Common Questions Asked When Outsourcing QA

Companies all over the U.S. are choosing to outsource their quality assurance to an offshore company. Even though outsourcing offshore is increasing in popularity, there are some concerns companies have when sending their product to a third-party. 

Is outsourcing offshore more expensive?
A common concern is whether outsourcing to an offshore company will be more expensive than outsourcing to an onshore company. The answer to this is no. Outsourcing QA to an offshore company is financially beneficial. Sending your product to an offshore software testing company, like QASource, is more cost-efficient than outsourcing to an onshore location. The cost of labor in the U.S. is more expensive than in regions commonly outsourced to, like India. This lowered price will help reduce your overall QA cost by at least 50%.

High Quality Software QA Outsourcing Services - QASource

If the cost is reduced, won’t that affect the quality of engineers? 
Another concern is the quality of work will decrease along with the cost of hiring an offshore company. Fortunately, this is not the case for all offshore software testing companies. Some of the common offshore locations have been outsourced to for many years. India, for example, is leading the IT industry and has some of the best infrastructure for engineering fields. In Chandigarh, India-where QASource’s testing facility is located-there are more than 50 schools and 3 Indian Institutes of Technology within 150 miles of the facility. This easy access to universities allows QASource to recruit the best talent possible. All of QASource’s engineers have either a bachelor’s or master’s degree and undergo continual training to ensure each client’s product is of the best possible quality. Not all companies invest in training and career paths of their engineers, but QASource does and that is why they have the highest quality engineers.

Will my product be secure in an offshore facility?
A very important question to ask, especially since you are going to be handing over your product to a third party, is whether or not your product will be secure in this outsourced company. Ask your prospective vendor how they maintain physical and logical security of their client’s products. Does your prospective vendor also have an infrastructure that can help prevent unforeseen delays with your product?

Another way to be sure your product will be secure is to look at your prospective QA partner’s clients. If your potential provider has a 94% client retention rate and has worked with market leaders, like QASource, you’ll know your product is in good hands. 

How can I maintain communication with my offshore team?
Efficient QA companies will have different ways to help ensure you stay in contact with your offshore team. QASource knows how important communication is for a team's success, so QASource has multiple methods of communication available to their clients. Besides email, there's instant messaging services, VOIP phone numbers and video conferencing available to QASource's clients.

If you feel that outsourcing QA is the right option for you and your company, consider partnering with a leader in offshore software testing, QASource. Visit qasource.com to learn more and receive a Free QA consultation.

How Offshore QA Can Benefit Your Project

It’s well-known that outsourcing to an offshore company will benefit your company, but how will it benefit your project specifically?

Offshore QA

Skilled Engineers
The greatest benefit of partnering with an offshore QA provider is the testers. You will have the best talent working with you on your project. India, a country commonly outsourced to, has numerous schools and the government support its IT industry. Offshore engineers are highly trained and have skill sets that are difficult to find anywhere else.  In order to ensure their clients receive high quality testing, QASource, a leading QA provider, recruits its engineers from the top five percent of their class and has its engineers undergo continuous training.

Experienced Engineers
Countries like India and China have been outsourced to for many years. Engineers from these countries have lots of experience in this field. Offshore engineers have a vast domain knowledge and have worked with many clients in different industries, giving them experience with different kinds of clients and different testing tools. Young QA engineers also get the benefit of formal training from the experienced team. Their experience and training allows offshore engineers to discover solutions that less experienced engineers wouldn’t be able to.

Time
Another major benefit of partnering with an offshore QA provider is the difference in time zones. India is twelve hours ahead of Pacific Time and China is fifteen hours ahead. This means that while you and your onsite team are sleeping, your offshore team will be working. This will allow your product to be developed in a 24/7 format, thus speeding up the feature releases.

When you partner with an offshore QA provider, your project will greatly benefit from this decision. You will have the best talent who will work with your onsite team. Thanks to the time difference, this highly experienced team will be able to help release your project faster. Visit qasource.com to get started today.

Fact Or Fiction? Understanding Common Misconceptions Of Test Automation Services

More and more companies are turning to test automation for their software testing needs. In spite of its surging popularity, there is still confusion as to what is a myth and what is true. We’ve compiled some of these common misconceptions to help clear up what is fact and what is fiction.

Fiction: Test automation services are too expensive

Fact: Initially automated testing is going to be expensive. You will have to pay for licensing, scripting tools and the new hardware. You will also need to cover the cost of training your engineers in automated testing. In the long run, you will benefit from this initial cost. However, if you hire a software company who is experienced in automated testing, like QASource, this initial cost will be significantly lower. You will not have to pay for the installation of new hardware and you will not have to pay for training engineers in automated testing.

