The bug tracking process becomes more effective when testers are given a certain degree of independence. This happens because there are certain differences between an author’s and a tester’s cognitive biases. However, independence is not a replacement for familiarity and developers can efficiently identify most of the defects in their own code.
The Level of Independence in Testing include
- No independent testers – The only form of testing where developers test their own code.
- Independent developers or developers in the team – Developers test their colleague’s code or application.
- Independent testing team – An in-house team that reports to the project management or executives.
- Independent testers from the business – Testers that specialize in usability, performance, and security testing.
- Independent testers external to an organization – Either work in-house or outsourced.
Although the best thing is to have multiple test levels with a few of these levels that are handled by independent testers, this works best for most projects. In addition, developers should also participate in testing, especially at the lower levels. By doing so, they can also exercise control over the quality of their own work. They should also focus on how an independent software testing company implements testing dependence depending on the software development process. For instance, in agile environments, testers may also be a part of a development team. Where in most organizations testers may be considered a part of the larger independent test team. In addition, product owners may also perform acceptance testing to validate user stories at the end of each iteration. Having a software testing team on site has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Disadvantages of Working with an In-house Team
- Developers who code the product should not be testing it. Organizations should hire objective testing teams for a reason, the most notable is that developers shouldn’t certify their code. If they do it right, as a basic principle of software testing.
- Independent testers are most likely to recognize different kinds of failures than developers because of their diverse backgrounds, technical aspects, and biases.
- An independent tester can easily verify, challenge, or stakeholder assumptions during the system’s specification and implementation.
- The development team can be biased toward testing their own product. An unbiased point of view defects that couldn’t be discovered otherwise. It is also essential for the market success of the software product.
- We see testers reaching to the development manager which is harmful to a project. It is not possible to get the best out of your QA leads and QA engineers if they report issues to the person whose other team is responsible for that. In such scenarios, the metrics and quality can be manipulated. When testers are free from biases, they can seek out more defects or discrepancies than those who already working within the developing team.
Advantages of Working with Independent Testers
Hiring an unbiased independent software testing company provides the following benefits:
- Less management work – It means there is no more hassle to hire and train testers.
- New discipline within development teams – People are careful when they know somebody will review their work. Thus, they work with more due diligence.
- All the testing skills a company needs is available under one roof. The organization can rely entirely on one provider to handle all the QA needs. This is more likely to happen with an independent, specialized QA firm than with a software development company.
- Independent testers are never afraid of trial and error. Failing to identify a bug the first time only means that they need to execute extra creative tests. They believe in defects and do not accept that bugs are fixed unless they have exact proof.
- Good testers have a broader knowledge of the app’s regression history as compared to that of a developer. They are familiar with all the issues of the system and excel at testing. They are confident, self-assured, and can think creatively.
Conclusion
Allowing software testing companies to test applications refers to the concept of independent testing of the system. This provides a degree of independence prevents author bias and is generally more effective in findings defects and failures within the product or application. It is important for organizations to find the right testing partner so that they can release quality software products with reduced time to the market. It is also crucial for firms to do proper research so that they can hire the right people and make the most of the outsourced software testing efforts.