QA Testers As Needed (Not Full Time)

QA testers operate in a specialized field. They are often hired to provide full-time testing services. They work alongside development to test new features and to execute regression testing cycles. Many software development companies are able to maintain a sizeable full-time staff. What if you cannot? What if your business only needs testers for short term projects?

Some businesses only require QA testers to execute regression tests monthly or quarterly. Not everybody requires QA testing on a full time basis. It doesn’t make sense to have a skilled paid resource available only working 40% of the time.

Some hire part-time staff or on call staff. It is difficult to find people experienced in your application and able to work on demand, however. If you need varying levels of testing then form a team using a testing service. You can build a team with knowledge in your application. More importantly, you can then schedule their services as needed. Only pay for the work you need.

QA Personnel Management

A testing service provider can build and manage your QA team. They can handle hiring, training, and moving resources to development teams. They can do this as and when needed. Or you could hire a larger team temporarily, then picking and choosing the testers you want for future testing cycles.

Recruiting and retaining experienced, qualified testers is not easy. QA positions for both manual and automated testers are competitive across the globe. Software testing conventions take place nearly quarterly in Europe, the United States, India and in other countries. The QA industry is global, opportunities can be found in-house and remotely. It is unlikely you will find a consistent resource that’s qualified or experienced for part-time work.

Using a testing service provider removes you from personnel management. It allows you to focus on application development. Testers work for the testing service and can be hired as and when needed. Testing schedules are set around what type of testing you need, when and for how long. Consider keeping a year-long plan ahead of time for when QA testing is needed. Then schedule an experienced QA team in advance, all without the personnel management hassles.

QA Experience and testing types

Hiring internally can be challenging. It is hard to find experienced resources in all the testing types you need. For example, perhaps you hire a small team of QA testers who are highly skilled in feature and functional testing, be it manual or automated. They focus on testing new features as they are developed and then create automated manual tests for future regression test executions.

Things to consider

Is that enough test coverage for your application?
If your application has both a mobile and web presence, can your existing team cover both?
Can they cover the vast number of mobile device types, web browsers, and other variables to ensure your application works across a variety of platforms and versions?
What about security and performance testing?
Thoroughly testing an application on multiple platforms and devices is time-consuming regardless of the testing methodology used. If you’re skipping security or other testing processes, then you are leaving your business open to serious threats.

Consider hiring a testing service provider when you need to expand testing coverage. They’ll handle gathering a team of experts and scheduling them to expand your testing coverage by performing specialized testing like security and performance testing. Granted, you’ll likely need to assign an internal SME to act as a contact point for questions and issues as well as application training. However, you’ll greatly expand your testing coverage for testing types you currently don’t execute. Improving application quality involves testing beyond the end user functionality. You need to ensure data security and application performance meets user and regulatory needs.

Conclusion

Use a testing service QA team, when you need specialized testing to expand test coverage and improve application quality without hiring and retaining full-time QA staff. Hire and schedule experienced QA testers, as and when needed by using a testing service provider. Get your testing covered without the full-time commitment.

eTestware is the testing arm of theICEway ecosystem. Our experts are always happy to impart their knowledge. Contact them to see how they can assist you with your testing requirements.