Benefits of Outsourced Testing
The advantages of software test outsourcing are obvious. Firstly, when outsourcing testing tasks or projects to the specialized companies, one can increase the quality and reliability of assigned challenges. There is also a possibility to predict results, which plays a crucial role for successful results. Secondly, outsourcing part of the project tasks to a third-party company, the client doesn’t overload his employees with activities that are not corresponding to their professional aspirations. Thirdly, the subcontractor, who specializes in application development has an extensive experience and has replicated solutions for common tasks that cheapens and accelerates their decision. Fourthly, such companies have the most advanced technological innovations, because the use of such technologies is a key factor for success.
Risks of Outsourced Testing
Within all the attractiveness of outsourcing software development, however, it’s obligatory to understand some possible negative consequences of transferring part of a work (or all) to the other company. These effects are typical for any other type of outsourcing.
Firstly, when giving part of the project aside, the company-developer inevitably confides to another company a share of their confidential data and, more critically, confidential data of the customer. Sometimes, when outsourcing, customer-company should make additional efforts to hide from the subcontractor true data, customer information, and information about the full application architecture. All this leads to additional costs for generating fake data, replacement of addresses and links, making all sorts of “stubs” and emulators, editing documents received from customers before submitting to the subcontractor, etc.
Secondly, efforts should be made to invest in subcontractor’s employee training. Starting a project with using outsourcing, one has to perform certain activities in order to a subcontractor be able to carry out the task entrusted to him, such as supplying with examples of how to implement codes, ideas, solutions, and sometimes send on technology training courses some of the employees (especially atypical technologies, such as software, on the basis of which decisions are made). Ultimately, you may find out that it would be more profitable for these assets to invest in one’s own staff.
Thirdly, there is the risk that the subcontractor, who is responsible for development outsourcing or some other type, can “withdraw” your clients or simply become a rival to the former customer thanks to the knowledge of him. Such incidents are, by no means, uncommon. Therefore, the key parts of the project, usually in outsourcing are not given.
However, some of these risks can be reduced through the adoption of appropriate legal and organizational measures.
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