The trend nowadays is to outsource software testing. Offsite software testing companies are everywhere; they're headquartered in the United States and in technology-rich countries such as India, Singapore and Japan. Company literature boasts the tremendous time and money saving features of outsourcing software testing while stressing high quality work you can count on. But is it really beneficial to outsource software testing? There's no standard answer to this potentially expensive proposition.

How can you decide if it makes sense to outsource software testing? You've got to begin by carefully analyzing your needs as they relate to this critical phase of software development. Software testing means many things to many people. The main objective of software testing is to ensure the software functions as specified before going into production. But it also means making sure the software is intuitive and easy to use. Let's face it – no matter how great the software product is, if it's too cumbersome to use, its usefulness will be short-lived.

Before you make the decision to outsource software testing, it's important to clarify what you want from the outsourcing company. As their popularity grows, so do the services these companies provide. Many also provide software design services. Or, they will plan, but not implement a software testing process for your organization. And they will even send individuals to your site to take care of integrating the software testing tools you purchase with your hardware. In general, regardless of your exact software testing needs, if you've got the money to pay for it, you'll find an outsourcing company willing to do it.

One reason companies decide to outsource software testing is to eliminate the learning curve. Software testing companies not only know about the different software testing tools, their employees already know how to use these tools. If you work in software development, you know how tight production schedules are. Anything that saves time helps keep projects on schedule. Software delays are costly so when weighing the costs vs. benefits of outsourcing software testing, determine how project delays affect your bottom line.

Oftentimes software development houses cannot afford to hire and maintain a full-time development team and an in-house software testing team. For these companies, the decision to outsource software testing is an easy one.

The decision to outsource software testing makes sense for many companies. If you do decide to outsource, get your expectations and your costs in writing before work commences. Agree on a method of reporting bugs back to you to ensure that the information you receive back is useful. Also discuss such topics as regression testing, script maintenance, and load tests beforehand.

When you outsource software testing, it's important to build a solid relationship with the company for this current project as well as for future projects. If possible, speak with clients who have given their software testing work to the outsource company. As tempting as it may be don't let cost be the deciding factor. Remember, cheaper isn't always better.