What Resources Are Needed to Run a Successful Crowdtest?

I recently published the following on the test IO blog. It provides a quick look at what you need to get started with crowdtesting.

What Resources Are Needed to Run a Successful Crowdtest?

Some information out there tends to overcomplicate the answer to this question. It’s time someone gives it to you, straight and simple.

What do you really need in place?

Power User

At least one set user to take lead on interacting with your crowdtesting vendor (us at test IO, for example). This user simply needs to have an interest in seeking out the potential issues with your software and sharing them with your internal team. That said, many of test IO’s customers have multiple set users on different teams throughout a given company. This enables teams with different focuses within a company to test in different ways.

Bug Tracker

Ideally, your team uses Jira, Pivotal, Asana, or another project management tool that you can integrate directly with your vendor (we actually offer a host of integrations that make exporting bugs a breeze). Many teams begin with a simple management tool, like Trello, and later advance to a specific bug tracker (so don’t worry if your team is still figuring which tools to grow with!).

Testing Environment

If you’re testing in production/live (and are in eCommerce, for example), it might help to have access to some fake credit card numbers and/or test account log-ins to help get started testing fasting. Otherwise, if pre-production/staging is your focus, access to a staging environment is all that you’d need to share. For test IO customers, we can even help you set up a VPN or proxy server access in seconds.

Iterative Mindset

Testing, like a fine wine, gets better over time; it takes input to adjust testing practices and make the changes necessary to hone in on what’s most important for a particular team or product. Be patient and have an iterative mindset. Be ready to experiment and try new things, and good things will come to you!

That’s all you need to get started. Not too bad, right?

If you want to learn more about Crowdtesting, take a look at this piece.

Otherwise, if crowdtesting is something you're considering, we’d be glad to share more about test IO with you!