If you are a business owner and looking forward to outsourcing your testing tasks, then you need to have your heads up. In order to avoid some expensive wrong decisions in outsourcing your testing process have a look at the key points discussed in this article. Even when a business leader is sure that he wants to outsource, have a plan and know what tests they want to perform, the process of choosing a partner is difficult because many software testing companies provide similar services. When a business hires offshore testing services, the business leader should be sure about the company’s background.
Following is a checklist that includes the most important things to consider when selecting a strategic testing partner:
Low Rates Do Not Mean the Lowest Total Costs
When it comes to outsourcing the vendors, low rates do not mean that they will provide the lowest total costs. When the details are checked, they offer low prices, but they have some additional costs that are added later. When business-critical systems under test, some organizations are not willing to make their business available for any sort of experiment.
There may be instances where an organization is tempted to select a vendor that is offering virtual testers for what seems like an attractive price, however, using a small team of trained testers is more effective than relying on a large pool of untrained workers.
Industry Experience is Compulsory
Each industry vertical has its own unique business processes, and testers who have never worked in the industry before will only slow down the testing efforts. On the contrary, a team of QA professionals who understand how the business works not only making testing efficient but also can help focus your quality efforts to ensure that the areas with the highest level of business impact get the highest testing priority.
Add Testers or Hire Managed Services?
If an organization needs testers for a short-term project, staff augmentation is usually the best approach to follow. However, if an organization requires ongoing support and the skillset needed is not the core of a business, that is a multi-year managed service can be very effective. The testing partner will have the incentives to perform their work more efficiently, driving process improvement managed by your carefully negotiated service-level agreements.
Does the Testing Partner Have a Technology Framework and Best Practices?
It is important to ask a prospective vendor what unique intellectual property and best practices can be brought to a project. Organizations want a team that has done it before and have years of experience and success in completing their projects into a set of best practices, accelerators, methodologies, etc. These assets will help accelerate the quality efforts and reduce the time to market.
Cultural Compatibility
A good cultural fit is as important as every other criterion. The partner should get to know an organization, the people, and other vendors that work on different projects. They should ascertain whether they can work at your pace, communicate information the way they need it, and be prepared to deal with the level of chaos that exists in the work environment. If they can handle the way they work, it is probably not a good match, no matter how favorable it is in technical terms. In addition, if the organization needs a large managed service, it is also important to have an on-site partner to ensure accountability.
Is It Easy To Do Business With the Partner Easily?
There are different factors that a firm should consider a partner when hiring offshore testing services that include transparency, accurate billing, clear communication, a good understanding of priorities, and the ability to respond quickly to ever-changing needs. These qualities are essential for an outsourced partner.
What Is the Right Mix?
Firms need to make their decision with some necessary precautions in order to steer their testing efforts in the right direction. With offshore testing, firms do not have to pay the additional costs associated with in-house teams at the office. In order to keep up with the pace, it is important to partner with the right testing firms that offer offshore testing services. Being ahead of the competitors is a huge plus point for any prospective service provider. When a firm is outsourcing testing, they want to find a partner that can provide guidance based on what is going on in the industry, share its experience, and propose new ideas and different angles.
IT programmers working with laptop -DepositPhotos