Outsourcing automated testing (QA): Why and how to take the plunge?

Faced with accelerating delivery cycles, technical teams are under pressure. They must deliver faster without sacrificing quality. For many companies, defining an effective automated testing strategy is becoming a headache: should they recruit in-house experts or entrust this task to a specialist?

Outsourcing testing is no longer just a way to reduce costs. It has become a catalyst for QA maturity. Here's why and how to delegate your software testing to gain peace of mind.

Why outsource your software testing? (The advantages)

Outsourcing does not mean losing control, but rather relying on immediate firepower.

1. Access immediate expertise without hiring

The market for QA engineers is tight. Recruiting, training, and retaining an automation expert (Selenium, Playwright, Appium) takes months. By outsourcing, you instantly gain access to a team already trained in the latest technologies and best practices on the market, without the HR delays.

2. Absorbing peak loads (Scalability)

Your testing needs are not linear. You may need to check 500 scenarios before the sales, then return to a normal pace. An external service provider offers this flexibility: they can mobilize additional resources on demand to cover a rush of production launches, something that would be impossible with a fixed internal team.

3. Focus on your core business

Your development team should focus on value creation and innovation (new features). Delegating the creation and maintenance of test scripts (a time-consuming and repetitive task) frees up your developers' brainpower, while ensuring that the "safety net" (non-regression) is managed by trusted third parties.

How to successfully outsource testing?

Entrusting the key to your quality to a third party requires a methodical approach. Here are the steps to follow to avoid making mistakes.

1. Define the scope

Don't try to outsource everything on day one. Start with the most time-consuming tests that offer little human added value:

• Regression Non-Regression Testing (NRT): Ideal for automation.
• Multi-browser and multi-device testing. Keep exploratory testing or testing that requires highly specialized business knowledge in-house at the beginning.

  2. Choosing the right collaboration model

There are several approaches:

• Management: The service provider provides a consultant who joins your team (you retain management responsibility).
• The Package / Managed Service: You purchase a result (e.g., "X scenarios maintained and executed per month"). This is the model offered by Mr Suricate : a turnkey solution where we manage script maintenance for you.

     3. Demand transparency (reporting)

Outsourcing often fails because of the "black box" effect. Your partner must provide you with clear and actionable reports. You need to know not only "what went wrong," but also have access to screenshots, logs, and test videos so that your developers can fix bugs quickly.

Conclusion: Internalize or Outsource?

The answer is not black and white. The most successful organizations often opt for a hybrid model: a small internal QA team that drives strategy, and an external partner that executes and maintains the volume of automated testing.

Looking to outsource your testing without the technical complexity? The Mr Suricate solution Mr Suricate your bugs in real time and takes care of maintaining your scenarios.