Test automation outsourcing

Test automation outsourcing: we build and run your automated test suite

Developers ship faster than your regression checks keep up, or the suite you have is flaky and nobody trusts the red build. With test automation outsourcing you hand us the automation work as a project. We decide with you what to automate first, set up or repair the framework, write the tests and run them in your CI. Everything lives in your repository and goes through your pull requests. AI agents draft the routine parts, and our engineers review each change before it is merged. We start with a one-week automation audit, so you see the plan before the project starts.

Automated test run, one release, outsourced automation 2 passed 1 failed 1 review
  • Checkout journey Automated test in your CI, written in your repository green
  • Login after a UI change Agent proposed a repair; an engineer reviews the pull request engineer
  • Search filters Failed run sorted as defect, test fault or environment fault sorted
  • Smoke set before release Agreed smoke checks run on every build green
Illustrative example of a test run report from an outsourced automation project. Not client data.
  • Founders of CodeceptJS and Codeception
  • Founders of Testomat.io and Testomat.ai
  • 32 test automation engineers
  • 42 completed projects
  • Since 2015
  • 4.9 out of 5 on Clutch

At a glance

What it is
Test automation outsourcing
First step
Automation audit About one week
You receive
What to automate first, ranked by risk +3 more
After that
Pilot Two to six weeks

What we test

Services in this area

  • Automation audit and plan

    A fixed-scope review of your current suite, pipeline and release process, so the project starts with a ranked plan.

    • What to automate first, ranked by risk
    • Current tests marked keep, rewrite or delete
    • The framework choice, with the reason written down
    • A pilot plan you can run with Zapple.Tech or without
  • Framework build or rework

    A new test framework for your stack, or a rework of one that has become hard to extend.

    • Structure, test data approach and reporting
    • Conventions your own engineers can follow
  • Test suite development

    Automated tests written for the journeys and interfaces you decide are worth checking.

    • Functional, regression, integration and smoke tests
    • Tests written in your repository and reviewed in your pull requests
  • CI integration and maintenance

    The suite runs in your pipeline and is kept current as the product changes.

    • Runs on the schedule you choose, with results where your developers look
    • Failed runs sorted into defect, test fault or environment fault
    • A monthly report in the ongoing step
What test automation outsourcing hands overSix parts of the automation work, all attached to your repository and CI, where tests go through your pull requests. Strategy: what to automate first, ranked by risk, and what to leave to people. The framework: set up from scratch or reworked. The tests: written for the journeys and interfaces you decide are worth checking. CI integration: the suite runs in your pipeline and reports where your developers look. Maintenance: tests updated as the product changes. Reporting: a written result after every release and a monthly report.Your repository and CITests go through your pullrequestsStrategyWhat to automate first, ranked byrisk, and what to leave to peopleThe frameworkSet up from scratch or reworkedThe testsWritten for the journeys andinterfaces you decide are worthcheckingCI integrationThe suite runs in your pipelineand reports where your developerslookMaintenanceTests updated as the productchangesReportingA written result after everyrelease and a monthly reportWhat test automation outsourcing hands overSix parts of the automation work, all attached to your repository and CI, where tests go through your pull requests. Strategy: what to automate first, ranked by risk, and what to leave to people. The framework: set up from scratch or reworked. The tests: written for the journeys and interfaces you decide are worth checking. CI integration: the suite runs in your pipeline and reports where your developers look. Maintenance: tests updated as the product changes. Reporting: a written result after every release and a monthly report.Your repository and CITests go through your pull requestsStrategyWhat to automate first, ranked by risk,and what to leave to peopleThe frameworkSet up from scratch or reworkedThe testsWritten for the journeys and interfacesyou decide are worth checkingCI integrationThe suite runs in your pipeline andreports where your developers lookMaintenanceTests updated as the product changesReportingA written result after every release anda monthly report
What you can outsource in test automation, from strategy and the framework to the tests, CI integration, maintenance and reporting, all in your repository and your CI.

What you can outsource

You hand over the automation work, from the first decision to the running suite:

  • Strategy. What to automate first, ranked by risk, and what to leave to people. See automation audit.
  • The framework. Set up from scratch or reworked. See custom test framework development.
  • The tests. Written for the journeys and interfaces you decide are worth checking.
  • CI integration. The suite runs in your pipeline and reports where your developers look.
  • Maintenance. Tests updated as the product changes. See test maintenance.
  • Reporting. A written result after every release and a monthly report.

When test automation outsourcing fits

Outsource test automation, or outsource automated software testing as a whole project, when the work has a shape you can hand over:

  • A skill gap on a defined job. Nobody on staff has built a suite like this, and you do not need that skill full-time afterwards.
  • A short timeline. The suite has to exist before a date, and hiring for it would take longer than building it.
  • A long product with a fixed budget. Automation has to grow release by release without adding headcount.
  • Your specialists should stay on the product. Your own people keep the business knowledge; the test code is built around them.

What you get is people who have built suites before, without hiring them. It fits less well when you want to keep every decision about how the tests are written. Then you want engineers inside your team, not a project.

What we automate

We automate by platform and by test type:

Test types are functional, regression, integration and smoke checks, depending on what the audit says is worth automating first.

How outsourced test automation runs with your team

  1. Work in your repository. Tests are written in your repository and go through your pull requests.
  2. One named contact on our side for questions about the suite, the plan and any failed run.
  3. Failures are sorted. Every failed CI run is sorted into a defect, a test fault or an environment fault, so your developers see real defects first.
  4. A written result after every release: what ran, what failed, what is not covered.
  5. Measures agreed at the start, reported to you every month.

