The Microfocus Global Quality Report states that the most relevant trend for coming years is improving the QA specialists’ skills and level of services. The emphasis on improving testing algorithms and learning new tools or techniques is reasonable. To keep up with trends and demand in the marketplace, you have to follow innovations and learn new ways to control quality constantly.
It is often difficult to look for a contractor to perform complex testing of your IT solution because many companies offer multiple services within cooperation. We have prepared 7 key factors based on which you can find the perfect contractor to improve an IT product.
Table of Contents
7 Criteria for Selecting an Automation Testing Company
Tested Platforms and Devices
Test automation companies typically provide a full range of services, including all popular platforms and devices. But how exactly do they test the IT product? There are 2 main ways: through WM (virtual working environment that emulates the necessary OS or device) and cloud services. The latter is preferable because it allows to:
- Connect hundreds of physical devices.
- Use only part of the working machine resources.
- Test code under different conditions.
- Test the interface on multiple resolutions and shells.
- Effectively eliminate the most common bugs.
- Identify “specific” errors and malfunctions.
That is why we recommend applying for services to companies that use the cloud as a test environment. Since we specialize in automation, we use only high-quality platforms in our work and can check the code or interface on hundreds of virtual and physical devices.
Communication and Adaptability
Testing an IT solution and its development requires constant communication between all project participants. It is vital to maintain communication between sprints at every stage. Ideally, you should synchronize via Jira or other collaboration tools and provide reports 24/7.
When choosing a contractor, consider their ability to establish communication channels. You should communicate with the team leader and also with each of its members. It will allow you to quickly respond to reports, fix bugs, and discuss the project’s current progress.
We are used to working together with developers and the customer, so all team members are available for communication almost 24/7.
Flexible Collaboration Model
Advanced automation testing company usually offers at least 2 types of collaboration:
- Dedicated team. This model is preferable because all participants work on the project from the launch. That is why they are fully involved and understand their full responsibility for quality. Also, the project has its own team leader, who organizes the work better.
- Integration of experts into an existing team. Expansion of the staff by external specialists is a little cheaper but has flaws. Due to the transition to an unfamiliar environment, some performers need time to adapt and study the project, negatively affecting the quality and speed of integration.
Both options are good in different situations. For example, if you need to ensure the maximum product quality and the budget allows, it is better to hire a formed team and completely delegate testing of the IT solution to them. If the staff has already been formed, but a QA Engineer or additional experts are required, you can hire just a few people and integrate them into the team.
We are ready to cooperate on your priority model and will do its best to make your IT solution of the highest quality.
Adaptability to the Conditions of the Project
Agile, Scrum, or TestDevOps methodologies, namely, IT solutions, are being actively developed on them, implying the flexibility of all participants. The QA specialists involved in the project quickly and seamlessly must adapt to the changed conditions, new functionality, and deadlines. This factor determines how fast your product leaves the Alpha stage and can be published on the market.
If the contractor does not want or cannot adapt to your needs, it is better to find another one.
Our specialists understands how important it is to adapt to the client’s requirements and what risks the project stagnation carries. That is why all employees of our company are ready for roadmap changes and amendments, regardless of the implementation or development stage. We do not wait for the completion of the next sprint, changing the testing vector on demand.
Experience in Similar Projects and Portfolio
When choosing a contractor, you primarily focus on their experience in similar industries and projects. This is a very correct decision because only practical skills and completed developments testify to the level of the QA department and the quality of its work. But words are just dust. Look at the prospective contractor’s long-term employment relationship with other companies. It is how their expertise and marketability are determined.
A reliable test automation company should have a list of regular customers and a portfolio with case studies on their website describing their testing experience, problems, and solutions. It is worth paying attention to their blog, which raises essential topics for their field of activity and describes various methods, tools, and approaches to implementing services.
Check Our’s expertise by contacting our regular customers: Keepgo, Tele2, blubolt, {web}mdt, wirecard, Trivago. They will tell you better than us about the cooperation experience and the problems we solved to improve the quality of their IT solutions.
Opportunities for Scaling the Team
During development, the functionality is suddenly expanded, or the project’s overall scope is increased. At such moments, it is critical to have a reserve of performers who can integrate into the process quickly, thereby filling the gaps in personnel. Many QA companies work with different customers, distributing the available resource between projects, often leaving no free experts.
In a stressful situation, when there are not enough specialists, customers are forced to hire freelancers or third-party contractors to complete the teams. It negatively affects the cost of work and the implementation timing. So it is important to negotiate with the performers about the reserve or immediately recruit a little more staff than needed.
There are no problems with staff because we count on possible difficulties and are ready to expand the team at any time. Moreover, the outsourcing cooperation model implies an almost instant distribution of experts across projects with rapid integration and adaptation to the developed IT solution.
Skills Development and Study of Modern Methodologies
The IT world is developing so rapidly that relevant technologies become unclaimed literally within 5-6 years, or even earlier. In this fast-paced race for innovation, all development participants must quickly adjust and adapt to new realities.
Avoid companies using ten-year-old tools. Solutions such as Selenium or Appium are still relevant today, but other testing environments are hopelessly outdated and have acquired modern successors. QA experts, who are not afraid of change and keep up with the times, try to learn all relevant platforms and products to provide their clients with best practices and improve testing quality. That is why it is better to choose a progressive company that develops and improves its employees’ skills.
Our experts always keep abreast of trends, adopt the best practices of modern techniques, and study new tools. Our goal is to support projects early, ensuring the highest quality of IT solutions and improving the user experience. This component, along with technical implementation, improves conversion and customer loyalty.
To summarize
The final quality of IT solutions and the level of QA services depend on the experience and “modernity” of the test automation company. Only with a trusted partner will you get best practices and market a near-perfect IT product that will bring you new customers and increase conversions.
With ZappleTech, you don’t have to worry about the timing and thoroughness of testing. Delegate the task of quality control to us and take care of the main business operations. We will fix all possible problems even before the release. For details, please contact our consultant!
