When considering the procurement of software tools, there is often a skewed emphasis on the tool price over the people cost. The predominant thought process is that tool costs are more straightforward to decipher and represent new expenditures, whereas personnel expenses are often seen as sunk costs.
Because of this, companies often choose to use effort-intensive open source tools rather than paying for licensed professional software solutions.
This is based on the common misapprehension: Open Source = Free = Economical. I’ve mentioned this before in my post about the true cost of test tools.
But is it that simplistic?
Open Source Test Tools Require a Lot More Effort
Some assume that open-source tools provide identical utility to their paid counterparts. Sadly, this is rarely true, if ever.
Professional licensed tools usually offer advanced features, frequent updates, consistent performance and support. On the other hand, open-source alternatives provide limited functionality and require more effort to do a similar job.
Your team will spend much longer integrating, customising, and maintaining open source tools.
This effort has a tangible monetary value – people cost money. If your team spends hours of additional effort, your open source tool isn’t free. You may need a larger team just to achieve the same results with an open source tool.
This is why consultancies are very happy to use open source tools.
How Much Do Software Testers Cost?
Let’s break down the financial implications to gain a clearer picture. These costs include:
- Direct Compensation: Salary, bonuses, and other incentives.
- Benefit Liabilities: Pension, Company National Insurance, Company P11D costs.
- Infrastructure Costs: Workspace, computer equipment, and other corporate expenses.
Based on data from ITJobsWatch, we can estimate the typical cost for testers based on their market rate
Typical Market Rate for a Tester
- Typical Tester Base Salary: £50,000
- ITJobsWatch – Tester
- Typical Cost with Pension and NI:
- Annual: £59,400
- Hourly: £30.46
Typical Market Rate for a Performance or Automation Tester
- Typical Base Salary: £60,000
- ITJobsWatch – Performance Tester
- Typical Cost with Pension and NI:
- Annual: £71,280
- Hourly: £36.55
Notes:
- Costs assume staff are employed and therefore do not include recruitment costs
- Costs assume no bonus and no overtime.
- Costs do not include corporate and infrastructure overheads.
How Much Will You Save By Using Professional Test Tools?
The following real-world examples highlight the annual savings you can expect with professional test tools.
Savings You Can Expect with Professional Test Management Tools
- Test Tool: ValueEdge-Quality (aka ALM Octane)
- Test Tool Annual Price: £610 per tester
A typical tester will save between 2 and 5 hours per week using ValueEdge Quality due to simplified testing and built-in reporting functionality.
- Annual Effort Cost Saved: £2,863 – 7,891 per tester
- Tool Cost: £610 per tester
- Net Saving: £2,253 – £7,281
Plus, savings for test managers will be higher as they cost more and test managers can typically spend 20% of their time on resource allocation and reporting. With a Test Management tool, resource allocation is greatly simplified, and test data is always current. Reporting requires the click of a button, and reporting effort can be reduced to near zero.
Savings You Can Expect with Professional Test Automation Tools
- Test Tool: Tool UFT One
- Test Tool Annual Price: £2,900 per tester
Note: There is also a concurrent/shared licence option for teams
A unified automation tool like UFT One brings about savings due to simplification and built-in functionality. It streamlines the process, ensuring the team doesn’t juggle multiple tools.
UFT One simplifies automation testing and can be used for most business applications and technologies and as a shift-left and shift-right tool. Plus, it can test almost any technology, so in the vast majority of cases, UFT One will be the only test automation tool you ever need. This should reduce automation time by at least 20% compared to open source test automation tools, and I have seen this as high as 50% when UFT One replaces Selenium.
- Annual Effort Cost Saved: £10,809 – £29,593 per tester
- Tool Cost: £2,900 per tester
- Net Saving: £7,909 – £26,693 per tester
Note: You will save even more once you incorporate Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, which is included in the tool for no extra.
Savings You Can Expect with Professional Performance Test Tools
- Test Tool: LoadRunner Cloud
- Test Tool Annual Price: Varies by protocol, load and test frequency
LoadRunner Cloud eliminates many set-up and hardware maintenance costs and provides functionality that outpaces free tools. The cost savings require several assumptions and will not fit all situations
LoadRunner Cloud typically saves 4.5 hours of effort per day compared to JMeter, assuming only one test is executed. The effort savings will rise if you execute more than one test per day, with 30 minutes saved in set-up cost for each test run and 4 hours saved in analysis and reporting for each test run. I have seen higher savings.
- Annual Effort Cost Saved: £38,650
That saving will buy you a lot of LoadRunner Cloud! The more testing you do, the more you can expect to save.
Plus, the cost of LoadRunner Cloud includes software and performance testing infrastructure such as load injectors.
The Elephant in the Room
The smart among you will say, hold on, I am not saving that money because I am still employing the tester. True. However, the effort saved can be redeployed to generate business value.
Plus, it is realistic to reduce costs. I’ve seen several real-world examples that you can highlight when speaking to your budget holder or procurement department:
- Money Saved with Test Management: Time saved was used to complete more testing in the test window, reducing overtime requirements and the need for some contract staff.
- Money Saved with Automation Tools: Time saved was used to automate more testing, reducing the test cycle time and the need for more testers during peak periods. Faster scripting and script maintenance also reduced project durations and associated overheads.
- Money Saved with Performance Tools: Time saved vs. open source tools removed the need for hiring an additional expensive expert resource who would have cost significantly more than the tool
In every scenario, time saved = money saved
Conclusion: Testers v Test Tool Costs
Personnel overheads associated with less efficient open source tools can eclipse the costs of purchasing superior, licensed tools.
Not only do licensed professional tools provide immediate value, but they also ensure sustained benefits over the long term, making them a smart investment.
If you are teetering on the edge of using open source tools or already use them, contact Calleo today to see how much you can save. We can also help you build the business case.
