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How To Sell QA Services To Your Clients: Tips For Software Development Companies - 1

How To Sell QA Services To Your Clients: Tips For Software Development Companies

  1. #1. Global turnover
  2. #2. Simple math when a developer/PM tests a product
  3. #3. “Earlier” equals “Cheaper”
  4. #4. Performance testing case
  5. #5. Compatibility testing
  6. #6. Automation testing
  7. #7. Mindset dilemma
  8. #8. The area of responsibility
  9. #9. Draw an analogy 
  10. #10. Fuckups happen
  11. #11. Be honest to people

More and more clients finally start to realize, how significant testing for a successful release. However, the number of those who remain skeptical and focused on so-called cost-efficient solutions still remains huge. Our current task is to educate a client about the meaning of QA assurance, the mission of a tester, and persuade that testing matters as much as the development. We help to understand if client spends too much or too less on testing.
It is not a simple thing to do. Thus, we decided to share some tips for the successful start.

#1. Global turnover

Numbers are the best argument, especially when it comes to budgets. Nowadays, the global QA & Testing turnover in the field of development amounts to $45 bln. 
Why is this number important? It means that all companies, starting from startups and ending up with giants like Apple and Facebook, have QA departments, which control the quality of development. It is an integral part of the development process, highly valued in terms of efficiency and money.

global turnover of QA and testing

 

#2. Simple math when a developer/PM tests a product

Usually, testing employs around 25-40% of the development time. Let’s suppose a developer is going to spend their time on testing all possible cases. Instead of working on the new features for your business product, they are preoccupied with tests. Don’t forget that a developer’s rate is usually 30-40% higher than a QA engineer rate. 
You don’t have to be a genius to realize that hiring a QA specialist is not extra expenses. It is a way to save money. Taking into account the fact that an average dev salary is around $5,000, you can save ~1600$.

QA helps to save

#3. “Earlier” equals “Cheaper”

The earlier testing starts, the low development costs are. The price of a mistake is decidedly higher if detected at the end of testing. It is very important to have a team member, who will take care of quality control as the development process unfolds.

A QA specialist will keep the product in good condition and prevent the issues that can potentially delay the delivery and mess with the deadlines. Once, we faced a five-month delay due to a crucial security issue detected by a QA engineer before the launch. Obviously, involving a QA at the beginning is a good decision.

earlier equals cheaper testing diagram

#4. Performance testing case

Here’s a prominent real-world example. There was a case when a website could handle only 1,000 users, although a marketing team expected to have around 1,500 visitors. Consequently, 30% of clients weren’t able to use the website due to performance issues QA engineer could have detected if they had a chance. 
30% of users had glitches and experienced problems with website loading. One lead costs approximately 10$, so around 500 of wasted leads accounted for $5,000 negative payoff. The client would spend much less on QA engineer, who would easily detect such issue.

#5. Compatibility testing

A potential client couldn’t leave contacts due to the compatibility issues on your website or mobile application. The thing is that only QA engineer can do a professional compatibility testing and provide the guarantee that an app works well on the specified devices and browsers.
And who knows, maybe that lost client could have changed your business. So it’s better to be sure that all browsers and devices are covered, and your potential clients won’t work with your competitors due to some issues on your website.

#6. Automation testing

Automating testing is not a panacea but sometimes it helps to decrease the time of releases and increase the quality of a product. 
Let me share a few numbers. A Manual tester spends 10 hours on regression testing. An Automation tester can pass those tests in 20 minutes. Simple calculations will show that you can save ~ $500-1000 on testing during the next months. 

#7. Mindset dilemma

Some are wondering: isn’t a developer expected to write apps in clear code with no issues? Yes, in a perfect world. The reality is rather harsh, and clients often don’t take into account the differences between a developer’s and QA’s mindsets.

A developer’s job is to build. Their main target is to resolve a task by the means of the code. A tester focuses on checking and challenging this code. Testers simulate various cases and scenarios to prevent troubles and ensure high quality. Their purpose is to find mistakes or trigger them.

A developer is responsible for the code, while a tester takes care of the business logic and a user. QA engineer prefers to walk in user’s shoes and report what is super nice and what is far from the perfection.

mindset dilemma diagram

 

#8. The area of responsibility

Every tester is a professional in his area. Often QA engineers specialize in a particular field they have learned and practiced, for example:

  • functional (business logic);
  • compatibility;
  • security;
  • performance;
  • and usability.

While a tester can switch between these types of expertize, a developer isn’t able to provide the testing in all of the spheres above mentioned in a professional manner. It is a completely new world for a developer, while a tester does it professionally.

tester responsibility area

#9. Draw an analogy 

Web development functions exactly like a factory. In particular, each has a quality control department. Now, imagine that this part is excluded from the factory. What results do you expect? And what’s important: will you rush to buy their products?  

#10. Fuckups happen

You can click here to discover an insightful story about little bugs that destroyed products. Ironically, they were likely to be detected by QA engineers. Fuckups happen, but don’t be the main reason. 

#11. Be honest to people

There are three types of companies:

  • Those that include testing into a development rate in a secret manner. 
  • Those, who propose to invite a QA engineer to a team.
  • Those, who don’t test their product. 

The first ones don’t even discuss this aspect with a client. They hire a QA engineer immediately and secretly include the payment in a developer’s rate if needed. When you see that it is extremely difficult to explain who is QA and what is their contribution, go with it.
Honestly speaking, we are not the fans of such strategy; we belong the second type. We aim to build clear communication and explain everything to our clients.
The third group is very likely to fail. This is how you risk to end up with a three-star (or even lower) rating on Google Play and App Store.

In case you want to get more insights – book a call here with a person who wrote this article – Sergey Smaglyuk – 

 

Hungry for more insights?
Book a call with Sergey.

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