Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
loss instead of productivity gain. So it is vital that the right tools are selected for the
project. To enable the project teams to be more productive and share information
easily, good tools and technology are required. Some of the tools for test projects
should include test management tools, performance appraisal tools, test automa-
tion tools, requirements management tools, templates, and other tools.
11. 3. 5
Operating Model
In outsourcing projects, service level agreements (SLAs) govern all aspects of projects.
At the same time, applying shared knowledge and common standard processes ensures
uniform quality across projects. So applying these common standard processes on top
of individual service level agreements is crucial to achieve consistent and uniform
quality for all projects. Processes in the operating model include project structuring,
staff assignments, workload management, organizational SLAs, and so on.
11. 3.6
Organization
Excellence in providing world-class services requires good work culture and mature
and well-defined processes. The proposed model requires an excellent delivery
model as well as efficient and quality processes to govern all projects. A new delivery
model calls for an entirely new organizational structure including center of excel-
lence facilities for specialized tasks, matrix organization structure, skills availability
matrix, changed organization structure, training programs, professional certifica-
tions, career path options for talented and hardworking individuals, and so on.
11.. Software Testing Consolidation
As we have discussed in a previous section, software testing in a software develop-
ment project used to be on an ad hoc basis, had no standard process definition,
and lacked clarity, which resulted in poor quality, budget, and schedule escalation.
A testing team was attached to each software development project. These testing
teams had no relation to each other and had their own methodology, process, tools,
and team structure, which were entirely different from one team to another. This
resulted in inefficiency and uneven quality across projects (see Table 11.1).
Table 11.1
Traditional Software Testing Approach
Business Unit 1
Business Unit 2
Business Unit 3
Development team
Development team
Development team
Testers
Testers
Testers
