What is QA consulting?

QA consulting is an expert review of how a team tests software: its process, tools, automation and coverage. At QAonTOP, senior QA experts audit your QA, score its maturity and give you a prioritised 90-day roadmap, with hands-on implementation support if you want it.

What does a QA audit review?

It can cover QA process and workflow, test strategy and coverage, test automation, CI/CD and DevOps testing, tools and test management, team structure and skills, metrics and reporting, performance, security and accessibility readiness, and the use of AI in testing. We agree the focus areas with you first.

How is the audit carried out?

Through stakeholder interviews, a review of your process and documentation, a review of your tools and pipeline, a review of your test suite and automation code, analysis of your defect data, shadowing a real release cycle, and maturity scoring for each area.

What will we get from a QA audit?

An audit report with findings, a QA maturity score, a prioritised 90-day roadmap, a quick wins list, tooling and automation recommendations, a read-out session with your team, and check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days.

How is QA consulting priced?

Each audit has a fixed price, agreed before it starts. If you want hands-on implementation support or ongoing advice afterwards, that is billed monthly.

Who implements the recommendations?

Your team does, using the roadmap. If you want help, we can provide hands-on implementation support, or carry out the work through any of our other engagement models.

How quickly can a QA audit start?

A QA consulting engagement can start within 1–3 days.

What is a QA maturity score?

A score for each area we review, showing how established your QA practice is today. It gives you a baseline, so improvements can be measured at the 30, 60 and 90-day check-ins.

Is the QA health check on this page the same as the audit?

No. The health check is a quick self-assessment to help you see where to look. The audit’s maturity score is based on interviews, reviews of your tools and code, defect data and a real release cycle.

How is QA consulting different from managed testing?

With QA consulting, we advise and your team implements, with our support if you want it. With managed testing, QAonTOP runs the testing itself and is accountable for agreed quality KPIs.

Is QA consulting useful if we already have a QA team?

Yes. An outside review often finds gaps in coverage, automation or process that are hard to see from inside, and gives your team a clear plan to work from.

Who owns the report and roadmap?

You do. The audit report, maturity scores and roadmap are yours to keep and share.

How long does a QA assessment take?

A QA assessment starts within 1–3 days of agreeing the engagement, and how long the audit itself takes depends on its scope and coverage, such as how many teams, products, tools and processes we review. We agree the focus areas with you first, so you know the timeline before the audit begins.

How do you protect our product and data?

We sign your NDA before any access, work inside your tools and environments, and use test or masked data by default.

Find what’s holding your QA back. Fix the right things first.

QA consulting is an expert audit of how your team tests software. Senior QA experts review your process, tools, automation and coverage, score the maturity of each area, and give you a prioritised 90-day roadmap. Your team implements it, with hands-on support from us if you want it.

Book a free consultation Take the QA health check

Audit price: Fixed, agreed upfront
You get: A prioritised 90-day roadmap
Starts: Within a week
Read-out: Live session with your team
Follow-up: Check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days
Implementation: Your team, or hands-on help from us

[ Is it right for you? ]

When QA consulting is the right choice

Consulting is for when something isn’t working and you want to understand why before you spend more. If you already know what you need, another model will get you there faster.

A good fit if…

Bugs keep reaching production and you’re not sure why
Releases are slowed down by testing
You’ve invested in automation that isn’t paying off
You want an expert view before hiring testers or choosing a QA model

Consider another model if…

You already know what to fix and need testers to do itStaff augmentation → You want a team testing every sprintDedicated QA team → You want QA run for you, measured against KPIsManaged testing → You need a specific test done, such as VAPT or a pre-launch passFixed-price project → You only need a few test cycles around releasesOn-demand testing →

[ Who does what ]

We diagnose. You decide.

An audit only works with honest input and clear ownership of what happens next.

Owned by

You

Give access to people, documents, tools and defect data
Join the interviews and the read-out session
Decide which recommendations to adopt
Implement the roadmap, or choose who does

Shared

Together

Agree the focus areas for the audit
Go through the findings at the read-out
Review progress at 30, 60 and 90 days

Owned by

QAonTOP

Run the interviews, reviews and release shadowing
Score the maturity of each area
Write the report, quick wins and 90-day roadmap
Provide hands-on implementation support, if you want it

[ What we review ]

Eleven areas, seven ways of looking, seven deliverables

We agree with you which areas matter most, then look at how testing really works, not just how it’s documented.

