Outsourcing Test Strategy: Keys for Success
Many organizations like to outsource test strategy work when the in-house team either does not have time or the capabilities. Also, many decision makers like the idea of outsourcing to get a fresh perspective on their current testing practices. Test strategy helps you and your team look at testing as a whole and helps with the following: Aligning testing with return on investment Clarifying priorities Defining “good quality” Risk planning Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders Aligning testing with software processes Various aspects of testing including functional, performance, security, test automation etc In our experience, the following are keys for success when outsourcing test strategy: Have a vendor who has successfully finished many testing assignments end to end, preferably in the areas similar to your needs. Have a vendor who can collaborate with your testing team. Your team needs to have buy-in for strategy to be implemented. Agree on the contents of the test strategy document upfront. Have a high level plan that lists necessary resources as part of strategy document. Create a high level strategy first, then identify areas of higher priority and go deeper into those. Do not underestimate legacy challenge. Have a strategy which integrates or has a plan for legacy issues. Align strategy with culture and practices. For example open source vs. commercial software, infrastructure on cloud vs. on-premises, outsourcing testing vs. building in-house team. Try to have proof of concept plans for various parts of testing. Doing work hands-on unearths many issues that are difficult to predict. Last but not the least, have regular updates to various stakeholders during the test strategy assignment process. Agile process helps.
The post Outsourcing Test Strategy: Keys for Success appeared first on OptimusQA.