Streamlining the software development process with quality assurance outsourcing
Quality assurance outsourcing can provide companies with many strategic advantages, including access to global pools of QA experts, cost savings, and unparalleled flexibility and scalability, allowing for more efficient resource management.
The rapidly maturing quality assurance (QA) outsourcing sector is driven by the growing business need for specialized testing services and strategies. Software testing vendors utilize offshore, nearshore, onshore, and hybrid outsourcing models to improve the efficiency of development teams and cut costs for clients, facilitating a competitive edge.
Read this article to discover ways outsourcing software testing can revolutionize your development process, things to consider when choosing vendors, and the best strategies for effective integration of an external team.
Contemporary quality assurance (QA) outsourcing landscape
Similarly to the broader IT outsourcing market, quality assurance outsourcing is undergoing notable growth, propelled by two key factors - the evolving complexity of modern software and the skills shortage prevalent in information technology.
Evolving customer expectations cause heightened quality requirements that often exceed a typical in-house QA team’s capabilities. As hiring top QA experts to join the internal resources becomes more challenging every year, organizations around the world are more and more willing to work with third-party providers with expertise in quality assurance.
Continuously evolving technologies impact how various IT services, including testing, are delivered, resulting in greater flexibility and accessibility of outsourcing solutions. Today, not only large global enterprises can afford it. QA outsourcing for startups and SMEs is increasingly popular as well.
Vendors who provide testing services and quality assurance outsourcing possess enough internal expertise to improve the overall quality of the client’s testing process from day one and access to global talent that can be hired to build an entire external team of dedicated testers.
However, while outsourcing quality assurance has many benefits, it also introduces new risks and challenges. A company working with a third-party vendor no longer maintains full control of its intellectual property.
When an entire QA process is outsourced to external QA engineers, ensuring business success necessitates picking the right vendor who guarantees real-time collaboration, open communication, and complete transparency of all QA activities.
Top advantages of an outsourced QA team
When done right, partnering with an outsourced QA team becomes a strategic move that unlocks many benefits. Even though many stakeholders decide in favor of outsourcing quality assurance functions because of the cost-effectiveness of this solution, partnering with top QA outsourcing vendors can substantially improve the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).
Read this section to thoroughly examine some of the top reasons why companies outsource quality assurance.
1. Software testing outsourcing is cost-effective
Working with specialized QA outsourcing companies often leads to substantial cost savings. If your company is currently looking for ways to achieve greater fiscal prudence, an external QA team can be an excellent way to do it without sacrificing the quality of your software products.
A professional quality assurance outsourcing partner eliminates the organizational need to maintain an extensive in-house QA team and employ permanent personnel. The cost-effective nature of nearshoring and offshoring solutions can result in providing an entire quality assurance department overseas at a fraction of the costs needed to set up an in-house team locally.
Moreover, vendors often supply their QA engineers with necessary testing tools, further reducing client costs.
2. Specialist testing services enhance software quality
Organizations that decide to outsource QA testing unlock instant access to individuals and teams with specialized expertise, which can be difficult to obtain otherwise. If your QA resources provider of choice has the right approach, its outsourced QA department will be comprised of highly specialized QA testers and test engineers with unparalleled devotion to their craft.
For these quality assurance experts, working for a third-party vendor presents an opportunity to continuously develop their knowledge, grow their skills across various industries, and always stay on top of QA trends.
Such testers are not only capable of pinpointing crucial issues and security flaws in your applications and systems - they also learn about software products until they fully understand them. Their comprehensive knowledge of specific digital products enables them to propose improvements and optimizations far beyond eliminating bugs.
As a result, outsourcing quality assurance greatly facilitates overall software quality.
3. Outsourced software testing services are flexible and scalable
Flexibility and scalability are definitely among the key benefits of QA outsourcing. Companies that leverage external software testing capabilities enhance their ability to adjust to fluctuations in project requirements.
Maxima Consulting’s managed QA services enable businesses to easily scale the scope of quality assurance tasks up and down:
- Our clients can always contact their assigned advisors to quickly add the required QA resources and accommodate spikes in demand without going through a lengthy and costly recruitment process.
- Then, after the demand returns to normal, the company can save money by decreasing the number of engaged testers to the minimum specified in the service-level agreement.
4. Top vendors offer additional services beyond quality assurance
QA outsourcing vendors often offer a wider range of managed IT services. For example, Maxima Consulting’s services include:
- Cloud migration, optimization, and management;
- Custom software development and existing software maintenance;
- Tech support and IT help desk services;
- Cybersecurity expertise, from designing secure systems through extensive security testing to ongoing automated monitoring and proactive problem-solving;
- Automation tools and artificial intelligence solutions;
- Various workforce solutions, including onshore, offshore, and hybrid outsourcing, build-operate-transfer projects, IT staffing, and executive recruitment services.
