Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter
12
Software Testing as
a Commodity
So your software testing is offshored and you reap all the benefits.
So far so good! Your competitors have also done the same. Now what? Where
do you go from here?
Here comes an enlightening thought: What if I find an offshore partner who
can reduce my testing costs further somehow with the same schedule and quality?
Is it possible? What will it take? Well! Here is a solution.
Before mass manufacturing was introduced, society was consuming goods
that were manufactured at small manufacturing sites. Raw material was procured
from local sources. Most of the manufacturing was labor-intensive. A few simple
machines were deployed in manufacturing. Produced goods were consumed by local
customers.
Compare this scenario with the service sector as it exists in our contemporary
society. The service sector today is labor-intensive. Some automation and IT devices
are used, but still most of the work is performed through labor effort. No raw mate-
rial is required in services. Services are consumed not only by local customers but
also by customers located within a wide geographic area (see
Figure 12.1)
.
When mass manufacturing was introduced, many of the erstwhile barriers were
removed. Raw material was now procured globally or at least from within a wide
geographic area. Quantity of sourced material increased manifold. More and more
machines were now deployed in manufacturing. Manufacturing sites started pro-
ducing goods on a large scale. Machines were also getting sophisticated and became
more productive over time. Labor effort got reduced. Produced goods were con-
sumed by global customers (see
Figure 12.2)
.
1.1
