How QA Outsourcing Can Boost Your Software Project

QA testing: Software security and data privacy are the most important challenges facing the American technology industry today. The cybersecurity firm Juniper Research recently predicted that more than 33 billion consumer records will be stolen each year by 2023. That’s an incredible increase over 2018’s 12 billion stolen records.

Many businesses are working with quality assurance (QA) outsourcing companies to protect their consumers’ sensitive data and integrate cybersecurity into each new software development project. These outsourcing partners overcome the data privacy challenge by integrating software security into every step of the development process.

Read on to learn how QA outsourcing can improve the quality of software and increase the odds of success when developing new applications.

The Benefits of QA Testing in Software Development

QA testing is an indispensable part of the software development lifecycle. It ensures that software works as designed and that it is free of major coding errors which might compromise functionality or sensitive consumer data.

While such testing was traditionally viewed as an isolated part of the development lifecycle, modern software methodologies such as Lean and Agile integrate testing into every stage of the development process. This helps reduce the overall amount of errors and gives developers a chance to integrate changes into the early iterations of the software.

Better Quality Code

Producing high-quality software that is free of bugs and coding errors is one of the biggest challenges facing American tech executives. That’s because programming is prone to frequent human mistakes. In fact, the typical software engineer makes, on average, “100 to 150 errors for every thousand lines of code.”

In addition, poor quality software cost American companies and consumers more than $2.5 trillion in 2018. The research demonstrated that most of these losses result from software defects, human coding errors, canceled projects, and problems with legacy software.

QA outsourcing helps companies produce better quality code through multidisciplinary development teams. These groups consist of software engineers, design specialists, security experts, and more. They work together to correct each other’s mistakes and to ensure that each software iteration has been thoroughly vetted and is free of major errors.

Software testing also helps companies identify coding errors later in the development lifecycle. Manual testers serve as mock end users and will physically click every button and option in the software to find broken links and other errors. This helps teams identify crucial, overlooked mistakes and ensure that the software is released without any hidden surprises.

Improved UI & UX Design

Traditionally, user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design were an afterthought and was only included in the final stages of the software development lifecycle. However, the rise of Agile software development, combined with new consumer demands, means that user design is now integrated into every step of the process.

UX is used to describe the usability and accessibility of software. Software with strong UX design should “just work” right out of the box. Instagram is an excellent example of a mobile app that works smoothly from the get-go. Users can intuitively navigate through the app with ease. In addition, the company’s subtle prompts help users master the app’s more complicated features.

UI, on the other hand, refers to what an end user sees when they launch an application. Great UI design is seamless—the end user doesn’t notice the work put into the application. They only know that it looks beautiful and makes them want to extend their time on the website or application. Virgin Airlines’s desktop site is an excellent example of a clutter-free home screen that simplifies the booking process.

The best software outsourcing partners help their clients improve UI and UX design through Agile development processes. This software development methodology emphasizes the use of multidisciplinary teams throughout the development cycle. This ensures that user design experts are included in every step of the development process and that each iteration is designed to meet customer expectations.

Lastly, QA sourcing testing services help companies improve their user design through usability testing. This step goes beyond traditional functional testing and seeks to view software through the end user’s eyes. Select customers are given access to the software prototype to provide feedback on its usability, ease-of-navigation, and functionality.

Also Read: Why Is a Patient Relationship Management Software Important for Your Clinic?

Data Privacy

Cybersecurity continues to be a major cause of concern for consumers and businesses alike. That’s because 2018 was one of the worst years on record for data breaches. In fact, the number of cyber attacks increased by an estimated 40% over the previous year and more than 1 billion consumer records were compromised last year.

The number of data breaches is only expected to rise. The continued growth of the Internet of Things and the expansion of cloud computing means that more and more sensitive consumer data is being stored on vulnerable networks.

Many companies are working with QA software testing services to identify vulnerabilities and to protect their customers’ data. These outsourced software security experts help defend software against malicious DOS, phishing, spoofing, and other attacks.

QA services accomplish this by using an appropriate security methodology, such as the Systems Security Engineering Capability Maturity Model, to ensure that data security is integrated into every important process area.

In addition, these outsourcing partners also integrate data privacy concerns into every stage of the development lifecycle—from the requirements analysis phases to the final testing and deployment stages.

Conclusion

QA software testing services are an invaluable resource for business owners. That’s because the number of successful cyber attacks continues to increase every year—compromising sensitive consumer data and costing American businesses trillions of dollars every year.

These QA outsourcing partners help companies avoid data breaches by fixing coding errors and building defenses against common cyber attacks. In addition, software testing helps improve the user experience by creating functional and aesthetically pleasing software that works out of the box.

Companies interested in working with an offshore software testing service should do their research and ensure that potential outsourcing partners have experience with software security and a proven track record of protecting their customer’s sensitive data.