I would absolutely hire a freelance tester.
Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
41–50 of 59 posts
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#42I think there's much more to it than what the post says. It seems the author is looking at the freelance testing industry (is 'industry' the right word here?) through rose colored glasses. Freelance web designers and SEOs are everywhere because you don't need any experience and often times don't even require any actual skill to do the job. All you need to know is how to repeat the whole "Social media marketing your b…
you're very rarely going to 'make' someone money - you're going to save them money. A well-tested app doesn't necessarily out-sell the competition if the competition gets a better distribution deal through 'good old boys' networking. Demonstrably bad software often becomes dominant in specific niches, and people put up with the bugs, because "it's what everyone uses". Your well-tested software still has a huge market…
At first, I thought you were preaching to the converted, here. Whether or not everyone here uses dedicated testers, they probably all appreciate the value of a well tested system. In theory, that is in fact the case, but reflecting on my experience this is not usually the case in practice. Testing is dropped by the wayside when the rubber meets the road - particularly in any early to mid stage ventures.
IMHO there is a strong cultural component at play. Testers are, quite frankly, second class citizens in the land of software. This is due in part to the ambiguity of the term itself, as it can mean everything from a button-clicker to an engineer (with perception often defaulting to the former).
As a result, testing becomes unsexy. Few developers with options choose to do it full time, and it becomes an afterthought. Even dev-centric approaches like TDD get brushed off as "crutches" for "junior" engineers. This all helps propagate a fairly downward-tending cycle of testers and testing lacking voice and status within the organization.
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#43There's less demand for freelance testers because having a one is a nice to have rather than a must have. Clients rarely understand the value of testers, they appear to simply be an optional additional cost. Freelance developers have little incentive to recommend them since it inevitably leads a smaller slice of client budget for them. When an organisation gets to the stage at which it understands the value of, and d…
Yep. As a web development shop, finding a client that understands or can be convinced of the value of any testing is rare.
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#44From my personal experience, I wouldn't use a freelance tester because they won't understand the system well enough to provide value for money. The most valuable testing is that which exposes your lack of understanding of what the system should do. These also usually require the most extensive rewrites, so you definitely want them as early as possible. Unfortunately, they also require the most extensive understanding…
There's a big difference between blackbox testing and whitebox testing. For blackbox testing, having someone who doesn't now the inner workings of the system to find workarounds can many times be an advantage.
Of course you should do both kinds for security critical projects.
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#45> I think freelance software testers should be easy to find. But they are not. I think there should be loads of good freelance testers out there. But there are not. I think it should be easier to find freelance testers. But it is not.
There's a reason -- software developers have figured out that they're better off just releasing the product and hearing from their customers. It's called "beta testing" -- no special panel of testers, just users eager to try a new product, willing to put up with imperfect operation for the privilege.
And not all beta tests are identified as beta tests -- many of them appear to be a product release, but the real purpose is to wring out the bugs. The classic example is Fedora Linux, which is one very long beta test (and one that most of its users understand).
As to Web sites and online games, developers use A/B testing to accomplish the same ends, without the need to locate people whose special role is to test.
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#46I actually run a small QA-as-a-service company (for 3+ years) and I should say that we strive to distance ourselves from "freelance" word as much as possible.
As most other cheap labors in a remote freelance mode — it is discredited. I think it would be just hard to build a personal brand strong enough to compete with tons of people, who can look like a diamond on a pre-sale phase and then just disappear.
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#47I actually run a small QA-as-a-service company (for 3+ years) and I should say that we strive to distance ourselves from "freelance" word as much as possible. As most other cheap labors in a remote freelance mode — it is discredited. I think it would be just hard to build a personal brand strong enough to compete with tons of people, who can look like a diamond on a pre-sale phase and then just disappear.
How has that worked out for you? Do you find it difficult to find clients? Much client turnover? Are you doing mostly manual or automated testing?
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#48I actually run a small QA-as-a-service company (for 3+ years) and I should say that we strive to distance ourselves from "freelance" word as much as possible. As most other cheap labors in a remote freelance mode — it is discredited. I think it would be just hard to build a personal brand strong enough to compete with tons of people, who can look like a diamond on a pre-sale phase and then just disappear.
How has that worked out for you? Do you find it difficult to find clients? Much client turnover? Are you doing mostly manual or automated testing?
Finding customers is always a tough task. We started from μ-ISVs with simple Windows applications to probe the market and see whether people are ready to buy tests and QA as a service and then slowly expanded the offered services list.
We have great customer retention (excluding some specific one-time projects, like a penetration test), I hope due to our dedication :)
I would say manual tests are most popular, and then load tests, then automation. Often customers start from a tiny manual test and then use our services more and more, in other QA areas, being happy to receive all of those from one window in a unified manner.
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#49I wouldn't hire a freelance tester, because it's so important, we all do testing in our business. I expect every freelance developer I hire to test everything thoroughly (and I don't just mean unit tests). They're either full-service, or I don't hire them.
I've never heard a single coworker or fellow entrepreneur say, "Gee, I really need to hire a freelance 'tester'." (Or other words that would be more likely, such as 'Q&A specialist'.) That's something people either don't do at all / don't care about, or do in-house because they know it's so important.
So, aside from arguments about skills, I don't think there's any demand.
Re: Why are there not more freelance testers out there?
#50Testing is, in the large, not respected.
When you have a really good, competent, creative tester, the contribution can be invaluable.
But... many organizations tend to rank testers somewhere around the janitorial staff.
(By the way, get incompetent janitorial service, and watch what happens to your work environment... And, personally, I've found many of them to be plenty competent, caring, and helpful -- better people than many of the suits.)
Then, there is the other side of testing... It does exist. People who couldn't hack (aka "handle") any more, and who really are more or less button pushers. They are the ones who provide "QA signoff" as opposed to real troubleshooting.
It can be difficult to argue your value, when much of your field is a morass on two axes: Lack of respect, and lack of competence.