Does the customer get to keep my Testplan or should IP cost more?

QA time folks. QA like other fields has its own terminology and methodology. Recently I presented a case study to an interested small start-up who wanted testing done but weren’t at the stage to recruit. They basically needed a consultant / outsourced QA.

I was lucky, the person I was chatting with was from a Development background and understood some of what I was suggesting.

We discussed a one-time test cycle of their product and what could be scripted and what would be done manually. Then the guy said something that I had heard before but was always amused and a little surprised to hear.

“So when you are done testing obviously we are going to want a report with defects found and recommendations or workarounds. Obviously we are also going to want your testplan and scripts with that too.”

I have been in the field of QA in one role or another since 1999 and I consider test scripts I write and testplans (STP) to be intellectual property.  Any formal method and process I devise resulting in discovery of defects within an application/ product and subsequent resolution are the fruits of my experience, knowledge and skills in the field.

Anyway, I was lucky as we hadn’t discussed pricing yet so I suggested to this guy that I had two prices: –

1. Testing and results in a formal report with defects (bugs) found
2. As above and in addition you, the customer receive the testplans and any scripts used.

I explained my belief that the very reason he was taking a test professional and not just crowdsourcing or doing the testing themselves was to produce better results and thus there was added value to receiving the testplans and scripts. (Not to mention this essentially removes the need for re-using my services if major changes aren’t made between versions).

The measure of a professional is definitely their level of appreciation of  quality the work done for them. This guy didn’t bat an eye, just smiled and agreed.

Still, I would be happy to have your comments and know what you all think of this