Expanding the partnership with a proven service provider can maximize the added value for any enterprise. If a company provides excellent QA/testing services and your in-house development team acknowledges the improved quality the outsourced test team brings, consider partnering with the same vendor to contract out other technology requirements.
Some benefits of this approach include:
- Drastically reduced risk of vendor misalignment: The vendor’s communication style and values won’t change.
- Faster time-to-market: The company’s consultants and recruiters need less onboarding, as they already know your organization and its immediate competition.
- Ability to save money: You cut costs on searching, meeting, and evaluating providers, as well as optimize vendor management expenses.
Overcoming common challenges in quality assurance outsourcing
Knowing about the benefits of QA outsourcing is crucial to making informed decisions, but achieving business success can be challenging without understanding the most common challenges of this solution.
Below is the list of typical challenges organizations can expect when outsourcing testing functions to third-party providers and tips on overcoming these risks.
1. In-house QA competencies are needed
Choosing the right QA outsourcing vendor necessitates evaluating their technical capabilities, communication skills, and previous experience in similar projects, which demands at least some in-house expertise.
2. Vendor management requires time and effort
Routine evaluations and reviews of the work submitted by the outsourced QA team are vital to guaranteeing an effective and long-lasting partnership and upholding best practices, high-quality assurance standards, and customer satisfaction.
3. Communication must be top-notch
Establishing a solid, transparent communication protocol is essential for productive collaboration with any outsourced team. Consistent updates allow your QA outsourcing partner to swiftly tackle any concerns as soon as they arise and help keep the project moving smoothly forward.
4. External strategic guidance might be necessary
Addressing these issues effectively calls for developing a comprehensive outsourcing strategy centered around proactivity, optimization, and a commitment to continuous improvement in quality assurance processes and beyond.
Involving external consultants and your outsourcing partner in building the company’s global expansion strategy can improve their understanding of your core business and, consequently, your future cooperation.
The QA outsourcing process: From selection to integration and optimization
Setting up a successful QA outsourcing partnership involves several critical steps, including:
Step 1: Evaluation and selection of quality assurance providers
Contact different testing organizations to select the right vendor for your company. It’s important to review their previous track record, particularly their experience in projects similar to your own.
Make sure your chosen quality assurance vendor understands relevant regulatory requirements and ensures compliance with industry standards.
Step 2: Achieving mutual understanding with your QA outsourcing partner
Work with a chosen vendor to establish the testing project goals and compose a comprehensive service-level agreement.
Establish a transparent communication protocol and promote a collaborative mindset of knowledge-sharing and problem-solving. Teamwork between in-house personnel and the QA outsourcing partner is imperative to form mutual comprehension and define a clear division of tasks and responsibilities.
Step 3: Outsourced QA implementation and integration
Start recruiting and onboarding the outsourced QA team for your organization. Familiarize the outsourcing partner with your preferred collaboration tools and workflows. Incorporate the outsourced team into your development lifecycle.
Making the development team understand the QA testers’ role is crucial for achieving consistency and efficiency in the QA process.
Step 4: Continuous optimization of the QA process
Use insights offered by outsourced QA engineers to regularly implement new improvements to the testing process, stay on top of quality assurance trends, and increase your competitive edge.
Regular progress reports, maintaining meticulous documentation, organizing frequent meetings, and encouraging feedback culture are necessary practices that help preserve transparency and optimize QA processes for further efficiency.
Measuring the impact of QA outsourcing
To successfully assess the influence of QA outsourcing on the software development lifecycle and core business, companies start by determining precise and key performance indicators (KPIs) for the outsourced QA team.
Metrics like defect density and test success rates are used to measure and assess the effectiveness of employed software testing processes. Indicators like total tests conducted can help track productivity levels within an outsourced QA team.
Consequently, the company’s testing demands and business goals are expressed in quantitative metrics, which help verify whether the investment in outsourced QA solutions meets anticipated objectives.
With regular evaluation and exhaustive feedback, external QA testers should steadily eliminate any encountered issues and improve their performance. Building effective communication channels and frequent reports enable outsourced teams to achieve and maintain superior quality standards while fostering mutual understanding among external and in-house teams.
Quality assurance trends and prognoses
The future of quality assurance and QA outsourcing is shaped by endless technological advancements and changing industry trends. Developments in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are particularly vital to the evolution of outsourced QA services.
