A QUALITATIVE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF CONTRIBUTING SUCCESS FACTORS FOR SOFTWARE TESTING OUTSOURCING PROJECTS

Authors

  • Fatin Filzahti Ismail Centre of Software Technology and Management, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Rozilawati Razali Centre of Software Technology and Management, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v77.6189

Keywords:

Software testing, outsourcing, empirical assessment

Abstract

Software testing outsourcing is becoming attractive among organisations that desire to gain high quality products within reasonable cost while allowing testing experts to assure its quality. Despite these promising advantages however, organisations have yet to learn the factors that contribute to such projects’ success. The necessary planning and actions could not thus be taken towards the effort. Consequently, software testing outsourcing projects still fail. This study aimed to address this concern by collating the factors from previous research. The investigation continued by confirming the factors besides discovering other relevant factors from software testing practitioners. This study adopted qualitative approach where it employed semi-structured interviews involving five practitioners, who represented both client and vendor. The data were analysed using content analysis. The results show that there are two aspects to be considered, namely Process and People. The former contains nine factors and the latter comprises four factors. Each factor has specific elements, which delineates the characteristics or roles that it owns. The findings provide practitioners with understanding of conducting software testing outsourcing projects effectively.

References

Lu, Y. and Kakola, T. 2011. Which Test Artifacts Testing Service Providers should Reuse and How ? Experiences from a Case Study in the Chinese ICT Sourcing Market. Proceedings of the 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 1-10.

Bertolino, A. and Faedo, I. A. 2007. Software Testing Research : Achievements, Challenges, Dreams Software Testing Research : Achievements, Challenges, Dreams. Future of Software Engineering(FOSE'07) IEEE 2007.

Poston, R., Simon, J., and Jain, R. 2014. Managing Offshore Outsourcing of Software Testing. umdrive.memphis.edu. [Online]. From: https://umdrive.memphis.edu/g-mis/www/memphis/step/documents/papers/PostonR.step-07.pdf [Acessed on 1 Feb 2014].

Tervonen, I., Haapalahti, A., Harjumaa, L., and Simila, J. 2013. Outsourcing Software Testing: A Case Study in the Oulu Area. 2013 13th Int. Conf. Qual. Softw. July 2013. 65-74.

Ahmed A. M. and Zhu. W. 2011. Outsourcing Software Testing Activities: A Case Study for Eastern Ocean Solutions (EOS)—China. 2011 IEEE 3rd Int. Conf. Commun. Softw. Networks. May 2011. 742-744.

Bourne, V. 2013. The Problems of Outsourcing Application Development and Testing-Micro Focus October 2013. [Online].From:http://www.microfocus.com/_ex/borland/assets/reports/Vanson-Bourne-testing-research-results.pdf. [Acessed on 30 Disember 2014].

Ismail, F. F. and Razali, R. 2014. Contributing Factors of Successful Software Testing Outsourcing. 2014 8th Malaysian Software Engineering Conforence. 55-60.

Herath, T. and Kishore, R. 2009. Offshore Outsourcing: Risks, Challenges, and Potential Solutions. Information System Management. 26(4): 312-326.

Abdullah, L. M. and Verner, J. M. 2012. Analysis and Application of an Outsourcing Risk Framework. Journal System Software. 85(8): 1930-1952.

Hanna, R. and Daim T. 2007. Critical Success Factors in Outsourcing: Case of Software Industry. Management of Engineering and Technology, Portland International Center:1456-1465.

Pei, Z., Zhen-xiang, Z., and Chun-ping, H. 2008. A Framework for IT Outsourcing Decision Process. Service Systems and Service Management. 1-4.

Tervonen. I. 2009. Offshoring Test Automation : Observations and Lessons Learned. Fourth IEEE International Conference on Global Software Engineering Offshoring. 226-235.

Shah, H., Sinha, S., and Harrold, M. J. 2011. Outsourced, Offshored Software-Testing Practice: Vendor-Side Experiences. 2011 IEEE Sixth International Conference on Global Software Engineering. August 2011. 131-140.

Ghag, A. 2008. Case Study : Testing for Utilities Sector. Rightshore! Springer Berlin Heidel. 187-201.

Lu, Y. 2010. A Dynamic Life-Cycle Model For The Provisioning Of Software Testing Services : Experiences From A Case Study In The Chinese Ict Sourcing Market. 1-12.

Yalaho A. and Nahar N. 2010. Key Success Factors for Managing Offshore Outsourcing of Software Production Using The ICT-Supported Unified Process Model: A Case Experience from Finland, India, Nepal And Russia. Technology Management for Global Economic Growth (PICMET), 2010 Proceedings of PICMET. 10: 1-14.

