives at risk. Plus, they pour cold-water on a company’s reputation. That’s why every software application must undergo meticulous testing prior to release.
So the question isn’t whether enterprises need to test their software; the question is whether they need to do it themselves.
The short answer is no.
Top 4 Benefits of Outsourcing Software QA
Outsourcing QA to an expert software assurance team can be a prudent, cost-effective business decision in terms of accelerated time to market, enhanced flexibility and greater objectivity, which we’ve outlined below. Plus, external QA teams don’t need access to source code to create testing scripts, search for bugs or complete other testing tasks. That means your code can remain confidential.
1. Save time and money
If you don’t already have a software testing team in place, outsourcing saves you the (high) costs and (significant) effort it takes to ramp up quickly – interviewing, hiring and training a new team. It also ensures you’ll have access to any specialized expertise that might be needed.
Sure, creating your own team might be appropriate if you don’t have an immediate need and already know you’ll have a steady stream of QA work in the long-term. But putting one together for a single software release or for a short-duration project doesn’t make sense.
Beyond the costs of human capital, QA outsourcing also saves you from spending resources on any equipment that might be needed to test your software while also providing access to the most up-to-the-minute QA technologies and processes.
2. Turn on a dime
Outsourcing testing means you have access to an entire software assurance team, providing the flexibility to quickly adjust to accelerated deadlines or last-minute staffing conflicts. And you can easily respond to changing resource needs throughout the software development lifecycle. You can feel confident that whatever the challenge, you’ll have access to top-notch testers on your schedule.
3. Gain a fresh perspective
You have a solid team of developers that does great work so you anticipate few errors. So why not use them to review your software prior to release? Here’s why: your developers have spent untold hours coding. As a result, they may not be completely impartial or meticulously observant when reviewing their own work. They may overlook errors or unintentionally introduce bias because they are too close to the code. But objectivity is essential – and that means delegating QA to a different team.
4. Focus on your core business
Delegating software testing to an external team of experts frees your software developers to focus on their primary responsibilities, expediting testing and elevating the productivity of both teams.
If you prefer a more hands-on approach to software assurance without devoting significant internal resources, you can invite the testers to become part of your in-house team for the duration of your project. These professionals will be integrated into your workflow but remain independent – not part of your permanent staff. For many enterprises, this is the sweet spot when organizing testing for a lengthy or highly complex release.
Read more about software testing in our article Meticulous Software Testing Can Save the Lives of Medical Device Users and blog Don't Let Poor Communication Derail Software Testing.
Working on a new release? ICS can accelerate your time to market with the expert automated and manual testing services you need to quickly debug your software, identify areas for improvement and assess potential risks. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to us.