How to choose the best testing company for the project?
If you are reading this article, you are probably wondering whether to take advantage of test outsourcing or how to choose the best testing company?
Knowing, that the product is properly tested, allows Product Owners or Sponsors to sleep in peace.
Testing is the key to the success of applications and IT systems. Additionally, conducting tests at the early stages of the project can reduce the costs of error repairs by 100 times.
We learned from various reports that software tests account for about 30 percent of the total project duration, and their costs can reach 50 percent of the total project budget.
When creating software, we ask ourselves whether to create and maintain our own test team or to outsource all or part of the tests.
I, as an employee of B2Bnetwork, for obvious reasons, am in favor of outsourcing at B2Bnetwork ?
On a serious note, testing a project is always a matter of time, project specifics and resources.
Outsourcing all or part of software testing allows you to focus on your main goals, cortical activity, driving innovation, budget optimization, and additionally gives you quick access to specialized staff.
Therefore, how to choose the best testing company for the project?
We should definitely look for a company whose main business objective is to conduct professional tests. It should have experience both in the business area in which the tests are to be performed, but also in the type of tests to be performed. For example, if we need to carry out complex automation of application tests or banking system, we should verify whether the subcontractor has previously carried out similar testing projects in the banking and financial area.
A good and safe approach is to carry out Proof of Concept in the targeted project. This allows us to check the test provider, verify the competence and experience. PoC is also useful from the perspective of the testing company. It helps to prove oneself in the realities of the project at the Client’s site and in the final estimation and complexity of the project.
What if we want to verify non-functional aspects, such as application performance?
A contractor who has experience, references, and is competent to prepare a test strategy, which includes configuration and preparation of a distributed environment to generate load, running tests on multiple machines, identification of system bottlenecks and preparation of a comprehensive report on the course of tests, will prove itself here.
Test Management
During the implementation, we may also need a contractor who will manage the project in the testing area, help with functional testing, and provide support in delivering the product to the production environment and successfully complete the project.
I believe that an outsourcing company should be able to deliver a Test Manager overnight, who will prepare an analysis, which show what actions should be taken to start the project and include a team of functional testers throughout the software development cycle.
The models of the cooperation and the accounting
As we all know it, the budget is important in every project, therefore it?s good for the test provider to prepare a comprehensive offer containing several cooperation variants as part of the start of cooperation. For example, the possibility of implementing the project in fixed-price formula, time & material formula or mixed formula.
Trainings
Another important aspect in choosing a testing company is the capability to conduct training. Often, after the completion of a project at the Client?s site, there is a requirement of knowledge transfer and training in the scope of the project.
Qualifications, experience and cooperation opportunities are all equivalently important. However, the option of conducting projects in agile or traditional methodologies shouldn?t be ignored. Choosing a partner who is not able to work in our standards can hinder, slow down or even destroy the whole implementation.
Specialists
The company’s experience is one thing, yet even more important is the availability of competent specialists who are needed to start and carry out the work. In the end, it is their presence, work and commitment that will determine the success of the project.
References and opinions
It is also worth checking references and opinions the company has on a specific test area. It will allow for a preliminary assessment of the degree and extent of experience of a given contractor.
To sum up, choosing a testing company can be hard, but it doesn?t have to be.
Get to know and check out a potential software testing service provider. Remember to use Proof of Concept.
In addition, B2Bnetwork does not charge for preliminary consultations, analyses, project valuations or audits necessary to estimate the scope of the order. Check what we can do.
