QASource Blog

Product companies who balked at QA outsourcing in the past are now running to it with open arms. Rapid release schedules along with high overhead costs have QA Managers and CTOs searching for a solution that is affordable, not cheap. Enter outsourcing! Opening up your product to a skilled, dedicated offshore team comes with too many advantages to list here, but rest assured -- there are many. But the one aspect of outsourcing that many still worry about is communication. How can you be sure that your QA partner will communicate with you promptly, clearly and without any technical hang-ups?

Effective QA is not made or broken by any one thing. Rather, it’s a combination of all the right stuff: knowledge transfer, skilled engineers, great team culture, and the appropriate testing methodologies. When all of the checkboxes are marked, the result is a successful project and a stronger product that’s ready for market.

There’s a lot of talk on the streets about automation. But trust us when we say it’s more than just a hot buzzword. In fact, test automation is one of the most effective solutions you can adopt as a growing product company. Speeding up slow, time-consuming manual testing is one of the biggest value propositions for automation -- but what are some of the other reasons why so many of your colleagues (and competitors) are buying into it?

Why do most product companies hire a QA partner? The details vary, but the main reason is this: it’s a great insurance policy. Testing ensures that your product meets your quality standards and is ready for use in the market. This protects your customer from a poor user experience and you from bad PR and revenue loss.

When it comes to selecting a dedicated QA partner the choices are plentiful. But selecting the partner that will be a perfect fit for your company, product and existing team takes research and deliberation. The right partner is responsible for much more than providing high-quality testing -- they create a sustainable testing infrastructure, learn the product as well (or better!) than the developers and serve as a true extension of your onsite team.

The nature of outsourced QA requires that team managers, both onsite and offshore, work diligently to close the distance gap. Onsite team members must communicate openly with offshore managers to ensure that any critical issues are resolved quickly and that the final product meets an organization's standards. To collaborate most effectively, QA management teams must possess impeccable project management skills.

Case studies are a great way to see how theoretical QA concepts and best practices are applied in real world situations. At QASource, we pride ourselves on being able to apply QA best practices to each specific domain in order to optimize results. Domain knowledge gives our teams an edge and allows us to deliver quality products faster for our clients. Learn more about the benefits of domain knowledge here.

Each month, our Advanced Technology group evaluates the latest QA testing tools and we help pass on their findings to you. In this month's update, we provide a brief overview of new tools, including Helium and WHITE. We also cover current best practices and the latest industry updates. Look for our update each month to stay in the loop with technology standards and help boost your team's productivity!

The past few months have been huge for QASource! A new blog installment, "QASource Highlights", will acknowledge industry achievements and inform our readers about relevant media coverage. In this inaugural post, we are proud to share three exciting features from EFYTimes, TEST Magazine and CIO Review.