Testing Mobile Apps with Remote Teams

My former test manager, good friend and a mentor posted the following on Facebook which got me thinking about a major accomplishment this year and prompted this blog post.

For the last year I have been running crowd-sourced test cycles for my company while testing Android and iOS native apps. I learned a lot, met many good testers, and had the privilege of working with and test leading a few unbelievably passionate and talented people.  Leading testers in a remote model where you never meet your team in person is difficult, especially when you have to figure out their strengths and aspirations. Plus test management in this context is something I was never sure about because of the overall responsibility and worrying about the end result and gathered information on product quality. I keep thinking that what if the mission fails due to misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the goals and objectives? What if the team energy and dynamics will not form correctly?

Crowdsourced Testing: Lessons Learned From a Customer's Point of View.

I am frequently asked about crowdsourced software testing companies and how to best work with them. It’s a tough question as every company is different and therefore the approach and strategy has to be customized accordingly based on what they want to get out of utilizing the crowdsourced software testing model.

I have freelanced with crowdsourced testing companies for two years and have learned a lot about the processes, platform tools, freelance tester communities, product management, challenges, and shortcomings from the tester side. In the last year I have expanded my knowledge by running a high volume of testing with crowdsourced testing vendors for Android, iOS and mobile web apps at my current company as a customer. Overall it has been very successful based on the feedback and data that we received from freelance testers. But it hasn't been a bed of roses as it has taken some trial and error as a customer to obtain the right knowledge and experience that in turn helped accomplish our testing goals. I highly recommend that your in-house professional testers handle the relationship with the crowdsourcing company(ies) because they understand your testing needs and your company's business.