13 Things to Consider When Evaluating Software Testing Companies for Outsourcing

In this article, we will see the things to consider when evaluating software testing companies for outsourcing.

If you are looking for a Software Testing QA service provider to outsource any of your manual or automation testing work then this guide will help you to evaluate and select the best provider. You can also check out our list of top testing service provider companies below.

Almost every software development project includes software testing. Many companies outsource software testing work. Outsourcing simply means going on a work contract or abroad to another company. The trend of outsourcing testing services is very popular in the IT world.

This article is written to aid you in making the decision of whether to outsource the software testing work and choose the right company to get this service from.

Top things to consider when evaluating software testing companies. 

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Key Things to Consider When Evaluating Software Testing Companies/Service Providers

Categorize all of the activities of the company into primary & secondary tasks. If software testing falls into the secondary task category, you should go with outsourcing the testing services.

Software testing is an indispensable phase of software development, however for most of the companies, it is not their core activity. Letting software testing get into specialized hands will allow your company to focus on the rest of its core missions.

Frequent requirement changes coupled with a rapid software development lifecycle intensifies the risk of releasing the wrong product in the market.

The cost of software quality assurance is almost equal to 50 percent of the total project cost. Creating and maintaining an internal QA team requires time and resources which are often quite expensive. It is very difficult to build up an in-house specialized testing team.

When and why Outsource Software Testing

Outsourcing software testing allows companies to focus on their main functions and drive innovation. At the same time, the testing service providers work effectively & efficiently, ensuring better product quality and a positive business outcome. Outsourcing the services to a dedicated, experienced & specialized outsourced quality assurance personnel allows for best results.

When you contract with an independent team of software testing / QA professionals for performing the testing job, it saves the time and money of the organization regardless of the scope of project and frequency of testing needs. Your business money and hassle can be saved by outsourcing the QA needs to a professional QA team.

To sum up, here is why you should outsource:

• Reap cost benefits
• Reduced in-house efforts
• Independent QA
• Access to an efficient & highly proficient team
• Get a team whose primary focus is testing
• Increased application quality
• Quick deliverables/ Boosts up software testing efficiency
• Thoroughly-tested final products

Aspects to Consider Before Outsourcing Testing Services

 Let’s discuss these aspects one by one in detail:

#1) The Engagement Models

This is one of the crucial steps in the outsourcing process. You need to understand the business strategy and business model, as well as select the geographic location and decide on which type of outsourcing you are interested in. You can go with either incremental outsourcing or total outsourcing.

In incremental outsourcing, all the work is divided into smaller parts and each part is outsourced to service providers. You can choose multiple service providers. In this model, the supplier has the lower risk and portfolio & product knowledge remains in-house. However, the client needs to keep a close eye on the outsource provider for the work to be done properly.

In total outsourcing, all the work is given to a single service provider. It is often cost-efficient for the client, as the supplier bears the risk here. Here, the supplier has the big picture of the portfolio.  However, total outsourcing requires very careful and detailed planning.

#2) Team Location

One of the most important questions to answer is whether to choose an offshore testing company or a company in the same country?

Offshoring can deliver high-quality at a lower cost. However, contracting work in a different country (i.e. offshoring) often possess a larger risk due to communication barriers, cultural differences, and language problems.

Due to time-zone differences, it might be difficult to reach out to the vendor team. On the other hand, working with the team based in the same country removes all these cultural, time-zone and language barriers.

If you are choosing an offshore service partner, ensure that they are able to bypass these barriers.

You should go with the team who will ultimately add value to your product and save the overall cost since this is the ultimate objective of outsourcing.

 #3) Service Level Agreement (SLAs)

The contract signed between the service provider and the client defines the output expected from the service provider. Defining SLAs upfront is very important to ensure 100% alignment of goals between the service provider and the client. SLAs should be related to the engagement model, KPIs, and the type of testing.

