Internet And Computer Security

TABLE OF CONTENTS

· Why is software testing important?

· Steps in the software testing process

· What are your options for software testing

· The STRONG reasons for outsourcing your software testing

SUMMARY

Market research studies show that 40% of unplanned application downtime is caused by application failures or “bugs”; 40% by application errors and only 20% by hardware, environmental factors or disasters. Therefore, 80% of unplanned downtime can be alleviated by improvement of IT processes, pre-deployment testing and complete operations training. But not all organizations have the “know-how” or resources to perform the software testing process. Software testing is crucial, but it is certainly not the core activity of most organizations that need it. Outsourcing this process will allow a company to focus on it’s core activities while software testing experts can handle the work proficiently, ensuring quality results. The company will save time and money on a process that would otherwise be too tedious and exhausting if performed internal.

Why is software testing important?

Software testing is an essential and vital phase of any software development project. Developers and testers must ensure that newly developed products meet practical and performance requirements and that those products are reliable to operate consistently under every circumstance. The risks of launching a product that is not yet fully prepared are greater now than ever before because of the change in expectations and demands of the end users.

A continuous approach to quality, initiated early in the software lifecycle, can lower the cost of completing and maintaining the software significantly. This greatly reduces the risk associated with deploying poor quality software.

Briefly, the main improvements that come with deploying software testing and highlight the generally quoted reasons for testing are:

- Save time and money by identifying defects early

- Avoid or reduce development downtime

- Provide better customer service by building a better application

- Know that users’ requirements are satisfied

- Build a list of desired modifications and enhancements for later versions

- Identify and catalog reusable modules and components

- Identify areas where programmers and developers need training

Steps in the software testing process

Software testing providers focus primarily on evaluating product quality, which is realized through the following core practices:

- Find and document defects in software quality.

- Advise on the perceived software quality.

- Validate and prove the assumptions made in design and requirement specifications through concrete demonstration.

- Validate that the software product works as designed.

- Validate that the requirements are implemented appropriately.

A good test effort is driven by questions such as: How could this software break? In what possible situations could this software fail to work predictably? Software testing challenges the assumptions, risks, and uncertainty inherent in the work of other disciplines, and addresses those concerns using concrete demonstration and impartial evaluation.

What are your options for software testing

Independent testing denotes the test design and implementation most appropriately performed by someone who is autonomous from the team of developers. This means that the results will be impartial and reflect an objective view of product’s capabilities.

But though company literature boasts the tremendous time and money saving features of outsourcing software testing – while stressing high quality work you can count on – one should decide clearly whether it is really beneficial to outsource software testing.

How can you decide if it makes sense to outsource software testing? You’ve got to begin by carefully analyzing your needs as they relate to this critical phase of software development. Software testing means many things to many people. The main objective of software testing is to ensure the software functions as specified before going into production. But it also means making sure the software is intuitive and easy to use.

Before you make the decision to outsource software testing, it’s important to clarify what you want from the outsourcing company. As their popularity grows, so do the services these companies provide. Many also provide software design services. Or, they will plan, but not implement a software testing process for your organization. And they will even send individuals to your site to takecare of integrating the software testing tools you purchase with your hardware. In general, regardless of your exact software testing needs, if you’ve got the money to pay for it, you’ll find an outsourcing company willing to do it.

The STRONG Reasons for Outsourcing your Software Testing

ACCESS TO A SKILLED TEAM OF TESTERS

Probably the most important reason why companies decide to outsource software testing is to eliminate the learning curve.

Employees of specialized software testing companies are not only aware of different software testing tools, but they already know how to use them very well. If you work in software development, you know how tight production schedules are. Anything that saves time helps keep projects on schedule. Software delays are costly so when weighing the costs vs. benefits of outsourcing software testing, determine how project delays affect your bottom line.

REDUCE EXPENSES WITH RESOURCES

Following the previously mentioned reason, it’s also important to say that software testing providers are not only specialists in testing tools but, obviously, they already own it. And these tools are pretty expensive. So the fact that you won’t have to buy them any more is already a significant cost saver.

