Back in the day, outsourcing was implemented purely as a cost-cutting measure. Organizations would assess which services were vital enough to be kept in-house, and farm out the rest to outside vendors. The work got done, but often, it just wasn’t up to par with what an onsite team could have accomplished. Reasons for this varied -- poor onboarding, insufficient communication, lack of familiarity with the product -- the list goes on.
QA was, and is, a frequently outsourced service for many product companies, from striving startups to market-leading organizations. And it used to suffer from the same flaws as any other outsourced service. But times have changed. Thanks to advances in communication technology, the rise of modern testing methodologies like Agile, and a booming IT industry in regions like India, outsourced QA is now a much more viable option for companies who need to deliver a quality product without paying to retain full-time, in-house engineers.
To answer the question raised in the title, yes, you can absolutely outsource QA architecture. Today, you can hand it all over to an outsourced vendor with total confidence.
In many ways, this arrangement is even more beneficial than keeping it all in-house. Let’s review some of the key benefits of outsourcing your QA architecture:
Single-handed QA management
When you contract with an outsourced provider, they handle the project from beginning to end. A dedicated manager is in constant communication with your team. They gather all of your requirements at the start, and relay important milestones and status updates to you as the project progresses. From initial planning to delivery of your product on the live environment, you can count on your outsourced team. There’s no need to build out your own hierarchy - it’s all done for you.
QA tools management
One of the biggest barriers to starting up your own QA team is the technical infrastructure. Luckily, your team knows which tools will suit your product and workflow best, and they’re skilled in how to use them effectively. This way, you won’t need to waste time researching a list of tools or waste money on one that isn’t the right match. Learn more about the top automation testing tools here.
Flexible and continuously evolving
Your QA manager oversees the roadmap and timeline of your project, so they’re able to easily identify any major gaps in process that might affect delivery. And if a block does come up, they have the resources on hand - either additional engineers, the right tool, or a rare device/OS configuration - to close that gap and keep your project on schedule.
Another key benefit of offshore QA is its ability to scale with you as you grow. You can easily ramp up or ramp down the size of your team at your convenience. You can also add domain experts as your requirements change (i.e. compliance and load testing), or as you begin to automate your test cases.
Security and risk assessment
Airtight security is one of the main reasons that companies decide to outsource their QA. Trusted providers have security testing experts on staff, and they’re up to speed on all of the latest vulnerabilities across every industry, including the legal, healthcare, and financial domains. (Click to tweet) If you’re working in a space that has strict compliance guidelines, having a professional vendor perform your testing is your best bet.
Because they deal with so many clients, the security infrastructure of your QA partner is guaranteed to be good. They invest heavily in physical and logical security, encrypt everything that leaves their headquarters, and regularly train their employees on the importance of data security.
Learn more about outsourcing your QA architecture below with our free report, Outsourcing Software QA!
