How to Choose Between Outsource and Crowdsource Testing?

by TestFortExpert on 11/11/2013

Testing is an important stage of product development that needs extensive resources. In case you are not sure the testers can meet the deadline, you have 2 options – make them overwork or refer to outsourcing or crowdsource testing services.

Let’s define what the difference is between these two popular testing trends. Outsource testing suggests that the software is sent to the third-party organization for testing that allows a company deal with other development issues at that time. Crowdsource testing is about sending out your software to all the signed up people willing to test around the world.

For better understanding, let’s consider the uses of both.

Outsource testing has 3 advantages:

The companies feel OK about their data security as the software is outsourced to one particular company.
The company can easily communicate with an outsource QA team while cooperating, discuss specific issues and track their activity.
An outsource QA team is committed to the quality since it is not paid for bugs number and therefore they may report larger ones.

However it has also some disadvantages:

Outsourcing is more expensive since the salary is paid to the outsource team hourly rather than for bugs number. There are also office expenses and some other overheads.
Hiring outsource testers from the local pool leads to using the same techniques, similar level and technical backgrounds as well as inability to overcome the language barriers if the application is global.
Though testing across different platforms, it’s likely that the QA team will operate with the same hardware, equipment and browsers that can be followed by the limited number of detected bugs.

As for crowdsource testing, consider its following pluses:

A talent pool is surely larger since specialists from the entire globe are involved contributing different techniques and ideas into the project.
Crowdsource testing saves budget as the crowd testing participants are paid for the number of bugs they found.
People engaged in crowdsource testing provide a non-stop testing due to the various locations.

Still, there are some minuses as well:

Crowd testing causes a serious security issue due to the openness of the software to the wide public.
Since paid for bug number, testers involved in this activity tend to look for minor bugs and not care much about the quality.
It is problematic for project managers to monitor the testing process, predict how long it will take and how diligently the work is done.

Though may seem similar, outsource and crowdsource QA approaches have their own pros and cons. Outsourcing is better to use when you want control over the process, quality and data security, while crowdsourcing overcome the limits of technologies and expertise, enables around the clock testing and saves your money.

Both practices present the great alternatives to in-company testing, and in the end it all comes down to the company’s priorities and abilities to choose.

Check out our related articles:

4 Simple Tricks on Crowdsourced Testing for Your QA Team Superiority

The More The Merrier: Crowd Sourced Testing

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