As the intricacy of software rises with the introduction of AI-fueled components or simply scaling your company infrastructure, you might be wondering where to seek efficient yet reasonable testing options. The basic requirements firms impose relate to the safety of their data, trimmed costs, and the ability to tailor-fit the scope of work right exactly to their changing needs. The optimal way out is now practiced when you don’t have well-oiled testing in-house executed routinely, but you necessitate to unfold the entire process rapidly, including with the use of automation. What is meant here is QA testing as a service.
This relatively new approach — it can be said that it has been evolving in these past years directly proportional to the expansion of the cloud — boasts various use cases and merits. In this article, we’ll explore how it’s different from classical methods and what features and advantages it offers.
First of all, what exactly is TaaS?
An integral attribute of this type of service is its delegation to a dedicated QA testing services company. Another feature is that the provider and customer heavily lean on the cloud to exchange documents, get access to tools, and run processes. At this, the volume of rendered work is conditional on the customer’s needs, and various types of checks can be offered at various times depending on how they’re developing and what exactly they require. To illustrate, an organization might be particularly concerned about the security of their IT infrastructure and request an audit, or they might have a need to enlarge their client base and, thus, run core performance checks to avert breakdowns when their systems are exposed to high demands.
The volume of requested software testing as a service activity may vary from an occasional consultation on some particular area to verifying the quality of a program or system end-to-end. At this, it’s often interwoven with some in-house expertise as there are stakeholders who’d be well familiar with the program’s architecture, which is, normally, not required of a third party in given circumstances. Activities that are ideally suited for this on-demand model are regression testing with the use of automation, diverse performance checks, e.g. load and stress verifications, security audits, and more.
What steps, in outline, does QA testing as a service imply?
As we mentioned earlier, there are accomplished agencies that specialize in testing, and their packages and offers include all core forms of verifications that businesses normally need, if not beyond. This implies offering diverse instruments, programs for reporting and tracking, well-oiled infrastructure to check programs through and through, and more, and customers pay for the usage of the particular services they have the need for. This form of service is apt for verifying anything from code or a standalone app to an ecosystem of programs or procedures.
The reasons why you might need QA testing as a service vary. For instance, you might simply come short of time to perform an area of work, or you might lack rare specialists with well-honed skills in a particular field. Further on, you might not have the necessary infrastructure, or the work that needs to be done is just a short-term project, with no need to let the third party in on the extensive knowledge of your business logic and systems. All this is resolved by the resources you get access to.
The work within software testing as a service implies the following steps:
- A user scenario is established together with the suitable environment necessary for the smooth performance of the test;
- The test itself is now outlined;
- The third party closely follows the performance of this verification to decide whether the positive results were met according to the scenario;
- The testing company issues recommendations and aids in fixing the revealed discrepancies and revamping the system.
What categories of work can be performed within software testing as a service?
Below are the categories of checks that are most commonly covered by QA testing as a service:
Functional
Thanks to this type of check, the well-oiled performance of an app function is verified, both in relation to other functions and when taken in silos. It encompasses regression, GUI, integration, and acceptance verifications.
Performance
A newly built system might run just fine unless it appears under tremendous load, e.g. a shopping app during seasonal holidays. To prevent these situations, trials run under various extreme conditions.
Security
These checks are aimed at uncovering flaws in programs to work out measures that will fortify their defense.
Compatibility
The same program may run flawlessly on one device or OS but fail to perform smoothly within a different environment. These verifications are intended to prevent this.
Usability
The smartest algorithms are nothing if not presented in a form that can be easily accessed and managed by users. This smoothness is achieved through this particular type of verifications.
Automation
The well-oiled infrastructure for automated verifications furnished by third parties enables customers to substantially speed up their test-related processes.
Some use cases demonstrating the effectiveness of TaaS
As we explained earlier, the reasons why you might seek to outsource an area of responsibility to software testing as a service firm can differ dramatically. They can narrow down to the mere lack of time and the request to automate mundane processes without digging deeply into the business logic and niche particularities. Another potent reason for delegating assignments is if you want to have a fresh look at the functioning of your systems and impartial third-party judgment.
To illustrate the idea of QA testing as a service in a concrete example, let’s say that a firm reaches out to a testing company to perform the penetration testing of their infrastructure end-to-end. What will be the actions of this accomplished QA agency? The obvious measures would be turning to a SaaS model to enable the instantaneous viewing of the results of automated checks. In contrast with the approaches when the outcomes are available solely after verifications are completed, this technique empowers users to immediately handle the security flaws that come to light.
