Outsource Quality Assurance? When is the Right Time?
In This Post
There will be a time when you wonder, “When should I outsource quality assurance for my software, websites, or mobile aps?” It’s a great question as there are times when outsourcing QA makes good sense and there are times when it doesn’t. Let’s look at a couple problems where outsourced quality assurance may or may not help you.
Running Late. Is Now the Time for Outsource Quality Assurance?
You’re running late on delivering your project and testing is always the last gate to clear.
You’re responsible for the quality of your software. When there are problems, it’s *your* phone that rings. You have a bunch of new features and several bug fixes that are almost ready for release. You just need to get the new features tested (again) and a full regression test suite run to make sure those old bugs got fixed and that there aren’t any new ones. It’s just you and one tester and the pressure is mounting to get the new software released to your customers.
Do you …
A – do the best you can with what you have?
B – ask for help from your peers?
C – seek help from quality assurance outsourcing?
If you do the best you can with what you have – you and your tester – you’ll make progress but probably can’t make any promises about the actual quality of the release. Everyone will just have to hope for the best and take what they get. Yeah, your phone is probably going to ring …
If you ask for help from your peers – the programmers and folks in marketing – you’ll probably get help. But, will that *help* really help? Yeah, you’ll get some tests run, but it probably won’t be a coordinated and planned strategy for software quality. It will be a bunch of testing and while it’s better than just doing the best you can, you’ll still be left with hope and getting whatever you get. And yeah, your phone’s probably going to ring if you use this approach, too.
I’m Unprepared! What Do I Need to Get Started?
You want help with your outsourced software testing but are worried you’re not prepared enough. Test Cases, Test Plan, Test Datasets, Testing Sandbox – the list can appear to be endless and daunting.
All you really need to get started with TESTCo for your outsourced software testing is a goal and a strong desire to be helped. We WILL need a goal for your project but if you’re not really clear on what it might be, no worries, we’ll be happy to help you set a powerful goal for your testing project.
And, no need to worry about missing test plans, datasets or a sandbox. We come with a full toolbox of everything we could possibly need to successfully complete your project. And Test Cases? No Problem – we’ve got you covered there too. We can help you build everything you need to achieve your goals in this sprint and the next sprints as well.
And, lastly, in some cases, depending on your goal and constraints, you might not need everything you think you need. Many times, project speed is more important than the re-usability of testware so it might not make sense to build a lot of testing assets when you just need the confidence that your project is high quality and you need it Real Fast.
Being prepared is mostly having a clear picture of your goals and constraints for the project. We’ll help you fill in everything you need to achieve your goals within your constraints.
Reaching Out
If you seek help from TESTCo, a long-standing quality assurance outsourcing company, you’ll get a thorough strategy, proposal and plan within a day and we can start working for you in as little as a single day. We’ll run your test strategy and plan and report twice daily so you’ll always know where things stand and exactly how good your software is. Call me anytime to talk about how we can help you! 888-254-9709
More to Come
Over the course of the next month or so I’ll append this post with descriptions of more problems and opportunities to effectively use outsourced quality assurance.