The engineers work remotely in your repository and tools. Working hours overlap is agreed in the quote. Which environments, data and AI tools are used is agreed before the start.

Where AI agents do the drafting, and where engineers decide

AI agents are good at the routine part: a first draft of a test from a plan, a proposed repair when a locator changes. They are bad at deciding what a failing test means. On a project with a fixed scope that matters twice: a suite that grows fast with tests asserting the wrong rule is a suite you pay to build and then pay to unpick.

So the rule here is fixed. An agent drafts. An engineer reviews each change in a pull request before it is merged, decides what is worth automating, and reads every red run before it reaches your developers. The agent-driven way of writing browser journeys is described under end-to-end testing with AI agents.

Zapple.Tech was founded by the founders of CodeceptJS and Codeception, open-source testing frameworks, and of Testomat.io and Testomat.ai. The framework choice is made for your stack and recorded in the audit report with the reason.

When outsourcing automation is the wrong choice

If you do not yet know what is worth automating, the one-week audit comes first.

How an engagement runs

Start small, with a fixed scope

Each step has a defined scope, duration and deliverables. You decide after each one whether to continue.

  1. Step 1 About one week

    Automation audit

    We review your current suite, pipeline and release process, and decide with you what to automate first.

    You get

    • What to automate first, ranked by risk
    • Current tests marked keep, rewrite or delete
    • The framework choice, with the reason
    • A pilot plan you can run with Zapple.Tech or without
  2. Step 2 Two to six weeks

    Pilot

    One product area is automated in your repository and CI. You see real tests, real pull requests and real failure reports before the project grows.

    You get

    • Tests for that area, running in your CI
    • A handover session
    • A go, change or stop decision with you on the next step
  3. Step 3 Monthly

    Ongoing

    Coverage is extended release by release and the suite is maintained as the product changes. You decide after each step whether to continue.

    You get

    • A written result after every release
    • A monthly report
    • Measures agreed at the start and reported monthly

From a test automation client

Always fast and professional. Exactly what we have needed for company with dynamic growing business. We were working together on automation testing framework.

Hennadii Bulakh Manager at Sixt/Ride, Germany More reviews

From a test automation client

Zappletech have provided us with software development and test automation services, both in terms of guiding the architecture, and implementing a lot of test case.

Chris McVittie Head of Technology, UK More reviews

FAQ

Questions buyers ask

What is test automation outsourcing?

Test automation outsourcing, also called automation testing outsourcing or AQA outsourcing, means handing the automation work to an outside team. That covers deciding what to automate, setting up or reworking the framework, writing the tests, running them in your CI and maintaining them. You keep the priorities, the product decisions and the release decision.

What is the difference between outsourcing test automation and outsourcing QA?

This page is about automation only, run as a project. Outsourcing QA means handing over the whole testing function, manual and automated, and is described on the QA outsourcing services page. If you want people inside your team instead, see hire test automation engineers.

Where do the tests live, and how does the project end?

The tests are written in your repository, run in your CI and reviewed in your pull requests. The pilot ends with a handover session for your engineers. Term and notice for the ongoing step are set in the contract.

Who works on the project?

Zapple.Tech test automation engineers, with one named contact on our side. How many engineers, and for how long, is agreed after the audit and written into the quote.

How soon can the project start?

The audit comes first and takes about a week. The start date for the pilot is agreed in the quote; what moves it most is how soon access to your repository, CI and a test environment is ready.

How do you work with our team?

In your repository and your pull requests. You have one named contact, you get a written result after every release, and measures are agreed at the start and reported monthly. Each failed CI run is sorted into a defect, a test fault or an environment fault.

Which frameworks do you use?

Your framework comes first. If you have none yet, Playwright and CodeceptJS are examples of what the audit compares, and the report records the choice with the reason. We do not publish a tool list, because a list says little about whether we can work in your stack; the audit and the pilot show that. Zapple.Tech was founded by the founders of CodeceptJS and Codeception.

How do you use AI agents, and do they see our code?

Agents draft and repair tests, and an engineer reviews each agent-drafted test in a pull request before it is merged. Only tools you approve are used, nothing leaves your environment if your rules say so, and agents run only against test environments. Environments, data and AI provider are agreed first.

How can we check your engineers' work before we commit?

Through the audit and the pilot. The audit gives you a written plan and a pilot plan you can run without us. The pilot automates one product area in your own CI, and you decide afterwards whether to continue.

How do we choose a test automation outsourcing partner?

Ask every vendor for written answers to the same questions. Who owns the code and where it lives, who reviews each change, how failures are triaged, which AI tools are used and what they see, and what the exit terms are. We answer these in the quote.

What does it cost?

Prices are not published. The quote depends on the platforms, the tests you already have, your CI and how often you release. Describe the product and you get a scoped quote within one business day.

Start with a one-week automation audit

Tell us what you ship, how often, which platforms you cover and what automation you have today, if any. We reply within one business day with scope, timeline and a quote.

  • Founded by the founders of CodeceptJS and Codeception, open-source testing frameworks
  • Founded by the founders of Testomat.io and Testomat.ai
  • 32 test automation engineers and experts
  • 42 completed test automation and infrastructure projects
  • On the market since 2015
  • Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Clutch, from 7 client reviews

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