Crowdsourced testing is a new emerging method of QA testing which leverages a dispersed, temporary workforce to test software applications quickly and effectively. It differs from traditional testing methods as in this the testing is carried out by a number of different testers from different places, and not by hired consultants and professionals.

Who needs crowdsourced testing?

• Companies with limited testing bandwidth may benefit from using crowdsourced testing to increase test scope and coverage.

• Crowdsourced testing allows the organization to increase testing bandwidth without hiring a large full-time team, leveraging a crowdsourcing platform for repetitive QA tasks can help teams use their testing resources more efficiently.

• Another common use case for crowdsourcing QA is for teams who have irregular testing needs.

What is crowdsourced testing good for?

• Crowdsourcing is an excellent method of execution for feature verification in later stages of development, when the product is too complex for the in-house team to cover all possible use cases.

• It is also beneficial for small teams because it provides “fresh” users who can provide more objective feedback on the application. This feedback can be an important part of improving UI and ensuring product usability.

How crowdsourced testing works?

Crowdsourced testing models can work in several ways. Testers may use their own devices and environments to test the software, or they may access virtual machines (VMs) or device emulators via the crowdsourced testing platform. In some cases, the crowdsourced testing service may manage the testers, while in other scenarios the testers may interact directly with the customer to receive instructions and provide feedback.

Testers access the software via a platform, and manually execute tests of the software as requested by the customer. These tests can range from broad exploratory testing to highly specific functional verification testing. The testers provide feedback on the software, usually including a list of bugs and defects found while executing the tests.

Advantages of Crowdsourced Testing-

• It is cost effective, as the product company pays only for the valid bugs reported. Usually time to test the software is comparably lesser, so it leads to better productivity and thus is cheaper than hiring engineers, designers, and specialists.

• Testers performing this form of testing are unbiased towards the internal concerns of the company.

• As there are large number of testers testing a software simultaneously, testing can be done quickly, resulting in less time to market.

• The pool of testers is diverse with variations in languages as well as locales.This helps in testing applications which are based on localization.

Disadvantages of Crowdsourced Testing-

• Immediate and prompt communication with a group of crowdsource testers can be difficult.

• Confidentiality must be managed closely.

• Risk of innovation and new features being leaked to competitors.

• Ensuring test coverage in crowdsource testing can be difficult as testing is not planned or tracked the same way as traditional waterfall or Agile efforts.

Top Crowdsourced Testing Companies