Moreover, oftentimes software development houses cannot afford to hire and maintain a full-time development team and an in-house software testing team. For these companies, the decision to outsource software testing is an easy one.

BETTER SOFTWARE QUALITY

Another key benefit of outsourcing testing practice is better software quality supported by:

· Organization independence, which ensures focus on quality, correctness and conformance to requirements without schedule or budget overruns

· Technical and process independence which is achieved through mature processes, specialized resources and tools for testing the application

· Central repository of testing best practices such as mechanisms to identify defects in early release cycles and approaches for reducing test case development effort

FASTER TIME TO MARKET

Organizations with an independent testing process ensure improved time to market by enabling faster turnaround of releases. This is achieved through:

· Skills in test automation strategies, enabling faster testing cycles

· Optimizing staffing lead time and improving the ability to handle fluctuations in demand

· Higher degree of predictability in testing effort, enabling adherence to schedule

SAVE OVERALL COSTS

It’s an overhyped subject that IT outsourcing in general determines significant costs reduction. But in software testing particularly, research studies show clear figures regarding companies that chose outsourcing instead of in-house deployment.

- In a study conducted by AMR Research, surveys proved a cost of finding and fixind deffects that accounts for nearly 50% of the cost for all software development projects.

- The same research reveals that offshore software testing saves companies up to 75% over in-house costs, improves quality and si a less risky method to develop mature offshore outsourcing skills

It’s a well known fact that non-profit organizations have very strict guidelines with regard to the way they run their operations, particularly with accounting and audit trails. Therefore, determining which software solution is the best fit for your particular organization can be a time-intensive process. Below are the top three Do’s and Don’ts of selecting a non-profit software solution to help ease the process for your organization.

Do:

1. Identify Required and Desired Functionality of the New Software Solution. It’s important to know what you need and want from a software solution. Perhaps online donations are important to aide in your fundraising efforts. Or maybe comprehensive reports and performance analytics are required by your Board of Directors each quarter. And maybe improving your marketing efforts is a big priority for the next fiscal year. Whatever your needs and wants may be to run your non-profit organization more efficiently and effectively, differentiate between the “must-haves” and “nice to haves” so that you weigh and score technology partners equally.
2. Involve Personnel to Drive Adoption. It’s important to involve personnel from key departments every step of the process, from identifying requirements to implementing the software. You must take into account what pains or frustrations your staff members may be facing, and ensure that the new solution will address these challenges and be implemented in a way that is parallel to existing workflows. Involving staff members in every step will ultimately drive adoption of the new technology because they have contributed to the resolution and will have already approved the technology being adopted.
3. Be Thorough in Your Research of Technology Partners. Your research into various software providers should be multi-faceted. Be sure to use each of the following research methods when pulling together your list of viable non-profits software partners.

• Talk to Industry Peers. This does not mean simply asking other non-profits what software they’re using and whether or not they like it. Talking to industry peers means asking what their criteria was for new software, what the selection process was like for them, what the total cost of ownership is, and how well the software met their needs.
• Research Online. Look for ratings and reviews, both good and bad, for each of your top software candidates. Visit each software company’s website and read through their information thoroughly. Read the company’s news to see how well the company is doing and if they seem to be financially stable. Read testimonials and case studies to look for similarities between your organization’s needs and the vendor’s customer needs.
• Talk to Technology Providers. After narrowing your list of potential technology partners down to a manageable number, start making phone calls directly to the companies. Pay attention to how friendly, knowledgeable, responsive and open company representatives are over the phone. Ask candid questions about industry experience, customer service, and software functionality. Ask sales staff what their non-profits customers would say about the company if you were to call them up. These are all very fair questions to ask and the right software company will be more than willing to provide any information you need to know to make your software selection.
• Request On-Site Demonstrations. By the time you reach the software demonstrations phase, you should have narrowed your list down even further to just a handful of possible partners. Before software vendors arrive for demonstrations, collaborate with staff members to create a comprehensive list of questions to ensure that you are prepared to evaluate each vendor equally. