Chapter 6. Step 3. Testing and Supporting the Result

Chapter 1. What is Software Outsourcing and Why It’s Now Not Only about the Price
Chapter 2. How to Сhoose the Сountry, Outsourcing Partner and Business Model
Chapter 3. Let’s Start a New Project: the Set-up Process
Chapter 4. Step 1. Business Analysis and Design Are Key
Chapter 5. Step 2. Software Development: Quality Is a Must
Chapter 6. Step 3. Testing and Support for the Result
Chapter 7. FAQ about Outsourcing Software Development

You probably know that testing the product might take even more time than actual code writing. So, let’s see what lies behind this stage of the development process.

Software testing (QA, Quality Assurance) is a process that helps to check if the current result meets the expected one and prevent some defects, errors and safety risks before the product’s implementation.

QA – Why Does It Matter?

• The ultimate goal for a product owner is to give the best customer satisfaction. The product must work faultlessly, otherwise it won’t be used for a long period of time.

• Software bugs not detected during the development phase can cause big mistakes and cost millions of dollars or even human lives.

For example, the carmaker Nissan has had to recall over 1 million cars from the market due to a software failure in the airbag sensory detectors. There have been two reported accidents.

• Software safety is required in almost all kinds of business, but in the financial sector, for example, you must pay twice as much attention to it in order to keep your clients’ data private. 

• It is more reasonable to fix a bug than to start development from scratch in the case of failure.

Project Support

When the program is tested and no more serious bugs have been detected, the project is ready for release and its transfer to end users.

During software maintenance, new functionality can be added in order to increase the usability and applicability of the software.

At this stage, the technical support team starts its work. 

If users detect certain post-release bugs, information about them is transmitted in the form of error reports to the development team. Depending on how critical the problem is, they either immediately release the so-called hot-fix or postpone it until the next version of the program is released.

Characteristics that describe the qualitative and quantitative requirements for the software maintenance are set by the customer. In these characteristics, appropriate criteria and methods are used to follow the execution process. Developers must implement maintenance requirements, and their work must be properly monitored.