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Mar 27, 2023 10 min read
How To Hire a QA Tester: The Ultimate Guide
Do you strive for a quality product? Is your aim to put a functional and user-friendly product on the market? We believe your answer is YES. How can you stand out in an ever-growing competition for customer demands? The answer is simple – hire a QA tester.
Do you strive for a quality product? Is your aim to put a functional and user-friendly product on the market? We believe your answer is YES. How can you stand out in an ever-growing competition for customer demands?
The answer is simple – hire a QA tester. A QA tester or a QA engineer will ensure your product is error-free and can handle high loads.
In this article, we will walk you through everything you need to know about QA testing. And most importantly, we will share tips on how to hire a software tester who will make a flawless product.
Who are QA engineers?
You are probably wondering why you need to hire QA engineers. Can’t developers run their code for bugs? The answer is controversial.
Sure, development teams perform automated, integrated, and code-based tests. Yet another side of the coin is that it is time-consuming, and they’d rather spend this time developing a new feature.
As practice shows, developers do not find many bugs. Not because they are incompetent, but because it is very difficult to find flaws in their work. Hence, knowledge of testing approaches is important.
This is the QA engineers’ cue. QA engineers will assure that even the smallest bug is detected.
When you hire a QA tester, skilled professionals will identify weaknesses and inconsistencies and keep testing the product at all stages of the software development lifecycle.
Why is QA testing important?
Everybody needs an extra set of eyes on their products. With QA engineers you get that additional help. Truth be told, there are more advantages to why you should hire QA testers.
Save time and money
When QA engineers do their job diligently, you are free from doubts that the work will be done perfectly. Experienced QA engineers are here to detect glitches and bugs even in the earliest stages of production. Hire a QA tester for stellar results during release.
Build the name
A software tester is a crucial part of the entire team. When employing people, go with candidates who aim to work for the result. By hiring a dedicated QA tester you are bound to receive ultimate customer satisfaction. And trust us, when users are happy the business is thriving.
Withstand the competition
As we’ve mentioned earlier, gaining trust is hard but possible. When you hire web QA engineers or mobile app testers make a final call for specialists who put people first. Unless you do so, your target audience will be willing to switch to your competitors. The core of any software lifecycle is the user.
Create safety
What does a software tester do? Makes the product better for the users. Not only do they think about functionality but also about security. The world wide web is still a big unknown for many Internet users. Work with a QA tester who will create a trustworthy product.
When do you need to hire a QA tester?
In this section, we will mention at what stages of the software development lifecycle you would need to hire a QA tester.
Stage 1: MVP
Every product starts with MVP. Let’s decipher an acronym MVP which stands for Minimum Viable Product. It is the earliest and the freshest version of a product.
MVP has just enough features to satisfy early customers.
So, hire a software tester to define which features really must make it to the MVP. It’s always better to answer these questions:
Do the clients need this feature in the product?
At this stage, budget plays yet another important role. For that reason, hiring a QA tester is the key. Quality assurance engineers, unlike testers, stand side by side with business analysts and ensure quality requirements for the product. The earlier QA works with you in the team, the better they understand the product and can analyze the needs and actions of the user.
QA involvement is 3 out of 10 at this stage.
Stage 2: MVP release
After the MVP has been successfully tested it is time to move to the next stage. The team should still focus on the essential features to minimize the risks and costs. Make sure that a QA tester does the following:
Create all necessary documentation of the testing process
QA tester involvement is 8 out of 10 at this stage.
Stage 3: Growth
A successful MVP will make it further. It will turn into an established product in the market. This is the time to start introducing more new features. Hire a QA engineer, if you don't already have one.
After all, every new feature can have an unpredictable effect on any part of the application.
Continuously examine a new QA feature by regression, smoke, and sanitary testing. It takes a lot of time, especially if you only do these types of testing manually. It is impossible to conduct such volumes of tests without a tester without losing quality.
QA tester involvement is 10 out of 10 at this stage.
Stage 4: Final product
This is the stage of stability. You have finally made your name, gained enough clients, and built rapport with customers. But there are new challenges on the way.
The market gets saturated.
Hire QA engineers for the flawless performance of the product, design updates, user experience and usability, and more.
QA tester involvement is 10 out of 10 at this stage.
Stage 5: Acquisition
While your product is growing you need to keep in mind different development strategies. It’s important to work on marketing and promotion. How? Promote your software or a product on a landing website, blog, press release, partnerships, marketing programs, and more.
All these implementations need a huge focus on the person.
QA engineers are the key players in the process. They continue to control development changes and iteration processes.
Types of hiring QA testers
The requirements for QA testers are different. Who will be the better fit for the company depends on the industry and position.
Below, you can find the most frequent QA tester jobs.
In-house QA testers
For a complex and long-lifecycle product, you would need a full-time QA tester. A QA tester for in-house services is a benefit for the team. These specialists can maintain the process.
Note: full-time QA testers are expensive to keep. So, before hiring a QA tester for in-house services make a budget check.
