The Outsourcing/Offshoring Top 5: Suggested Best Practices

This article was developed from concepts in the book Global Software Test Automation: Discussion of Software Testing for Executives.

Introduction

The top 5 pitfalls encountered by organizations outsourcing/offshoring Software Testing are:

  • Problematic communications
  • Insufficient or mismatched skill sets at software test organization
  • Management issues
  • Vendor and infrastructure problems
  • Offshoring risks

Following are 5 “best practice” recommendations to help avoid these pitfalls and successfully outsource your Test Automation to an offshore partner.

Best Practice Recommendations

There are ways that the pitfalls associated with outsourcing/offshoring Software Testing can be avoided or resolved. The following are 5 best practice suggestions of ways to avoid these pitfalls:

1. Build trust or use someone you can trust.

You need to work with a partner that you know has testing experience, an experienced staff, an understanding of current methodologies, and competent domain knowledge.

Building or gaining trust can be accomplished in many ways, including:

  1. Working with a test organization that you know or have used in the past.
  2. Looking for test organizations that come highly recommended by individuals whose opinions you trust.
  3. Using a small pilot project as a means of determining how dependable a test organization is. If you find you can rely on them with a small pilot project, you can start to build up trust and move forward with larger more critical work.

2. Train the test organization, or make sure they are fully competent to begin with.

It is rare to encounter an outsourced test organization that is “fully competent” as they are typically lacking in domain knowledge, and knowledge of your processes, reporting, communications and more. Of course, if they are already demonstrably fully competent for your application to begin with, that is a plus that will save a great deal of time. More typically, you will have to invest in training the offshore testing partner.

Your offshore team needs to be trained in all aspects of your test process, including communication methods, status reporting, test case management and defect tracking systems, the build process, how much time to spend analyzing bugs to what backup work to do in case of a bad build or downtime, why certain metrics are important, and what they mean, to reduce fear while instilling an understanding of measurement. Take the time required for this into account, as well as the training costs, when you compare options and make your project plan.

Training your offshore test team and setting realistic expectations can stop or minimize most problems before they cause mid-project headaches, stress, or even test project failure. But training an offshore team is different than training your domestic team. Your offshore test team is likely to be more technically skilled than your domestic test team, but that does not eliminate, or even reduce, the need for training.

You will have cross-cultural rough spots as well, so train the local team on ways to recognize and deal with them. Tackling these issues can be difficult and sensitive, but very worthwhile. Trust takes a long time to build, but it is quickly lost.

The domestic team must be aware of how their behavior will be interpreted by the offshore team. Many behaviors that are common to Americans such as making jokes, political comments, or openly criticizing management, can be viewed as disrespectful and inappropriate by your offshore test team. Training can make the domestic team more aware of their own behavior and how it is viewed by the offshore team, preventing friction and misunderstandings that can put the project at risk.

3. Get a methodology and/or tool to improve communications.

Adopt a methodology and tools that support the overall methodology to improve testing, defect tracking, automation, and communications management, focusing on excellent and correct methods, ease of distributed team communication, accessibility, and useful measures. The methodology needs to support a variety of test methods and styles, be clear to understand, adequately test your product, and give you useful information.

4. Choose carefully what work to send offshore and what to keep at home.

In most cases, your offshore team will have a higher level of programming skill than your domestic team. It makes sense to first send Test Automation offshore and keep user-focused scenario development and business process testing in your domestic office where you have more knowledge of the domain and the user. Have the home team focus on the users they should know well. Have the offshore team focus on technical-level testing and Test Automation that computer science graduates would be happier and more knowledgeable about.

5. Build a team with local leads as part of your team or outsource to a team with local test leads as part of your team to manage the outsourced test effort.

A local lead that is part of your team, who understands the culture and communication nuances of the offshore team, can lead the project, effectively communicate progress and metrics, and help to streamline the process. Having non-specialized staff deal with the mountain of potential offshoring issues is at best a difficult task, which will significantly slow down that person’s job duties and lead to many potential problems. Having a specialized local lead to manage the outsourced effort can ultimately save time, save money, and save many hassles.

Conclusion

To summarize the preceding in a simple list, the 5 suggested best practices for outsourcing/offshoring Software Testing are:

  1. Build trust or use someone you can trust.
  2. Train the test organization, or make sure they are fully competent to begin with.
  3. Get a methodology and/or tool to improve communications.
  4. Choose wisely which tasks to keep and which to send offshore to focus on what each team does best and increase the productivity and savings of the outsourced test team.
  5. Build a team with local leads as part of your team or outsource to a team with local test leads as part of your team to manage the outsourced test effort.
Hung Nguyen

Hung Nguyen co-founded LogiGear in 1994, and is responsible for the company’s strategic direction and executive business management. His passion and relentless focus on execution and results has been the driver for the company’s innovative approach to software testing, test automation, testing tool solutions and testing education programs.

Hung is co-author of the top-selling book in the software testing field, “Testing Computer Software,” (Wiley, 2nd ed. 1993) and other publications including, “Testing Applications on the Web,” (Wiley, 1st ed. 2001, 2nd ed. 2003), and “Global Software Test Automation,” (HappyAbout Publishing, 2006). His experience prior to LogiGear includes leadership roles in software development, quality, product and business management at Spinnaker, PowerUp, Electronic Arts and Palm Computing.

