Your testing services vendor should be hitting it out of the park on each and every project they work with you on.

Unfortunately, many vendors in the software testing services space leave a lot to be desired. I have talked to hundreds of clients over the past 10 years as a senior consultant in the testing industry. Over that time, at least 1 out of every 2 clients has told me that they wish their vendor stepped up in several areas, including: a.) Their engagement (work harder to understand their business and unlock hidden technology value), b.) Their capability to innovate (drive new tools and processes into their service areas), c.) Their efficiency and effectiveness (in a measurable way), or d.) Their process improvement skills (including using metrics to improve testing while becoming less reactive/more proactive).

Many clients I have talked to also have told me that if a better service provider comes along with these attributes, they will not only listen, but seriously consider switching.

So what should you look for in a testing services provider? Here are a few key things to look out for:

• Make sure your vendor is responsive to your needs and is able to communicate well while working collaboratively across your organization.
• Make sure your vendor is transparent with the metrics that show how efficient and effective their testing services are. You shouldn’t have to ask your vendor for these metrics, they should be providing them regularly. And, they should tell you what they are doing to improve monthly (if not more often). They need to earn your business every day.
• Make sure your vendor is helping you discover defects as early as possible in your project life-cycle. This requires effort up-front and good planning, and almost always requires effective test automation and test-ops to be in place. The sooner defects are found, the better for your bottom line.