Outsourcing automated testing is an increasingly common practice for companies wishing to guarantee the quality of their digital products while optimizing costs and efficiency.
By entrusting this task to specialized service providers, companies can concentrate on their core business while ensuring that tests are carried out with expertise and rigor.
In this article, we explore the benefits of outsourcing automated testing, how to effectively outsource these services, and the steps to follow for a successful testing process.
Why outsource automated testing?
Outsourcing automated testing (QA) has several advantages:
Cost reduction
Creating an in-house automated testing team tends to be expensive, especially if it requires technical profiles such as QA engineers, who start with a package salary of around €43,000.
An in-house QA team requires specialized recruitment, specific tools, and often ongoing training to keep up with developments in testing best practice.
Outsourcing reduces these costs by giving you access to QA experts without the expense of hiring and managing an in-house team.
Accelerate time to market
Outsourcing reduces delivery time thanks to a well-tuned QA process, allowing in-house developers to focus their attention on areas that add more value to the product.
Access to specialized skills
Specialized QA testing companies have experts with in-depth knowledge of the latest test automation tools, methodologies and technologies.
What's more, they observe the real impact of testing strategies on a daily basis in many sectors, enabling them to understand the best strategies to implement depending on the field.
Flexibility and scalability
Outsourcing automated testing allows you to adapt to changing business needs.
Depending on the project, you can increase or reduce test resources, avoiding the fixed costs associated with an in-house team.
How can you effectively outsource automated testing?
The essential steps for successfully outsourcing your QA testing :
Setting up a test book
A well-defined test book is essential if your company and the external automated test provider are to be on the same wavelength.
This document groups together all the tests to be carried out to verify the conformity of a product or application with the initial specifications.
A test book must include :
Objectives : Why are these tests carried out? Which functions need to be validated?
Test scenarios: Detailed description of the tests to be performed, including prerequisites, steps to be followed, input data and expected results.
Acceptance criteria: Definition of the conditions to be met for the test to be considered successful.
Test results: Summary table of tests carried out, indicating whether or not each test was passed, and specifying any incidents or anomalies detected.
*An automated test provider can help you create a complete test book.
Choosing the right partner
To do this, you need to evaluate several criteria:
Experience: Does the service provider have experience in your industry?
Technical skills: Does he master the automation tools you use?
References and testimonials: Does it have good references and positive customer reviews?
Adaptability: Is the service provider able to adapt to your specific needs and corporate culture?
Integration with internal teams
For outsourcing to be successful, it's important that the external team collaborates effectively with your internal teams, such as sales and marketing.
Make sure project management and communication tools are in place to facilitate this collaboration.
Quality control and monitoring
It's crucial to keep rigorous track of results. Analyze test reports, ensure that anomalies are properly documented and corrected, and check that results meet your expectations.
Quality control must remain a priority to ensure that tests meet your company's standards.
Types of automated tests to outsource
Automated test outsourcing can be applied to several types of tests, such as :
Functional testing
These tests verify that the software's functionalities meet the specified requirements.
Automated functional testing is particularly useful for large applications where many use cases need to be tested.
Regression tests
Whenever a new feature is added or a modification is made to a product, it is essential to ensure that these changes have not impacted existing functionality.
Automated regression testing allows you to quickly retest these functions with each update.
Performance tests
Performance tests are designed to evaluate the speed and efficiency of an application under different loads.
These tests are crucial to ensure that the application can handle intense use without slowing down or crashing.
Compatibility tests
Compatibility tests ensure that the application works correctly on different browsers, operating systems and devices.
Automating these tests speeds up validation of the various possible combinations.
The challenges of outsourcing QA testing
Communication and coordination
Internal and external teams need to work together seamlessly. Distance, time zones and cultural differences can sometimes complicate this collaboration.
Data confidentiality
When outsourcing, it is essential to protect sensitive information.
Make sure the provider complies with data protection regulations and has robust security measures in place.
Test quality
As already mentioned, it's important to define your expectations clearly from the outset, and to monitor progress regularly using a test booklet.
Outsource your automated tests with Mr Suricate !
By strategically outsourcing your automated testing, you can focus on your core objectives while ensuring that your products meet the highest quality standards.
Mr Suricate is a test outsourcing partner that helps you run a wide range of automated tests to deliver the best possible user experience.
Take control of your applications and detect bugs in real time on your websites, applications and APIs by reproducing your user journeys at regular intervals.
