After software release, the application is ready but not industry ready. Third party testing is recommended to conform with the industry standards of where the software would be used with.
Why third party testing? Third party testing cross-checks software requirements, detects bugs in the software, and evaluates for software acceptance (Wang, Zhao, Shi & Zhang, 2013).
Not only that, they are certified and have the expertise to evaluate in the software conforms to industry standards. Moreover, third party testing agencies have specialized and sophisticated tests built. All of this not only helps the software company, but also the governing body or regulators for compliance (such as FERPA, HIPPA, ISO) in industries. Lastly, a software having a third party tested also increases consumer trust on the software (Councill, 1999).
For fast and effective testing, componentize your different functionalities so its easy for testing of a certain functions that is needed for compliance testing. To protect your IP, make sure you don’t expose your business logic code. With contracts for third party testing, review is thorough and will likely avoid loop holes and allow your third party testing agency to be responsible for any compliance problems.
We do third party testing for compliance. But instead of building a feature that requires third party testing, why not just use a compliant third party feature that you can integrate with your software? For example, instead of building your credit card payment and having a third party testing for PCI DSS compliance, why not use a company that provides credit card payment integration service like Stripe?
Stripe is already compliant with PCI DSS by being audited by PCI QSA. With this transfer of responsibility, the regulatory team in your company can focus on other tasks like improving transparency and quality compliance data (EPA testing use of third-party software for CWA compliance monitoring, 2011).
References
Councill, W. T. (1999). Third-party testing and the quality of software components. IEEE Software, 16(4), 55–57. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.cityu.edu/10.1109/52.776949
EPA testing use of third-party software for CWA compliance monitoring. (2011). InsideEPA.Com’s Water Regulation Alert, Retrieved from http://proxy.cityu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.cityu.edu/docview/922598559?accountid=1230
Wang, H., Zhao, G. H., Shi, M. S., & Zhang, F. J. (2013). Analysis of the third party testing of information system software. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 427–429, 2325. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.cityu.edu/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.427-429.2325
Zhang, W., Ma, C. X., & Mo, J. S. (2013). The development and application of electricity embedded software testing. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 401–403, 1680. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.cityu.edu/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.401-403.1680