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Typical Costs

Frankly, you have invested time and money into creating your product. What price would you put on your loss of trust and credibility with your customers if you release a product with many bugs? This is even more relevant when your product deals with sensitive information such as personal data and credit card information. If you are dealing with some sensitive information, there may be fines and penalties associated with breaches.

So you know you need testing, but can you afford it? For a fraction of the cost of hiring your own testers, you can often use the independence, creativity, and efficiency of an outside team of software testers. Use them when you need them. And while no product is problem free, you will have the confidence that you are releasing the best quality product you can.

Methods of Testing

The number and type of tests for even simple software is nearly infinite. Once a bug (error or defect) is found and fixed, it can create or unleash new bugs. The goal of a software testing company is to create a plan for finding as many bugs as possible within the constraints of time and budget that the developing company dictates. Using the testers collective experience and knowledge this can be achieved efficiently within the set parameters. (Although keep in mind, it is your responsibility to fix the bugs, the testers just find them for you).

Basically testing can follow several paths.

Black-box testing: The tester does not know what the internal functioning or source code of the product is. He or she may only know what the product is supposed to do, but not how it does it. This is comparable to experience of the end-user with the product.

White-box testing: The tester can see/know the source code and tests the internal structuring of the product.

What this means is that you have options on how you want your software tested, how deep you want the testers to go, and how long.

Independent vs. In-House Testing

Many companies are able to have an in-house testing department, but many choose to outsource to an independent testing company.

While the in-house testing department allows a company to control the whole process and address issues immediately, there are some drawbacks to this model. Cost for an in-house employee includes salary, but also hidden costs such as hiring, training, benefits, hardware and infrastructure. The company has to continue paying for the employee regardless of what the current testing needs are. Additionally, if the employee is not familiar with a particular task or new type of testing, the company has to supply training, or perhaps hire another person to do the job.

For many companies it will make sense to hire an independent testing company to take care of its testing needs. Developers have a familiarity with their creation and they tend to make assumptions that the end user will probably not make. Therefore, an independent testing company has the advantage of taking a fresh, un-biased look at the software, essentially taking the place of the customer. This objectivity assures that you are delivering what you intended to create. Independent testers have the added advantage of experience and efficiency that comes with focusing on advancements in the field and working on a variety projects where they can collect and re-use their knowledge. Quality is also their only goal. Using an independent testing company gives you logistical benefits such as reduced costs, including reducing hidden costs, as well as flexibility, meaning you can quickly reduce or increase your team size.