Overview

A common topic in the software development process is the budget for testing tools. Nowadays it is still common to see multiple excel sheets for test cases, emails with bug reports or documents with regressions suites reports. Because of this the market offers a large number of testing tools, some of them free, but not every free tool can be right for your team and is sometimes part of our job to explain why the client or the team should invest part of the budget on a testing plugin or a testing management tool and which are the benefits of buying it. In the article below I will try to explain some of the main reasons to include these powerful complements on your project.

Why you should invest on a testing plugin or complements for your project?

A software development team can significantly benefit from investing in testing management tools for several reasons:

Broader Test Coverage: Paid testing management tools often encompass a wide range of features allowing for different types of tests, contributing to a more comprehensive coverage of tests, including unit, integration, regression, load testing, and more.

Specialized Technical Support: By paying for testing management tools, teams can access specialized technical support to aid in setup, issue resolution, and guidance on best testing practices.

Advanced Features: Paid testing management tools often offer more advanced features, such as detailed reporting, integration with other development tools, and analytical capabilities, aiding in identifying critical issues and improving software quality.

Security and Reliability: Paid tools typically offer higher levels of security and reliability compared to free versions, which is crucial when handling sensitive and critical data for software development.

Scalability and Adaptability: Paid testing management tools are usually more scalable, allowing teams to adapt as they grow and integrate with other tools and development environments more efficiently.

Test Automation help: some paid testing management tools often offer advanced functionalities for test automation or the option of the inclusion. This allows tests to be executed more efficiently and repetitively, saving time and resources.

How much does a testing plugin or complements cost?

There are multiple management tools on the market like Jira, Azure Devops that are used around the world but the testing plugins are not all free and sometimes the free options do not meet the needs of the team. Let's see some prices of the most common plugins available on the market:

For Jira

Zephyr Squad or Scale: Up to 10 users. USD 229. per year.

Tricentis qTest: starts at USD $1,200 per user, per year.

Xray: Up to 10 users. USD 10. per year.

Ones Test case: USD $7.99 per user, per month 1-100 users.

Testrail Professional Cloud: USD $408 per user, per year.

Testrail Professional Server: USD $8140 Up to 10 users, per year.

What should you consider to make a choice?

First you need to know what types of testing are you going to do and make sure the plugin or complements you want to buy have the set that enables you to perform all the tasks. Consider that this tool is going to make your work easier but also needs to be useful for your partners on your team. For example: reports, real-time test results, management of test cases, test executions, regressions suites, option to create and store scripts, integration with automated testing frameworks, continuous integration are some of the main features you need to consider. Second, consider also the documentation or support that the tool has, because it's important to also have good support just in case you will have issues on installation or use. Third, make sure that the tool should help you and your team with the development work. The tool should adapt to your processes, not the opposite.

How to sell the plugin idea to your team?

Prepare a brief presentation: include all the features that the tool has to offer and prepare it considering if it's going to be presented to a client or to your team. Would be good if you include some examples of others projects that are already working with it. Estimate the number of users that are going to use it: Remember that the cost usually is attached to this, so consider just the main users to reduce the cost. Includes the price per year: this allows you to have access to it sometimes even on earlier stages of the projects and you can get familiar with it.
Search if there exists a live demo of the tool: some of the tools have a live demo or a free trial that you can use to explain the benefits of buying it.

Conclusion

Remember that all tools are good but not all are good for all teams or projects. Before choosing, do research and evaluate the needs and the budget available. Not always the more expensive is the most useful.