Fiction: Your manual testers will be replaced

Fact: It is understandable why someone would think this at first, but this is simply not the case. Automated testing does not eliminate manual testers’ jobs, it actually helps them. Usually, manual testers spend a majority of their time on repetitive, time-consuming work. Automation takes over these tasks, allowing manual testers to work on other more important tasks that they otherwise couldn’t. 

Test Automation Services

Fiction: You have to automate everything

Fact: It may seem like a nice idea to have everything automated, but that is rarely possible. Usually, an organization will want to see a return on investment from the automation. If you automate everything, then the return decreases. The time and money investment for automating everything is usually very high. However, automating smoke test suite or a regression test suite is often quick and cost effective. Plus, it is important to keep the human element as part of the testing. Human interaction is still needed to ensure your product is tested thoroughly and offers coverage and edge cases that automation cannot cover.

Fiction: Automated testing takes longer

Fact: This statement isn’t entirely true. When you first implement test automation, (and you’ve hired a QA provider) it will take a short period of time to prepare the test scripts, test the scripts and ensure the reliability of the system. If you didn’t hire a QA provider, you will also have to consider the time it will take to install the hardware and train your engineers. However, after this, the time it will take to test your product will be significantly reduced.

Don’t be deceived by these common misconceptions. Automated testing is highly beneficial for you and your company. QASource is a leading software testing company which offers high-quality test automation services. If you’re considering automated testing, visit qasource.com to learn more. 

Your Software Testing Services Must Include Security Testing

In recent months, five point-of-sale vendors for prominent retail chains were hacked. Customer’s passwords and private information were put at risk. Security testing is a critical step when testing your software, now more than ever.

Of course, you already know this, but on bypassing security testing your software will open the doors to many potential problems. Your system will be exposed to malware and viruses. You will also run the risk of your customer’s confidential data being lost, stolen or distributed.

Besides the potential loss and illegal distribution of customer's confidential data, security breaches can result in another loss: their customers' trust. If customers cannot trust the security of a retail chain, they are less likely to do business there, which will result in loss of finances. In order to prevent these losses, partner with a company whose software testing services include security testing.                  

                                                                                          

The best software testing companies, like QASource, will search for commonly overlooked areas, such as emails. These efficient companies will also have multiple types of security testing, such as Penetration Testing, to help make a secure product for you and your customers.

The Penetration Test is performed by a security testing expert who will simulate an unauthorized attack on your system. This simulated attack will help determine where your current security system is vulnerable so you can take measures to prevent an actual malicious attack from occurring.

Nearly all retail and financial products will contain some sort of confidential user information. Because of this, it is imperative for anyone in the financial or retail domain to find a company who offers security testing in their software testing services. To get started with a reliable software testing company, visit qasource.com.

What Makes a Good Software Testing Company?

When many product companies begin the search for a QA provider, they have a very small list of requirements; just a few boxes that the partner must be able to check off. Obviously, one of the key requirements is that prospective partner actually offers the type of testing that the company needs performed.

Unfortunately, many companies are in a hurry to get their testing implemented, and will stop searching as soon as they find a partner that meets this basic need. But there are a few other areas that you should be considering when researching and vetting different software testing companies. Here they are:

Talent & Scalability

Software Testing Company

Make sure that your software testing company staffs true QA experts: engineers who are trained in the latest testing methodologies and tools, and who are committed to testing as a career path rather than a mere stepping stone to development. It also helps to have domain and automation experts on your side, because they can uncover common yet easily overlooked bugs and help make your testing process more efficient. 

Another great aspect of outsourcing to a competent QA partner is the flexibility they offer. Expand your QA team as needed, then scale back when the work is finished -- you’re under no obligation to retain your team. They can grow right along with you, or they can shrink right along with you, it’s your choice!

Great Culture

Talent and expertise are one thing, but how does the company treat their engineers? Do they respect their knowledge and experience and do their best to retain them? Software testing companies that invest in their teams see increased productivity, show higher retention rates, and generally retain big-name clients.

Before you begin onboarding, find out as much as you can about how the company operates, how the communication structure works, and what they do to ensure seamless team extension. All of these factors will influence and shape your working relationship going forward.

Tech Infrastructure

Does the partner have the technological infrastructure to support your testing needs? For usability and performance testing, it’s important that your QA partner can provide all of the necessary devices (Mac, PC, iPhone, Android, etc.) and accommodate all of the OS and environments that your product runs on. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck buying and upgrading your testing platforms yourself!

Reputation & Track Record

It’s important to take into account what your software testing company is doing today, but it’s also important to look back and see where they’ve come from. Look at their list of clients and note how many they’ve retained over the years, read their testimonials, and ask them about what their future goals are. This will help give a more complete picture of the company and whether they’ll be the right fit for you and your specific needs.

