Trends in the use of crowdsourced testing

Quality is considered implicit these days. Consequently, concentration is shifting to how project testing costs can be optimized and how time to market can be improved as a measure of testing success. the World Quality Report, 2016-17, (WQR2016) cites that 42 % of IT executives want cost optimization from their respective QA functions, and 37 % of them desire faster time to market. Weekend testing can help meet these objectives and lower the cost of testing for vendors (by employing weekend testers) as well as for the customer.

Weekend testing is a form of crowdsourcing. WQR2016 has studied the use of crowdsourcing by respondents. The primary focus on achieving maximum cost efficiency in the form of operational test factory models and captive Testing Center of Excellence (TCOE) is moving toward a demand for more flexible, nimble, and easily accessible TCOE models, such as crowdsourcing. It is interesting to note that amid the shift, organizations still seek managed service models apart from vendors in the setup of test scenarios.

While a managed service model provided by an expert QA vendor ranks the highest in importance (49 % of respondents), the use of a crowdsourcing solution model for quick test capacity is used by 47 % of the respondents, alongside a decentralized TCOE model for improved agility and efficiency. This puts crowdsourcing ahead of a captive TCOE (45 %) and a TCOE at an offsite location (42 %).

Important elements in setting up test operations is shown in the following graph: