Engaging third-party testing providers through outsourcing can be a more cost-effective solution than hiring in-house testers, particularly for small software development teams. This approach is especially advantageous when resources and budgets are limited. It allows access to expert consulting, specialized testing services, or comprehensive project support, offering a flexible and efficient option for project needs.
Most software development companies are familiar with hiring external testers. Some outsource testing, while others start working with new specialists when they feel the team cannot cope with the load.
Among the most common reasons why you should seek the help of external testers are:
Creating software is a complex process, therefore a QA testing company is necessary to identify possible errors and fix them in time. If you have a large project, you need to involve several testers responsible for different work (for example, you can hire separate manual and automated testing specialists).
Sometimes testers don't want to do the same work, so they tend to leave the monotonous work to interns or external testers because they know they can devote time to more critical points.
Software development requires the use of different tools and programming languages. If your testers need more knowledge and experience to work with them, it makes sense to invite an outside specialist. They will conduct software testing consultancy or start working on your project independently.
Hiring external testers is much cheaper for a company than maintaining a large staff. Thus, if you have a small startup or want to make your costs as efficient as possible, it makes sense to hire outsourcing specialists.
At first glance, everything seems simple, you give testing web pages to a third-party tester, and he does the work. But in practice, there are a lot of questions and problems. Consider such moments to make your cooperation as effective as possible.
Companies usually don't have time to train freelancers, so they want to hire someone with the knowledge and skills to jump right into the job. Thus, the first thing you need to do is to understand what qualities the person you are looking for should have.
When you apply on recruiting sites or stock exchanges, you can get hundreds of profiles, and the ability to analyze them correctly is vital. So, it would be best to find a way to weed out unqualified testers immediately. For example, you can highlight a few people whose profiles you liked and ask them to complete an unpaid test task that will test their knowledge. The person who does it better than the rest will be your best candidate.
The better you set a task for a new specialist, the better they will be able to cope with it. We advise you to define tools, methodologies, and environments in advance. It would help if you also took the time to determine what you consider a good result and how best to report it.
It would be best to determine through which channels you will communicate with the tester and how often you will monitor work. So, for example, you can provide them with complete information about the project and receive a test report only after the completion of dynamic testing, or vice versa, release modules for testing gradually and ask them to report on the work done once a week.
You should encourage your freelancer to contact you for any reason because if they act entirely on their own, this can lead to wrong decisions and, therefore, to a bad result.
After the tester checks your project and you consider that the order can be completed, you need to analyze all the reports you receive carefully. So, you need to determine if the results fit the project's original scope and how valuable and complete the bug reports are.
When programmers make changes to code based on test results, they often encounter a problem where those bugs are incomprehensible. Thus, it would be best not to interrupt communication with the tester until all errors are eliminated.
It is important to ensure that team members feel comfortable working with an external tester. Fostering a positive and collaborative environment within the team can motivate individuals to perform their tasks responsibly. When selecting an appropriate candidate, it is essential to assess both their professional competencies and personal attributes, such as accountability and receptiveness to constructive feedback.