01
QA process and workflow
How testing fits into your development lifecycle, from story to release.
02
Test strategy and coverage
Whether your tests cover the features and risks that matter most.
03
Test automation
Your framework, tools and the return you get from automation.
04
CI/CD and DevOps testing
Which tests run in your pipeline, and when.
05
Tools and test management
Where test cases, runs and bugs live, and how well they’re used.
06
Team structure and skills
Roles, responsibilities and skill gaps in your QA team.
07
Metrics and reporting
What you measure, and whether it helps you make decisions.
08
Performance readiness
Whether your product is tested for load before it meets real traffic.
09
Security readiness
How and when your product is checked for vulnerabilities.
10
Accessibility and compliance readiness
Whether accessibility and compliance requirements are tested.
11
AI in testing
Where AI can make your testing faster or smarter, and where it can’t.

How we audit

Stakeholder interviewsWe talk to developers, QA, product and leadership.

Process and documentation reviewWe read your test plans, cases and workflow docs.

Tool and pipeline reviewWe look at your test management, tracker and CI/CD set-up.

Test suite and automation code reviewWe review your automated tests and framework code.

Defect data analysisWe look for patterns in your bug history and escapes.

Shadowing a release cycleWe follow a real release to see how testing actually runs.

Maturity scoringWe score each area so you can see where you stand.

What you get

Audit report with findingsEvery finding, with evidence and its impact on your releases.

QA maturity scoreA score for each area reviewed, so progress can be measured later.

Prioritised 90-day roadmapWhat to fix, in what order, over the next 90 days.

Quick wins listChanges you can make right away, with little effort.

Tooling and automation recommendationsWhich tools and automation approach fit your team and stack.

Read-out session with your teamWe walk your team through the findings and answer questions.

Check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 daysWe review progress against the roadmap with you.

[ After the audit ]

Three ways to put the roadmap into practice

You’re never locked in. Choose the path that suits your team, and change it later if you need to.

01Included

Your team implements

Use the roadmap and quick wins list. We check in at 30, 60 and 90 days.

02Billed monthly

Hands-on implementation support

Our experts work alongside your team to put the roadmap into practice.

03See models

Hand the work to us

Carry out the roadmap through another engagement model.

Compare engagement models →

[ How it starts ]

From first conversation to a working roadmap

The consultation is free. You agree the audit’s focus and its fixed price before anything starts.

Step 1 of 5

Free consultation

Tell us what’s worrying you about quality. An engineer replies the same working day.
Step 2 of 5

Agree focus and price

We agree which areas the audit covers, and a fixed price for it.
Step 3 of 5

The audit

Interviews, reviews of your process, tools and code, defect analysis and shadowing a real release.
Step 4 of 5

Read-out and roadmap

We walk your team through the findings, maturity scores, quick wins and 90-day roadmap.
Step 5 of 5

Check-ins

We review progress with you at 30, 60 and 90 days.

[ Compare models ]

QA consulting, managed testing or a fixed-price project?

Consulting gives you a plan. The other two give you testing. Many clients start with consulting, then choose a model based on the roadmap.

QA consulting compared with managed testing and a fixed-price project
Compare on	This pageQA consulting	CompareManaged testing	CompareFixed-price project
Best for	Teams whose QA isn’t working and who want an expert view first	Companies without in-house QA, or who want QA off their plate	Launches, migrations, audits and one-off releases
What you get	Findings, maturity scores and a 90-day roadmap	Testing run for you, reported against agreed KPIs	The agreed testing deliverables
Who does the testing	Your team, with our support if you want it	QAonTOP	QAonTOP
Pricing	Fixed price per audit; support billed monthly	Fixed monthly fee for agreed scope	One fixed price, agreed upfront
Starts	Within a week	In 1–2 weeks	Within a week

Need the full picture? Compare all six engagement models or find your model in four questions.

[ FAQ ]

QA consulting questions, answered

[ Contact us ]

Book a free consultation

✓ Free one-week POC✓ NDA before access✓ A QA lead replies the same day

Book a free consultation

[ Keep exploring ]

Other engagement models

All engagement models →

Find what’s holding your QA back. Fix the right things first.

When QA consulting is the right choice

A good fit if…

Consider another model if…

We diagnose. You decide.

You

Together

QAonTOP

Eleven areas, seven ways of looking, seven deliverables

QA process and workflow

Test strategy and coverage

Test automation

CI/CD and DevOps testing

Tools and test management

Team structure and skills

Metrics and reporting

Performance readiness

Security readiness

Accessibility and compliance readiness

AI in testing

Three ways to put the roadmap into practice

Your team implements

Hands-on implementation support

Hand the work to us

From first conversation to a working roadmap

Free consultation

Agree focus and price

The audit

Read-out and roadmap

Check-ins

QA consulting, managed testing or a fixed-price project?

QA consulting questions, answered

{{ f.q }}{{ f.sign }}

Book a free consultation

Other engagement models

Dedicated QA team

Staff augmentation

Managed testing

Fixed-price project

On-demand testing