The Pros and Cons of Having Quality Assurance Done

When it comes to creating software, websites, or products, the development process can be complex. While there are several web development frameworks that can contribute a lot to keeping things simple, you should always have someone else look it over before showing it to the world. Even if a project or product has been created by top professionals, it should still be looked over by someone else. We don’t always have the capacity to find our own errors and it always helps to have another set of eyes on things. This is why the process of quality assurance is vital towards the end of a project.

One of the final and important steps for a product or project before it’s launch is to have it vetted by someone else. Similar to having a book editor, a quality assurance tester can help find the details or bugs you might have overlooked. The importance of development vs QA should always be taken into consideration when planning a project. Here are a few pros and cons to consider if you’re thinking about hiring a quality assurance tester for your product or project.

PRO: Finding bugs before your clients do

Running into bugs is inevitable in the process of developing websites and software. Technical issues are part of the challenge, and you can cut costs by testing it yourself, but you definitely run a risk. If you want to do it yourself you can check out usability testing tips and case studies to help you out, but you should look to a professional to take care of this. They have expert knowledge in detecting bugs in many different devices and usually having an easy fix for it. They can help you make corrections before a crucial moment. For example, an issue where WordPress doesn’t send an email can be caught by a QA professional to ensure it reaches your customers.

CON: The process can take longer

Having someone else find errors in your work can add extra time to the project. It’s not fun, but if you’re responsible and organized you can budget for this time to find the time to fix these errors. It’s much better to do this before launching the product to your customers than it is to have to backtrack and fix it. Most companies and developers know that there will be many future iterations or versions, but each one should be vetted beforehand so there doesn’t have to be constant updates for your teams, your customers or your audience.

PRO:  Test many different devices

Testing your product or website on different devices can be exhausting and sometimes difficult to access multiple different ones at the same time to test on. This is why hiring a professional or company to do quality assurance testing is beneficial. They either have access to the devices themselves, or virtual machines that can replicate them, taking the weight off your shoulders.

There are some eye-opening advantages to having a responsive web design, and ensuring it has been properly tested is vital to its success. Mobile design is only one aspect of testing that QA teams tackle; they also test the functionality of your product. One of the most important things they can catch are any issues related to privacy or security in the design of your product.

CON: It can be expensive

Hiring a quality assurance engineer or company can come with a big price tag, but it’s worth the investment. It’s better to have someone find the issues or errors before your clients or customers do. Running into issues like this can make them unhappy, and they may not want to continue doing business with you. Investing in a team to do QA on your product or software is usually worth it in the long run so you don’t lose money later on from issues that should have been caught, like ones related to security or privacy. Your customers and clients trust your product is the best it can possibly be, and when you use a QA team you ensure an extra layer of protection for them. 

PRO: Better customer experience

Investing in your product is the best thing for your customers. Ensuring your product has a smooth process and user experience is important for keeping users engaged and happy with the service or software you are providing them with. Balancing functionality and design is one of the main reasons why QA is essential for customer experience. The most important part of this process is ensuring that you’re limiting any potential liability. If there’s an issue with your product that can make your customer vulnerable you can lose their faith or trust in you if there are any breaches. It also is poor for your reputation, so skipping corners isn’t always the best idea.

CON: It’s not a sure thing

Just because certain aspects have been tested, the quality that’s being assured is only as good as the tests that are being performed by the QA engineers. Make sure to do research into the company you are going to use to analyze their reputation. Most professionals will be honest and transparent about the issues they find and work together with you to help solve them. Things are constantly changing in the tech industry, and sometimes things can be made obsolete, or have errors. Having a QA professional on hand ensures that you have someone knowledgeable and up to date with new  and emerging issues, along with knowing how to fix them.

Quality assurance testing should be ongoing and not just a one stop shop. As your product evolves or changes, it should be looked at to ensure it’s adapting as best as possible to the new landscape. The decision to work with a quality assurance engineer or company is an individual decision based on many factors. While it can be expensive, it can also be surmised that it is a worthy investment to ensure your product experience is the best it can possibly be, both for the success of your company and the happiness of your users, clients or customers.