Some key go-to items to have in your SLA are:

• Reporting & project management timelines
• Product quality measures (Test case efficiency, defect reporting quality, traceability, test plan quality, etc.)
• Knowledge transfer
• Process Compliance
• Core business know-how

Sample SLA Metrics Dashboard (source)

#4) Mobilization

 This phase primarily consists of three things

• Developing the contract
• Creating SLAs
• Formulating the SOW (statement of work)

In the mobilization phase, the organizations come together for the outsourcing to take place. The contract, statement of work, and service level agreements should be finalized and communicated to the chosen service provider. The legitimate interests of both vendors & clients should be protected. Moreover, building an effective long-term relationship between the involved parties is critical.

#5) Flexibility & Scalability

Outsourcing agreements demand a degree of flexibility to ensure that timescale fluctuations are met. Flexibility should be decided by examining factors like robustness, modifiability, new capability, and ease of exit.

#6) Quality Improvement

One of the primary objectives of the client is to achieve a significant quality improvement through outsourcing. As the contract matures, the process and working methods should be tried to improve continually. The ultimate target should be an overall improvement of the end product.

#7) Change Management

There might be frequent requirement changes from the client’s end which impact the testing cycle, if not handled properly. To overcome the additional cost, time and efforts of handling the requirement changes, service providers should maintain a strong change management system.

#8) Intellectual Property Protection

IPR protection is one of the vital aspects to consider while outsourcing the services. One of the biggest challenges is to protect the businesses’ intellectual property when it is outsourced. The personally identifiable information (PII) provided by the client should be protected by the vendor and not be used for any other purpose apart from the intended business.

#9) Communication

Sometimes communication barriers between client & vendors create a roadblock in the work to be done. So, it is very important to establish a proper communication channel between the two parties. The list of POCs for each area of work should be exchanged between client & vendor.

#10) People

The team of QA engineers, leads, managers & technical staff to which the vendor assigns the outsourced work should be competent & an expert in software testing & management skills. You need to ensure that your work is going into the right hands.

Many clients also conduct interviews at the vendor site to ensure the resources employed for the project are proficient enough to take up the project work.

#11) Security

Protecting data is extremely important from a business perspective. The outsourcing providers have information security policies & standards. Many vendors get their dedicated team to work in an ODC (Offshore Development Center) where only the team for a particular client project sites.

The entry of any external staff member is restricted to ODCs. ODCs also restrict the use of mobile phones, cameras, storage devices like pen drives, etc.

Choosing a Company for QA Outsourcing – Guidelines, Tips & Recommendations

Choosing the right service provider for your software can be a very challenging task. You will ultimately end up in chaos if your software gets into the wrong hands for testing.

Below are the risks posed to your business if you choose the wrong vendor for your testing work:

• Hindrance in the flow of work due to the time zone, cultural & language gap
• Depreciated quality
• Delivery delays
• Delayed support
• Security breaches
• Slipping control over operations

Outsourcing requires very careful consideration and thorough study before delegating the work to the vendor. Spend a good amount of time before making the final decision.

There are many software testing vendors in the market today who all claim to be the best in their place. But you have to select the right one out of this pool of vendors.

Follow These Steps to Select the Best Company:

#1) Know what to outsource

First, know what you want to outsource. Jot down the scope of your work, areas of testing, type of testing required and the test coverage you are expecting from the vendor.

There are different types of testing services that you can outsource. It can be categorized into 4 broad types:

• Enterprise Application testing
• Web application testing
• Desktop application testing
• Mobile application testing

Also, clearly list the target devices and platforms over which you want the testing to be done.

#2) To Whom to Outsource

Having decided that you need to outsource the testing services and once you are clear on your requirements, a big question arises that to whom to outsource?

For this, you need to find out what vendors in the market are capable of serving your needs.

Don’t worry! We have made it easy for you. You can refer to our list of the top 20 software testing service providers.

There are big corporate IT companies like IBM, Capgemini, Wipro, etc. that provide testing services. Apart from these, there are some companies that provide specialized QA testing services only. These are TestFort, QA Mentor, QASource, etc.

The article link provided above lists the best testing service providers along with a link to their official website. It also itemizes top software testing companies specific to India. Now that you have a list of software testing service providers handy with you, the next challenge in front of you is to choose the best service provider off this list.

To start, get ideas from the company’s service model & processes and then find out whether it will work with your in-house team or not? By doing so, you will come up with a smaller list of vendors out of the big pool.