Another example of turning to software testing as a service is when a firm has a disaster recovery plan in place that needs to be assessed by an unbiased third party. This type of check is oftentimes pushed to the back burner as it doesn’t have a direct impact on revenue. However, even the most robust systems aren’t immune from breakdowns, and outsourcing testing your disaster recovery plan and improving it is definitely a worthwhile endeavor.
In this regard, it must be said that Amazon Mechanical Turk and similar instruments come in extremely handy for carrying out performance testing with real users on demand and in an economical manner.
What pros will your business experience when opting for QA testing as a service?
In this section, we’ll look at some strong points that software testing as a service boasts over traditional models.
Scalability
This merit makes QA testing as a service extremely suitable for startups and SMEs. They can now entrust quality assurance processes in the hands of well-versed providers who have all the necessary infrastructure at their disposal and seamlessly provide the requested amount of work via the cloud.
Affordability
Based on the above characteristic, it’s par for the course that you don’t overpay for the resources that you don’t require at the moment. However, you’re free to regulate the amount of assignments as per your growing — or, on the contrary, diminishing — needs. This tailored-fit approach guarantees preciseness in spendings, as well as rapidly gained ROI as there are no heavy investments in in-house recruitment, diverse tools, and so on, that pay off over longer periods of time.
The vast pool of professionals at hand
When turning to this approach, you can rest assured that the work will be accomplished at the highest quality possible, as it’s done by well-versed specialists with the use of top-notch instruments. This professionalism is even reinforced by the fact that all verifications done are 100% impartial, as your in-house team that possesses certain knowledge of your operations remains neutral and doesn’t get involved in the assignments. Additionally, you benefit from concentrating on the areas of your business that are important to you and entrusting crucial but demanding testing-related assignments to an accomplished and dedicated firm.
Absence of delays
If you face tight deadlines, QA testing as a service comes as a life ring in a sense. The requested verifications are done rapidly, and thus, the entire SDLC is accelerated if we speak about the deployment of a new product. At any rate, this approach promotes fast yielding of ROI as the stage of acquiring and tuning the infrastructure is skipped.
Exhaustive coverage
The exhaustive range of tasks that a provider can handle will meet your every need, from verifying the platform’s speed under unprecedented loads to pointing out its vulnerabilities.
What features will you avail yourself of?
QA testing as a service is characterized by helpful features; some of them are listed below.
The work and exchange of information are performed in the cloud
The merits of this approach need no introduction — it’s robust, on-demand, and scalable. Although there can be security concerns, they’re lifted by the standards and policies introduced by providers in this respect.
Processes are automated where possible
The scope that you submit for testing gets structurized, and the work on it is to a high extent automated. The merits are obvious, from the fast completion of tasks to the significantly decreased percentage of inconsistencies that can be a result of human efforts.
The stats and report are provided in real time
This allows you to see the real picture in dynamics and take action rapidly to shield and reinforce your systems based on how critical the issues are.
Payment is carried out only for the checks, tools, and expertise you use
From usability testing of a simple app to going through enterprise-grade platforms, pay as you go and just for the instruments and expertise that you avail yourself of, no more, no less. The vast range of resources is always there, and you’re the one who chooses how deep you’ll go with the software testing as a service based on the deadlines and budget.
Testing is fine-tuned to a high degree
This strong point follows from the previous one. QA as a service is opposite to one-size-fits-all testing methods and is always grounded on particularities of every IT initiative to tailor the suggested strategies to them.
An extensive variety of instruments is offered for selection
At your disposal, there will be substantial selections of libraries and test cases that can be adjusted to your specific situation and user types. This selection is constantly broadened as the QA testing as a service platform gets more clients and replenishes its libraries with new cases.
You’re always abreast of the spending thanks to tracking features
The consumption of resources is regulated and traced by the meters so that you’re aware of where the money goes and what services you have used this month.
Some checks can be performed autonomously without the involvement of personnel
Uncomplicated checks, e.g. load testing, can be carried out even by non-professionals with minimal knowledge in the sphere and don’t require supervision from experienced testers. However, per your request, seasoned specialists are ever-ready to take over the entire scope of work end-to-end, from drawing up plans and suggesting the best-matching tech to submitting their conclusions on the results.
Several operations can be carried out simultaneously
This pro ensures that you’re perfectly in line with Agile and DevOps guidelines which is so necessary in today’s IT initiatives.
To sum up
Let us draw a line by stating that habitual testing methods are in some ways inferior to software testing as a service. The latter boasts the flexibility of on-demand environment and instruments, it doesn’t require the purchase of any additional licenses and equipment, it’s highly customizable, provides instantaneous results and doesn’t necessitate hefty exploration of the current business operations and logic.