Hung holds a Bachelor of Science in Quality Assurance from Cogswell Polytechnical College, and completed a Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program.

Rob Pirozzi

Over 20 years of sales, marketing, management, and technology experience in high technology with exposure to industries including financial services, healthcare, higher education, government, and manufacturing; demonstrating a strong track record of success. Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships, contribute to target organization success, and deliver results. Website: http://www.robpirozzi.com/

Hung Q. Nguyen
Hung Nguyen co-founded LogiGear in 1994, and is responsible for the company’s strategic direction and executive business management. His passion and relentless focus on execution and results has been the driver for the company’s innovative approach to software testing, test automation, testing tool solutions and testing education programs. Hung is co-author of the top-selling book in the software testing field, “Testing Computer Software,” (Wiley, 2nd ed. 1993) and other publications including, “Testing Applications on the Web,” (Wiley, 1st ed. 2001, 2nd ed. 2003), and “Global Software Test Automation,” (HappyAbout Publishing, 2006). His experience prior to LogiGear includes leadership roles in software development, quality, product and business management at Spinnaker, PowerUp, Electronic Arts and Palm Computing. Hung holds a Bachelor of Science in Quality Assurance from Cogswell Polytechnical College, and completed a Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program.
Hung Q. Nguyen on Linkedin
Rob Pirozzi
Over 20 years of sales, marketing, management, and technology experience in high technology with exposure to industries including financial services, healthcare, higher education, government, and manufacturing; demonstrating a strong track record of success.

The Related Post

How can IT offshore outsourcing vendors in countries such as India gain knowledge of their western clients such that they become able to work more effectively for the benefit of their clients? This question lies at the heart of offshore outsourcing, but it is one that is often misunderstood.
International Conference on Global Software Engineering 2011 “What is the most important issue to resolve in the GSE?” LogiGear Corporation LogiGear Corporation provides global solutions for software testing, and offers public and corporate software-testing training programs worldwide through LogiGear University. LogiGear is a leader in the integration of test automation, offshore resources and US project ...
Introduction This article provides a business case for considering Vietnam as an offshore outsourcing destination. It starts by outlining a framework for evaluating potential outsourcing destinations. It then proceeds to evaluate Vietnam against the framework, demonstrating that Vietnam is worthy of strong consideration as an offshore outsourcing destination.
The 2014 Outsourcing World Summit, organized by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), shed some light on the technology trends that are shaping the outlook for outsourcing. Here’s a list of most significant drivers that are shaping “what’s next” for the future of technology outsourcing.
There’s a reason so many major companies are outsourcing to Vietnam. Intel is building the largest semiconductor plant in the world in Vietnam. IBM, Sony and dozens of other Major corporations have opened centers in Vietnam in the last few years. Business Week calls Vietnam “The new hot spot for IT outsourcing” Gartner has added ...
Well publicized offshore outsourcing challenges, a narrowing labor-cost gap, and political considerations have some rethinking how to approach outsourcing. Enterprises elect to bring offshore or outsourced operations in-house for a number of reasons. While performance certainly can play a role, motivation also includes strategic business reasons and a belief that the enterprise can perform the function ...
Authors: Hung Q. Nguyen, Michael Hackett, Brent K. Whitlock Paperback: 164 pages Publisher: Happy About (August 1, 2006) Language: English Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches “Software is complex but I’m tired of finding bug after bug that a 5th grader would have turned in. Virtually every technical product these days includes a ...
Software Testing to Software Engineering According to analysts, the growing dependence on software testing to improve product quality is resulting in greater IT budgets getting allocated to the testing activity. In fact, it is being suggested that in the years ahead, software testing will make up nearly 20-25 percent of the software budget. Forrester Research ...
Rain is a constant in Vietnam. While sometimes it may inconvenience us, it is one of the country’s most valuable natural resources. Rain is one of Vietnam’s defining characteristics. It floods the streets, feeds the fields, cleans the cities and provides a soothing soundtrack at night. Some days we curse it, some days we embrace ...
Da Nang City, March 12, 2011 – LogiGear Corporation will officially open its Software Testing and Research Center in the Dana Book Building at 76-78 Bach Dang Street, Hai Chau District, Da Nang City. The opening ceremony will welcome representatives from Da Nang and Duy Tan University as well as government agencies.
Using an outsourcing firm with technical know-how and sound processes adds value from the very beginning. Flexible outsourcing, in particular offshoring, can make the difference in achieving business goals within the boundaries of time and budget. Organizations rarely have a predictable, steady flow of work. Most test teams are under extreme pressure to get new products ...
McAfee representatives from India and Japan visited LogiGear Viet Nam from Feb 21 – 25. Their week-long stay entailed debriefing LogiGear staff on McAfee MX Logic and Mobile Security for the team to begin testing. Project manager Tien Nguyen and project lead Hung Le oversaw the sessions between LogiGear and McAfee. As a good hostess, ...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Stay in the loop with the lastest
software testing news

Subscribe