Are you planning to improve your business sales?
With over 30 million small businesses in the United States, quality assurance is a must. It ensures your products and services are exceptional and on par with your brand. Otherwise, clients leave with a bad experience and never come back.
If you have no budget for an in-house QA team, consider outsourcing them. In this guide, learn some factors to look out for when outsourcing QA services. Read on and increase your returns today:
1. Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Always have a clear understanding of your outsourced QA's service level. It's best to prevent unexpected problems in the future. Otherwise, you might end up with less than what you're asking for.
Here are some SLAs you must consider before hiring a QA team:
Effectiveness
Client satisfaction
Sensitivity
Downtime and availability
Work volume
These are factors to protect your company from long-term unsatisfactory service. Tie in your SLAs to your contract using risk or reward as your basis. If your chosen options for QA services can't comply, skip them.
2. Integration
Nowadays, it's becoming more normal to get independent QA and testing teams. These companies are more desirable because of their objectivity.
They have no emotional attachment to your work. It's easier for them to point out improvements.
Third-party QA teams are also thorough with their jobs. Find a testing partner with a clear understanding of your company's challenges. It's the only way to reap their benefits.
It's vital knowledge to develop the best practices for your business. Before long, they'll come up with strategies to ensure success.
3. Engagement Models
Your QA services' engagement model is critical. Cover it earlier, especially during your planning stages.
It allows you to think about critical factors. These include time zones, business strategies, and language barriers.
Decide the type of outsourcing model your business adopts. You have two choices: incremental or total models.
The former decreases your risk. It allows you to divide responsibilities, making them more manageable.
Meanwhile, the latter will outsource around 80% of your programs off-site. It's risky, but it gives you more time to focus on more meaningful business efforts. It's especially when you find the right partner for your company.
4. Communication
Regardless of your outsourcing project, communication is the key to its success. It's especially important when outsourcing QA services. They must be effective enough to describe what your business needs to improve.
Your outsourcing partner must be engaging. They must always be open to talking, especially when you need workflow recommendations. It means having more effective points of contact.
Their communication model must have three critical factors: escalation, issue resolution, and reporting. If they lack one, consider another partner.
5. Flexibility and Scalability
Your scope may sometimes fluctuate due to several factors. However, effective QA and testing providers will make a timely response. It's because they're flexible and scalable according to your business needs.
When your chosen partner caters to these needs, they have the resources. They're large enough to support your business's evolving needs.
6. Intellectual Property Protection and Security
IP protection is an important concern when picking your QA partner. You must protect every personally identifiable information from disreputable third parties. It's especially when you're in an IP-intensive industry.
Look into your potential QA partners' current security standards. You must do it to ensure they have no room for unauthorized access and misuse.
When committing to an outsourced QA service, they must address some standards. It includes IP protection, confidentiality contracts, and NDAs. It depends on your QA and testing project.
In some cases, you might need other features like a configuration management system.
7. Industry Experience
Every industry has unique processes for various businesses. If your outsourced QA team has no experience with your industry, they're slower.
Meanwhile, a knowledgeable team improves efficiency. They help focus efforts to get the most improvements.
Always remember, rates are nothing compared to experience. Some QA services have ludicrously low rates. It's enticing, but consider their experience before anything else.
Benefits of Outsourcing QA
Why Choose QualityLogic for Outsourced QA? Considering all these factors, they're one of the most qualified services around. To better understand, here are other reasons to invest in a third-party service:
Cost-Effectiveness
Hiring a tester for your in-house team can strain your finances. It takes a lot of money to get experienced and talented individuals. You'll spend some time training them before they fit in with your team.
If you use your budget for outsourcing, you'll skip most of these steps. The QA service already has a team of skilled testers. All you need is to set your requirements and pay a fixed cost.
Meet Strict Deadlines
Do you need to deliver a product within a strict timeframe? To avoid delays, it's better to outsource your quality assurance efforts. Experienced companies can work at any reasonable deadline.
They do it without compromising the quality of the results. Their training includes working under extreme circumstances.
Insightful Reports
An experienced QA partner ensures your reports are amazing. They'll have accurate and insightful details to help your testing project progress further. They can deliver their reports based on your set duration, whether it's daily or weekly.
Quality
It's one of the most vital advantages you'll reap from outsourcing. With their help, you can increase your work quality. It gives peace of mind since your development and testing teams' conflict stops.
Your outsourced team will do their best to give the best possible results. It will ensure your final product passed through a rigorous process.
Start Outsourcing QA Services Now
These are some factors to consider when outsourcing QA services. Never let your product quality drop due to lack of testing. Use these to ensure you'll find the best partner for quality assurance.
However, picking the right QA services is only the start. Optimize your process to ensure the most informative results.
Is this guide helpful? Consider reading our other posts to expand your knowledge today.