Nicholson, B. and Sahay, S. 2001. Some Political and Cultural Issues in the Globalisation of Software Development : Case Experience From Britain and India. Information and Organization Elsevier Science Ltd. 25-43.

Nakatsu, R. T. and Iacovou, C. L. 2009. A Comparative Study of Important Risk Factors Involved in Offshore and Domestic Outsourcing of Software Development Projects: A Two-Panel Delphi Study. Information & Management. Elsevier. 46(1): 57-68.

Khan, S. U., Niazi, M., and Ahmad, R. 2009. Critical Barriers for Offshore Software Development Outsourcing Vendors: A Systematic Literature Review. 2009 16th Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference. December 2009: 79-86.

Shah, H., Harrold, M. J., and Nersessian, N. J. 2011. Studying the Influence of Culture on Outsourced, Offshored Software-Testing Practice: An Ethnographic Approach. 2011 IEEE Sixth International Conference on Global Software Engineering Workshop. August 2011: 105-107.

Khan, A. W. and Khan, S. U. 2013. Critical Success Factors for Offshore Software Outsourcing Contract Management from Vendors’ Perspective: An Exploratory Study Using A Systematic Literature Review. IET Software. Dec. 2013. 7(6): 327-338.

Li, J., Ma, J., Conradi, R., Chen, W., Ji, J., and Liu, C. 2007. A Survey on the Business Relationship between Chinese Outsourcing Software Suppliers and Their Outsourcers. 14th Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference (APSEC'07). December 2007: 470-477.

Oza, N., Hall, T., Rainer, A., and Grey, S. 2004. Critical Factors in Software Outsourcing: A Pilot Study. ACM Workshop on Interdisciplinary Software Engineering Research, WISER. 67-71.

Xi-feng, S., Rong, D., and Shi-zhong, A. 2011. Relationship Quality, Knowledge Sharing and Outsourcing Performance in Information Technology Outsourcing. Management and Service Science (MASS), 2011 International Conference. 1-4.

Nguyen, P. T., Babar, M. A., and Verner, J. M. 2006. Critical Factors in Establishing and Maintaining Trust in Software Outsourcing Relationships. 624-627.

Khan, S. U., Imtiaz, S., Niazi, M., Bano, M., and Ikram, N. 2013. Establishing Trust in Offshore Software Outsourcing Relationships: An Exploratory Study Using A Systematic Literature Review. IETSoftware. 7(5): 283-293.

Taipale, O., Karhu, K., and Smolander, K. 2007. Observing Software Testing Practice from the Viewpoint of Organizations and Knowledge Management. First International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (ESEM 2007). September 2007: 21-30.

Kaner, C. 2000. An Outline for Software Testing Outsourcing. Jain.

Poston, R., Simon, J., and R. 2010. Client Communication Practices in Managing Relationships with Offshore Vendors of Software Testing Services. Communication of the Association for Information Systems. 27: 129-148.

Jones, J., Grechanik, M., and Van der Hoek, A. 2009. Enabling and Enhancing Collaborations Between Software Development Organizations and Independent Test Agencies. Cooperative and Human Aspects on Software Engineering, 2009. CHASE '09. ICSE Workshop. 56-59.

Andaloussi, B. S. and Braun, A. 2006. A Test Specification Method for Software Interoperability Tests in Offshore Scenarios : A Case Study. IEEE International Conference on Global Software Engineering (ICGSE'06).

Choi, M., Brand, M., and Kim, J. 2009. A Feasibility Evaluation on the Outsourcing of Quality Testing and Inspection. International Journal of Project Management. 27(1): 89-95.

Casey, V., Richardson, I., and HAodha, M. Ó. 2009. Software Testing and Global Industry. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Clott, C. 2007. An Uncertain Future: A Preliminary Study of Offshore Outsourcing from the Manager’s Perspective. Management Research News. 30(7): 476-494.

Jain, R. P., Poston, R. S., and Simon, J. C. 2011. An Empirical Investigation of Client Managers’ Responsibilities in Managing Offshore Outsourcing of Software-Testing Projects. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. November 2011. 58(4): 743-757.

Flick, U. 2010. An Introduction To Qualitative Research. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Fourth Edition.

Krippendorff, K. 2013. Component of Content Analysis, in Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology. 3rd Edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publication.

Downloads

Published

2015-11-09

Issue

Section

Science and Engineering

How to Cite

A QUALITATIVE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF CONTRIBUTING SUCCESS FACTORS FOR SOFTWARE TESTING OUTSOURCING PROJECTS. (2015). Jurnal Teknologi, 77(9). https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v77.6189