#3) Investigate

Investigate these vendors with the help of the web, other companies using similar services, ex-employees, social media, etc. Cross-check the information provided by vendors about themselves. Do a thorough analysis of the company you are choosing for outsourcing.

#4) Interact

Have your technical & managerial experts interact with these vendors to dig out more information about them. Get details about the team, their capabilities, and experience. The testing outsourcing company understands your products and your clients.

#5) Assess & Finally Decide!

Make a final assessment of the vendors and outsource the work to the one who ranks number one in your assessment.

Now, how do you perform an assessment on the service provider?

Assess the QA Testing company based on the following factors

#1) Specialization in software testing

The company should be specialized in software testing services & equipped with the best of breed specialized professionals.

#2) Portfolio

Review the company’s portfolio in terms of its vision, mission, objectives, experience, customer focus, and existing clients. The company should be well established in the outsourcing world and have a good rapport in the market.

 #3) Customer Relationship 

Give preference to a partnership-oriented vendor rather than someone who just takes up a one-time project at any price. Partnership oriented vendors want to retain a long-term relationship with the client. They do their best in providing services and thus add value to the customer business.

 #4) Flexibility & Scalability

The client needs to determine if the testing requirements will change in the future, so that the provider is able to handle it smoothly. The vendor should be adept enough to deal with fluctuations in scales & timelines. The business model should be flexible and strong enough to incorporate the possibility of technology change, team resizing and pilot project.

#5) Security

There are various levels of security, namely:

• Physical security
• Network Security
• Database security
• Adhoc security
• Intellectual property protection
• PII protection
• Inspect all aspects of security provided by the vendor and choose one who is offering a highly secured environment. Never compromise on the protection of data which is highly critical for your business.

#6) Communication

Evaluate the company’s trustworthiness on their effective communication.

The testing service provider must establish smooth & regular communication with the client. This is very important for the project’s success. There should be dedicated POCs from the vendor who can communicate with & provide support to the client.

The vendor should have excellent & reliable communication arrangements including VoIP phones, high bandwidth internet, IMs, mobile phones, etc.

#7) Testing Infrastructure

Make sure your testing service provider has the required infrastructure to support your product. This includes certified test scenarios & procedures, all necessary software, hardware devices, testing tools, operating systems, platforms, backend database systems, etc.

#8) Vertical Expertise

Figure out the business domains, technologies & industries where the service provider is most proficient. Check if this proficiency aligns with your testing needs. The more a vendor understands your product and business, the better the testing results will be.

#9) Documentation Standards

Make sure that the vendor follows all the documentation standards that you need. Test cases, test plans, test scenarios, scripts, test reports and test results should be well documented and you should have easy access to the documents.

#10) Management Style      

Ensure that the vendor’s managerial style is compatible with your company’s management processes and practice. It is very important that both of you speak the same managerial language otherwise clashes can occur when working together.

#11) Work Guarantee

Does the vendor stand behind its work? A testing company that guarantees its work will show confidence in delivering its services and will always do its best to achieve a maximum level of customer satisfaction.

#12) Responsiveness

Evaluate how the company manages response times. We would love to work with a vendor who is quick in responding to your queries, in the matter of assembling the team or delivering results.

#13) The True Cost of Working with Them

Finally, after assessing the company on all the above parameters, determine the true cost of working with them. You should go with an outsourcing company that is providing you maximum return on investment in terms of high quality, on-time delivery, and overall value addition.

Conclusion

Software testing is a necessity in almost every software project. Generally, an organization whose primary tasks are other than software testing goes for outsourcing the testing services. The main intent of outsourcing software testing services is to achieve improved quality at a lower cost and at the same time let the organization focus on its core business areas.

There are a lot of vendors available in the market who specialize in providing software testing services. A careful & thoughtful consideration is required before you delegate the work to new hands. You need to match the vendor’s profile with your testing needs and make an assessment of the vendor based on certain criteria.

Finally, here are our recommendations

Based on all the points we discussed earlier, we have come up with a list of providers. You can check them here:

=> Check the top 20 testing companies rankings with links

I hope this article will prove helpful for you in making the right selection of the software testing provider. We would love to hear your thoughts. Don’t forget to give your feedback in the comments section below.