There’s much more to a software testing company than basic offerings. To make sure you end up with the partner that will be a right fit today and in the future, do your research! Look for characteristics that align with the areas outlined above.

Here’s Why India is Dominating QA Outsourcing

Product companies save big bucks by outsourcing their software testing to regions where the costs are cheap and the resources are skilled. Some of the popular destinations include Mexico, China, South America and India. Each one of these options has its own unique set of pros and cons, and you’ll have to consider each carefully before making a choice.
But for our money, there’s no beating India. Here are just a few of the top reasons why India is leading the charge in offshore IT services and QA outsourcing:

Government-Backed Tech Sector

The Indian government recognizes the long-term profitability of the tech industry, and it invests a lot of money to make engineering an attractive career choice for young, talented students. The National IT Task Force was created to help advocate for enhanced STEM programs in schools and promote the idea of technology as a gratifying, well-paying career choice. Tech receives generous subsidies from the government to help aid expansion.

Bang for Your Buck

There’s a lot of raw talent in India, but there’s also a dedication to high-quality service and plenty of business acumen. The IT industry is nothing new, so the top QA outsourcing providers are seasoned in their craft and they have the technological infrastructure to take on projects of all sizes. They know client needs, how to onboard quickly and how to ramp-up rapidly to fit within project timelines.
The best part? This expertise and dedication is available at a fraction of the cost of comparable nearshore or U.S.-based service. It just can’t be beat -- especially if you require flexibility and the scale/downsize your teams often.

Clear Communication, Always India has been the go-to tech services destination for large American tech firms and other corporate clients for a long time, so English fluency is par for the course. As an added bonus, QA teams in India are often composed of domain experts, so test engineers will be able to discuss product issues in your parlance.

Test providers also have access to a huge range of communication tools, including phone conferencing, demos with screen sharing, chat services, secure email and just about any other service you can imagine.
As you start your search for the right QA provider, consider your project needs. We think that most of them can be met by an outsourced team in India -- a veteran in the game by now.

Finding the True Value in Offshore Quality Assurance

The money saved by outsourcing QA is evidence enough for many software companies -- no need to expand on the lengthy list of benefits. But if you’re still unconvinced, rest assured: the benefits are there and they are a potent form of persuasion.

Offshore Quality Assurance

For us, the true value of partnering with an offshore QA provider is not only about cost savings. It’s about the talent that’ll be joining your on-site team, the cultural emphasis and respect for great QA and the productivity and flexibility it adds to your SDLC.

Let’s break down that list and unpack the real advantage of offshore quality assurance:

The Right Stuff: Culture, Skills & Experience U.S.-based QA engineers are out there, but many are on their way to coding as a career. Culturally, QA is treated like a bridge in the U.S. However, in popular outsourcing destinations like India, QA is highly regarded and sought after as a desirable career path. The IT sector receives generous subsidies from the government and marketing campaigns help aid in the recruitment of the top engineering talent.

Staying the course with QA allows offshore engineers to develop rare, hard-to-find skill sets that are rare nearshore: extensive automation experience, cross-platform skills and much more. Seasoned engineers also gain experience across different domains, consistently working on products in the healthcare, legal, retail and financial space. Rich domain knowledge helps engineers find and fix common problem areas and communicate issues clearly, using specific terminology.

Communication and Team Extension
There is a built-in compromise with offshore quality assurance: you’re far, far away from the team that’s doing your testing. This means no daily stand-up meetings, no quick check-ins between the QA and development teams and no cultural cohesion. Or does it?

Outsourced QA has been around long enough that providers have learned to adapt and become a true extension of the onsite team. The best providers coach engineers to learn the client’s product inside and out -- in some cases, better than the developers that created it! This vigilant approach helps offshore engineers get a clear understanding of the onsite team’s coding process and close the gap between teams.

Thanks to rapidly improving communication technology, teams can attend daily calls to discuss project progress, weekly calls to address any issues and retrospective meetings to discuss what worked and what must be focused on moving forward.

Improved Onsite Productivity
Do you have your developers doing double duty by testing as they code? Or is your in-house team of QA engineers stretched much too thin? These are two approaches that may work for a short time, but are unsustainable in the long run.

With testing in the hands of an offshore team, your team will breathe a sigh of relief and focus on the more direct and pressing needs of your product: new features, effective project management and growth! Outsourcing allows you to redirect resources in a way that best serves your product and unique team structure.

Nobody ever complains about a slashed testing budget. But as we’ve shown here, value is about more than saved costs -- it’s about making a choice that improves all aspects of your software testing approach, from engineer skill-sets to the way your teams communicate.