TL;DR

In previous post we wrote about typical problems with in-house testing team. This post gives pros and cons of outsourced testing team that are aligned with Black Box Software Testing Foundations course (BBST) created by Rebecca Fiedler, Cem Kaner and James Bach.

Reasons for outsourcing test team

Here are reasons why managers decide to go with outsourced test team:

• team has specific skills that development team does not have. Example is security testing for Ruby On Rails platform.
• Government agency does not trust development vendor so seeks for third party software tester vendor that will check the contract between Government agency and development vendor. This is excellent opportunity for you to go independent and start your company that will offer such testing services.
• Outsourced test team is cheaper than in-house testing.

Quote: "We can get good testing from our own staff. If I have to get bad testing, I want it cheap."

Pros

Better skill for specific development platform (React) or some specific testing tasks (load testing).

Cons

Less understanding in client market (risks, competitors), causing in less effective scenario testing and session based testing. Bug reports will be less credible.

Collaborative opportunities with local developers and stakeholders. Outsourced test team is usually in remote position. So in order to get to know the domain, they will need more documentation, they will have to create more documentation. Collaborative bug fixing and release management is less effective.

Conclusion

To outsource or not to outsource your testing team? This is business decision and information in this post could help you to make that decision.