This month’s author: Sian McKevitt, Operations Assistant at Assured Thought
In-house quality engineering teams need to deliver adaptability, specialist expertise and cost effectiveness. In this month's blog, Sian McKevitt, Operations Assistant at Assured Thought, delves into the strategic advantages of integrating expert consultants into your permanent quality engineering teams.
In the realm of software development and quality engineering, every business aims to deliver successful projects on budget while adhering to robust processes and timelines. So it’s always essential to have a highly skilled workforce that can adapt to change and utilise available technical resources.
For those in the financial sector, the challenges are even more pronounced: regulatory compliance, security concerns and the need for innovative fintech solutions are at the forefront of every project.
One effective strategy is temporarily integrating specialised consultants into permanent teams.
Expertise and specialisation: The consultant’s edge
Consultants bring specialised expertise in QE and software testing and deliver tailored advice and solutions. They utilise their knowledge and expertise to address specific client requirements with customised solutions rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. The external viewpoint they offer sets them apart from in-house teams; they can provide insights that may not be apparent to teams already working on a project, significantly streamlining development workflow.
Such outside perspectives are invaluable in the financial sector. Consultants can introduce innovative testing practices and technologies crucial for staying ahead in a competitive market.
This proactive approach to adopting new methodologies enhances product quality and, by extension, customer satisfaction – key components in maintaining a competitive edge.
Blended resources for optimising costs
In addition to expertise, cost-effectiveness is a standout benefit. This blended approach leverages the stability and in-depth company knowledge of permanent staff with the specialised skills, fresh perspectives and flexible scalability of an expert consultancy.
Consultants can be brought in to address specific challenges or to inject innovative practices and technologies – without the long-term financial commitment of hiring additional full-time employees. This strategy allows for the efficient allocation of resources, enabling companies to dynamically adjust their workforce based on project demands and market changes.
Furthermore, consultants often bring efficiencies through advanced methodologies and tools that can streamline development processes, reduce time to market and ultimately lower overall project costs.
By optimising the workforce in this manner, organisations can focus their internal resources on core business activities while ensuring project-specific needs are met with the highest level of expertise, thus achieving cost-effective, high-quality outcomes.
Adaptable teams deliver agility
QE consultancies are agile, quickly adapting to evolving client needs and industry trends. This adaptability ensures faster project turnaround times and cutting-edge solutions, keeping clients at the forefront of industry developments. Consultants are often at the leading edge of innovation and up-to-date practices, offering clients access to the latest in software testing advancements.
Another significant advantage of employing testing consultants is the flexibility to swiftly adjust your team size as needed. The process of hiring permanent software testers can be both time-consuming and expensive. The combination of the interview procedure, coding assessments and the employee's notice period in their current position may lead to a scenario in which a new hire doesn’t begin work until three months or more after their initial interview.
By maintaining solid working relationships with a testing consultancy, you can bring a new expert onto your QE team in just a few days, bypassing the extended recruitment process and quickly gaining additional resources to tackle current projects. The ability to scale up or down without the typical delays associated with hiring permanent staff means financial organisations can manage their projects more efficiently and effectively, ensuring they are always positioned to seize new opportunities as they arise.
The strategic integration of expert consultants into permanent teams presents a dynamic and cost-effective solution for navigating the complexities of software development and quality engineering. It’s an approach that not only ensures agility and competitiveness but also fosters innovation and excellence across projects. Embracing this blended model empowers organisations to meet the evolving demands of the financial sector with precision, efficiency and a clear focus on quality and customer satisfaction.
For more in-depth insights, or to kick-start your transformative journey with the leading quality engineering partner for the financial services industry, visit www.assuredthought.com