CASE STUDY
Building an outsourced QA department for a Web development agency
Discover how we partnered with a web development agency.
Client Overview
Client & its field: Web development agency
Industry: Web development
Region: Global
Client’s Challenges
Our client, a rapidly growing web development startup with global enterprise clients, manages a diverse portfolio of websites and web applications, across various industries. As their business expanded, they identified the critical need for a specialized Quality Assurance (QA) department to uphold the highest standards of web development, ensure exceptional end-user experiences, and drive customer satisfaction and retention.
Requirements:
- Define QA process and standards. As the company grew, the QA processes were either non-existent or scattered across different teams, leading to inconsistent testing and missed defects.
- Minimize post-release issues. Maintain 0% critical and blocker issues.
- Need for scalability. The client required a flexible and scalable QA solution to accommodate fluctuating workloads and client demands.
- Integration with in-house development teams. Shift from a developer-only mindset to a collaborative, cross-functional approach.
- Cost constraints. The client wanted to establish a high-quality QA process but needed an affordable solution without compromising quality or productivity.
Our Solution
To address the client’s challenges, we took a comprehensive, phased approach to establish a dedicated outsourced QA department that would meet their stringent quality requirements and align with their goal of delivering consistent, high-quality solutions across all projects. Our solution focused on minimizing post-release issues, establishing uniform quality standards, and promoting a collaborative culture of quality, achieved through the following steps:
- Building a dedicated QA team.
We started by handpicking experienced QA professionals with a deep understanding of web development. This team worked as an independent outsourced entity but seamlessly integrated with the client’s internal teams. To manage fluctuating workloads, we introduced a scalable QA model. This allowed us to increase or decrease resources based on project needs, without the client having to hire or manage full-time staff. - Defining QA processes and standards.
To build a robust QA department that functions as an extension of the in-house team, we designed processes tailored to the high-demand nature of web development.:
- A centralized QA strategy was developed to coordinate testing efforts across projects and create unified benchmarks for quality.
- Standardized QA workflows were implemented across all projects and teams, covering end-to-end testing for every phase, from requirement analysis to release testing and beyond.
- Defined QA standards with specific benchmarks for functionality, performance, security, and compatibility to address common issues, ensuring reliable and consistent quality.
- Established a detailed bug-tracking and reporting system using tools integrated with development pipelines, project management tools, and communication channels to streamline issue resolution.
- We introduced best practices for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) to ensure regular testing without disrupting development cycles.
- Fostering a collaborative, quality-focused culture.
Initially, the company operated with a development-only approach, with little collaboration across functions. To create a quality-driven culture:
- QA roles were embedded in each project team, involving QA experts early in the planning and development stages.
- Regular cross-functional meetings were established, fostering a shared responsibility for quality and integrating QA checkpoints in agile sprints.
- Open communication channels allowed for quick feedback loops between developers, QA, and project managers, reducing delays and preventing critical issues making to production.
- Implementing comprehensive manual and automated testing.
For an effective QA strategy, we designed a balanced approach combining manual testing with automation:
- Manual testing: This focused on user experience, exploratory testing, and regression testing, essential for customized solutions.
- Automated testing: A suite of automated tests was created to handle repetitive test cases, especially critical flows, reducing test cycle time by 30%.
- We also developed automated workflows for critical functionalities, combined with visual regression, maximizing resource efficiency across projects.
Value Delivered
By building a dedicated QA department aligned with the client’s goals, we delivered significant value across multiple dimensions, driving both immediate and long-term benefits for the agency:
- Reduced post-release issues: Automated regression testing combined with thorough manual testing minimized post-release issues to a ‘statistical error,’ successfully achieving the goal of 0% critical and blocker issues.
- Cost-efficiency: Outsourcing the QA department provided a cost-effective solution for the client. They were able to avoid the costs associated with hiring, training and maintaining QA staff while still receiving high-quality results.
- Scalable testing resources: The client was able to scale testing resources up or down based on project requirements, providing the flexibility needed to handle varying project volumes without increasing overhead costs.
- Consistent quality across projects: Established QA processes and standards led to consistent quality across all projects, meeting the client’s goals for reliability and client satisfaction.
- Faster time-to-market: Improved collaboration and efficient QA processes allowed the client to meet rapid development cycles without sacrificing quality, accelerating time-to-market for each project.
- Focus on core business: Allows their internal team to focus on core development and strategic initiatives while QA experts handle testing.
- Long-term strategic value: The QA team we built laid the foundation for the client’s ongoing commitment to quality, ensuring they can continue to deliver top-tier web development projects for their clients.
