Governance, Management And Testing In An Outsourced Model From AppLabs

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Governance, Management and Testing in an Outsourced Model

Ian Londesbrough

Principal Consultant

8th October 08


Agenda

» Understand the context of Outsourcing» Focus in on the Quality – top to tail of the contract» Implementing the Testing Approach

» Roles and Responsibilities

» Who will Test

» Who will Accept

» Measurement and Metrics

» Governance

» Conclusion» Questions


Outsourcing Challenges

» Globalisation drives constant Change» Businesses are engaged in complex programmes to transform:

» Business Operating Models

» Business Processes

» Business Systems

Phase 2:The Evaluation

& Selection

Phase 1: The Decision to Outsource

Phase 3: Contract for

Success

Phase 4: Transition & Go-Live

Phase 5: Operation

& ROI


& Selection



Success


Phase 5: Operation

& ROI

» The Path to Outsourcing


& Selection



Success


Phase 5: Operation

& ROI


Key Points to Outsourcing

» Understand what Outsourcing is attempting to achieve:

»Reduce cost

»Resource flexibility

»Shorter time to market

»Faster business growth

» Assess existing processes

» Engage the business – tell them what’s happening

» Emphasise sound Quality Governance and Testing

» Construct the RFP to differentiate competitors

» Select using “testable” & “measurable” criteria

» Consider using sourcing professionals


Contracting for Quality

» Expand the scope of the outsourcing into measurable and testable clauses

» Define how each Quality Gate will be measured and signed off, and by whom

» Define acceptable levels of variance, if any

» Build in a review and improvement process for each delivery iteration

» Use the Quality Gates to ensure the supplier delivers what is contracted

» Define any penalties

» Address any cultural barriers

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail


Implementing the Testing Approach

Begin with the end in mind

» Agreeing roles and responsibilities for all partners

» Establishing who will test the solutions provided at each stage of the lifecycle

» Establishing who will integrate and accept the solutions into the business

» Understanding what metrics and quality measures need to be in place to ensure the partners add value to your business

» Defining contracts and commercial models that put the onus on service providers to deliver against these

» Managing and governing the deliverables and services against these contracts


Lifecycle, Testing and Quality Gates

Review(Internal Static Test)

The Idea

Review(Static Test)

Review(Static Test)

DynamicTest

Review(Internal Static Test)

Requirements Definition

Specification & Design

Build

Implementation

Benefits Realisation

OutsourcedResponsibility

(Simple model)

1

2

3

4

DynamicTest

5

6


Agree Roles and Responsibilities

» Define the scope of the outsourcing

» Decide quality & testing responsibilities before contract negotiation

» Business areas have roles and responsibilities for testing

» Appoint a strong Test Programme Manager

» Include Test Roles and Responsibilities in the contract

» Confirm in-house test activities at initial handover and acceptance

» Need clear responsibilities if Penalties and Warranties are challenged

“We thought YOU were doing it” is not an option


Who will Test?

» The business risk stays with the organisation

» Testing at each stage of the lifecycle must match Acceptance Criteria

» Define responsibility for Testing at Contract stage

» Involve Business and Supplier in Static Testing (e.g for Requirements and Design)

» Is Supplier Testing “marking own homework”?

» Independent testing clearly demonstrates criteria are met (or not)

Testing validates that the right thing has been built

and verifies that it has been built right


Who will Accept?

» Contract specifies unambiguous Acceptance Criteria

» The solution needs integrating into existing systems

» Ensure end users are available for Acceptance stage

» Supplier support is essential

» In-house Operations, both IT and Business, need to be included

» In-house organisation may not have ability to Test for Acceptance

» Consider experienced third-party Acceptance Testing

» Acceptance requires the same visibility and joint sign-off as other Quality Gates

Accept it at the end only if it matches

what you defined at the beginning


Measure success - or, how was it for you?

» Define metrics and data capture in line with contract

» Appropriate Benchmarks are needed to measure compliance

» What you measure will depend on the nature of the outsourced service:» The metrics identified in the contract » Agreed progress metrics» Agreed quality metrics (e.g. defects found)

» Measure throughout the life-cycle

» Include in regular reports – not just Quality Gates

» Use for review and improvement process

“The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor;

he takes my measurements anew every time he sees me, while all the rest

go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them” George Bernard Shaw


Governance against contract

» Governance is an in-house responsibility» Requires an owner and necessary commitment» Monitor the contracted acceptance criteria at each stage» Ensure the quality of the deliverables is being measured through Testing» Time Quality Gate reviews to ensure all interested parties attend» Assess whether the outsourcing objectives are being met» Review and improve for each iteration of the delivery life-cycle

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

To prepare well and then fail to govern invites failure back in!


Conclusions

» Understand the reasons for outsourcing and test against these

» Outsourcing needs strong management as well as in-house delivery

» It is not a silver bullet - you need to get your own house in order

» Additional effort prior to contract signature increases chance of success

» Focus on quality at all stages of the lifecycle – testing isn’t a bolt-on activity

» Be strong and rigorous with quality gates and measurement

» Don’t accept the unacceptable


Questions?

Please e-mail: [email protected]

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Governance, Management And Testing In An Outsourced Model From AppLabs