Software Test Outsourcing

The Costly Learning Curve of Software Test Outsourcing

There are three things you can do to avoid the costly learning curve of software test outsourcing initiatives. Why does a learning curve exist? Software is getting more complex every day.  This makes software testing even harder. The learning curve for any software testing team can be steep and it is even steeper and more costly for software test outsourcing teams.

When the learning curve to begin testing software is steep due to complexity, everybody on the team feels the cost – especially the project manager! Software engineers experience interruptions which degrades their concentration, business analysts get frustrated covering old ground and project managers churn through project timelines and budgets trying to get everything to match up.

You can’t make software less complex and you can’t roll back time (unless you have a time machine that you’re keeping secret from the rest of us!). If you can’t compress the size of the problem or flatten the learning curve then all you’re left with is tools.

Three Key Tools to Shorten the Learning Curve of Software Test Outsourcing

Here are the things we use regularly at TESTCo that have proven effective in reducing the learning curve of software test outsourcing.

  1.  Use a Functional Map – create an index of user stories/scenarios as compared to primary function points in the software where the intersection of a user story and a function point denotes a test case or collection of test cases. This index provide multiple benefits starting from Day 1. Contact Us to see how a Functional Map could help your software testing team.
  2. Build a Value Proposition – when your entire software test outsourcing team understands and is aligned behind BOTH your technical and business goals, your QA team becomes a key strategic lever to move your software project directly towards your business and technical goals every day. Reach Out to Us to learn more about our Value Proposition Process.
  3. Add a QA Manager for your software test outsourcing team. At TESTCo, we believe that managers manage and engineers engineer. Engineers almost always perform at a higher level when they are led and managed by an experienced technical manager. We believe so strongly in the value and benefit of a QA Manager that we provide one, at no additional cost, for every TESTCo client.

If the learning curve of software test outsourcing is holding you back, we’d enjoy the opportunity to share how we’re different and more successful for our clients.

Software Test Outsourcing

Software Test Outsourcing for Small Projects

Most companies need a little help periodically from a software testing company. The requirement for software test outsourcing could exist in a software development company pushing out a new release; in an enterprise with an internal software project at a critical point in development; or in a web app agency rushing to meet a seasonal deadline. One soon discovers that finding a reliable provider able and willing to tackle a small, short-term project is really difficult. Here’s the problem:

A. Most software test outsourcing companies won’t take a small project

B. If they do, the software testing company can’t get started quickly enough to make a difference

Huh? Yeah, in most cases, if your project isn’t at least a couple of people for a couple of weeks (or more), then they aren’t interested in helping you.

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Why Most Software Test Outsourcing Firms Don’t Want Your Small Project

Why? Most outsourced software testing companies have a high overhead with a couple levels of managers. The effort involved to win a sale and deliver the services for a day or two of work just isn’t worth it to them. There’s just not enough profit left over for your project to be worth their time.

When I founded TESTCo in 2002 I purposefully structured the company in a way that enables us to handle on-demand software testing (for small and large projects) as well as the long-term projects where we are the outsourced QA department for the client.
At TESTCo, our minimum software test outsourcing project is 1 Test Engineer for 1 working day.

How can we do that? We keep our overhead very low, and employ the sharpest, most efficient test engineers and QA managers in the business. (That’s right, even small projects are assigned a QA Manager).

If you find yourself needing some help with software testing, no matter how small, give us a call. Here’s a sample of the types of testing we expertly conduct for companies just like yours every day.

Functional Software Testing
Manual Software Testing
Ad hoc Software Testing
Software Test Automation
Software Load Testing
Software Performance Testing
Software Test Planning & Strategy
On Demand Software Testing
Web Application Testing

How TESTCo Can Help with Your Small Software Test Outsourcing Project

Small software projects are different than large ones and need to be approached differently so that as much quality is delivered as quickly as possible. “Just Test It!” won’t quite do it but neither do you need a bunch of quality control and planning overhead.  So, how does TESTCo perform software test outsourcing for small projects and still deliver what you need?

Here’s how

  • We conduct a quick but thorough scoping via a web meeting. No more than 90 minutes.  You show us what you’ve built, tell us the story and your goals (and budget) for the current release.
  • We have our QA Managers work with a Sr Test Engineer to conduct a quick evaluation and let you know the best way to accomplish your quality, release and budget goals. (There’s a whole bunch of details about how we select the best QA methods to give you the most testing coverage but I won’t bore you with that here)
  • If you like our approach and proposal, sign some simple contracts and we can get started the next day.
  • Once we start testing for you, you’ll see at least twice daily status reports so that you are always well informed on where we are in the plan and what we’ve accomplished.
  • We will record any defect we find in your system, and if you don’t have one, we’ll use ours at no additional charge.
  • You’ll see our progress on a daily basis and we can change directions quickly if you need us to quickly retest and defects that you’ve already fixed.
  • Once we’re finished, we’ll ask you to say something nice about us so we can add that to our long and rowing list of testimonials.
  • We are also pretty good at checking back in so you’ll also hear from us approximately monthly to see if you need any more help.

That’s it!  Exactly what you need, delivered within a day or so, with the detail and professionalism that you’d expect from a seasoned software test outsourcing partner!