The rapid popularization of automated testing improves efficiency and accuracy compared to a typical manual testing process. However, leveraging both of these approaches allows an expert QA engineer to test applications more comprehensively than ever before.
Similarly, including new AI-based features in software testing tools is positioned to play a crucial role in further enhancing the capabilities of both QA outsourcing companies and in-house QA teams.
Persistent talent shortages in IT are another crucial factor in the future quality assurance landscape. Even today, it’s increasingly more challenging for a company in banking, logistics, or manufacturing to recruit skilled software testers locally, leading them to seek global talent pools.
This trend is expected to continue, with IT outsourcing providers playing an increasing role in filling this talent gap and ensuring that companies can meet their technological needs. Experts agree that the growing competition for top engineering talent will further push companies to outsource quality assurance, security, and infrastructure functions.
As modern customers expect companies to deliver and maintain high-quality software, the demand for quality assurance outsourcing is bound to grow. The benefits of cost savings, added flexibility, and specialized expertise will make it easier for businesses to embrace QA outsourcing as a key strategy for maintaining competitive advantage.
Maxima Consulting’s QA outsourcing success stories
Organizations in many industries, including banking, life sciences, manufacturing, and insurance, have experienced substantial improvements in their software quality through QA outsourcing while securing the cost-effectiveness and flexibility that third-party providers offer.
Take, for instance, one of Maxima Consulting’s clients, a renowned global financial institution that needed support in building an experienced team of developers and QA engineers to create a single trusted data source for its downstream system. The team we provided supported the development of vital interfaces that facilitate interactions between internal systems while conducting quality assurance activities like unit testing and regression testing.
A third-party logistics company, Quiet Platforms, also depended on Maxima Consulting to provide a comprehensive IT team to plan and manage its warehouse management system (WMS) modernization, cloud migration, and quality assurance tasks. Challenged by limited access to local expertise, we utilized our global delivery model of outsourcing to identify top remote talent and combine their efforts with on-site consultants.
Explore more projects that we helped our clients complete on our case studies page.
Contact us to successfully outsource QA activities
In today’s highly competitive landscape, it’s hard to imagine a successful software testing strategy without involving QA outsourcing, at least to some degree. Leveraging the expertise of outsourced QA teams enables companies across industries to enhance software quality, save costs, and improve the scalability of their testing efforts.
The strategic advantages of outsourcing the quality assurance to an external QA team are clear: quick access to specialized expertise, reduced operational costs, and the flexibility needed to swiftly adapt to evolving project needs and changing market conditions.
As stated before, selecting the right QA outsourcing vendor and integrating them seamlessly into your internal software development lifecycle are the most crucial and the most challenging steps. Looking ahead, it is safe to say that technological advancements and global talent shortages will only make quality assurance outsourcing an even more indispensable part of the software development process than it already is.
For Maxima Consulting, our people-centric approach and focus on delivering future-proof solutions that exceed expectations have repeatedly proven key to overcoming common challenges and maximizing the benefits of QA outsourcing for our clients.
Contact us today for a tailored software testing solution and watch your software projects soar to new heights of efficiency and quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should your company outsource QA? What are its key benefits?
Outsourcing quality assurance enables companies to reduce costs and easily access specialized knowledge and experience. Additionally, external QA vendors provide greater flexibility and scalability to QA activities. QA outsourcing frees up company resources to use in core business tasks while maintaining the high quality of its software products.
However, if outsourcing an entire QA department doesn’t appeal to you, you can still unlock meaningful optimizations with other workforce solutions. For example, companies that struggle with filling in-demand IT roles can greatly benefit from recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), where specialized tech recruiters take over the entire recruitment and find you suitable candidates to hire directly.
How to choose the right QA outsourcing vendor for your company?
When selecting a vendor for quality assurance outsourcing, focus on evaluating their experience in similar projects and other relevant expertise. Examine their case studies or other provided documentation of the provider’s success stories. Schedule a meeting and ask questions to assess their ability to ensure compliance with standards and regulations.
It is paramount to choose an outsourcing vendor who demonstrates experience, robust communication skills, and problem-solving capabilities.
What are the most common challenges in QA outsourcing?
Organizations engaging in QA outsourcing often experience difficulties in:
- selecting an appropriate service provider,
- implementing efficient communication protocols,
- maintaining the data security standards.
However, conducting regular reviews and implementing stringent quality checks effectively combat these challenges and uphold excellent quality standards.
How does QA outsourcing impact software development?
Outsourcing quality assurance tasks can enhance software quality, decrease operational expenses, provide more scalability, and enable an internal IT team to focus on reaching the business goals.