Outstaff and outsource QA testers
Hire QA engineers as outsource specialists. Sometimes you need either additional quality assurance or outstaff specialists for other development processes. Want to save time while looking for experienced specialists, contact us.
Full-time contractors
If you need QA testers only for some period of time or at some stages of the product, then hire QA contractors. This process is very cost-effective.
Freelancers
QA testers can be freelancers who will work for a fixed fee on a particular project. Working with freelance QA testers is a double-edged sword. They are always available and easy to hire but the hiring process can be stressful and complicated. Still, it can be worth it.
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How to hire a QA tester
The process of employing a QA software tester will depend on several factors:
The project's complexity
Once you understand what kind of specialist you are looking for and for what position you can start conducting interviews.
The project’s complexity
Mobile applications are all the rage now. Do you want your business to attract more audience? Create a mobile application. But mobile testing can be puzzling. Hire a QA tester who understands how to test apps that run on different devices like tablets, watches, and fitness trackers. Not to mention the expertise in testing on two different operating systems - iOS and Android.
Challenges
- Connection and connectivity. Mobile applications can win the game if they can perform online and offline. When the data is off, users still should be able to access the app.
- User interactions. Users start to interact with mobile apps at the earliest stage - installation. Smoke test is an integral part of successful mobile apps. Moreover, devices can be operated by voice, taps, swipes, and other commands. In short, the list is long. So, device-specific tests are a must.
- Platform independence. When it comes to mobile there are mobile web applications and native mobile applications. The latter is to run on devices on their own. Since there are two most popular operating systems - Android and iOS - different tools will be used (WebdriverIO, Appium, BrowserStack).
The company’s budget
Sure, the budget is a touchy subject but an essential element. Earlier we mentioned that is it not worth relying on developers when searching for bugs.
What we recommend is a team of QA testers:
Hire QA engineers who can perform both automation and manual testing.
The requirements for a QA engineer
What type of testing to choose – either manual or automation – depends on a case-by-case basis. Both are necessary and both are irreplaceable.
Use manual testing for:
- Web & app behavior;
- User Experience and Acceptance (UX/UI);
- All features.
For that, we recommend regression, ad-hoc, and usability testing that ensure all updates are iterations are running smoothly.
Automation testing is based on frameworks, where each framework is scripted up to the needs of software testing.
Choose the right framework since it can guarantee high performance and low cost:
function libraries
Use automation testing for:
Cost and time efficiency
There are various languages for automation testing such as C#, C++, JavaScript, and more. With these languages, it is easy to create scripts with C# and this language handles all possible business limitations with effectiveness.
How to interview a QA tester
Many business people address the following question. Why should we hire you as a QA tester?
Read the instructions below to get ready for your upcoming interview.
Question 1: How do you approach work on a new project?
Recruiters want to know how their candidates can tackle some so-called “surprises” during the product development process. To nail this question, mention the documentation part. The test plan and strategy are the backbones of any product.
Question 2: How do you determine how much testing is needed?
Hire a QA tester who understands the principles of testing. First and foremost, a QA engineer must outline the techniques. Sure, they may depend on the business needs.
The perfect candidate explains how they make decisions for the testing strategy.
A plus would be if a candidate knows how to document the history and background of the project, the scope of tasks, and the testing objectives.
Question 3: How do you set the criteria for QA testing?
This question is tricky because it is set to check hard and soft skills.
No effective testing can be done unless a QA tester understands how to work with a product on another level:
- Teamwork and communication. A QA tester will inevitably work with other teams and people. QA testers need to be empathetic to the needs of the users and teammates.
- Be proactive. An essential pillar of QA testing is the usability metric. Employ QAs who can provide information about users’ needs and desires. A devoted QA knows how to persuade developers to improve the product for an immaculate user experience.
- Critic thinking. Hire a QA software tester who looks at the issues from different angles. Those who think about the users can introduce relevant changes without disrupting the product.
Wrap-up
Hire a QA tester for a fantastic brand image. A true QA engineer will make everything for your product to be the best in the market, beat the competition, attract more investors, and be user-friendly.
Use our guide to understand when you need to start working with QA testers and how to find your match.
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FAQ
Why is hiring a skilled QA Tester important?
Hiring a skilled QA Tester ensures that your software product functions as intended, provides a seamless user experience, and reduces the risk of costly post-release patches or negative user feedback.
What soft skills are crucial for a QA Tester?
Communication, teamwork, adaptability, and critical thinking are vital, as testers often collaborate with developers and stakeholders and need to convey their findings clearly.
How do I assess the technical skills of a QA Tester?
Apart from a formal interview, consider a practical test that involves real-world test scenarios or ask about their experience with testing tools and methodologies.
How do I determine if a candidate has good attention to detail?
Сonsider giving them a sample test scenario or a small puzzle to solve. Review their approach, the thoroughness of their testing, and the clarity of their documentation.
How do QA Testers keep up with rapidly evolving technologies?
They attend workshops, online courses, and industry conferences. It's a good idea to ask potential hires about their ongoing learning habits.
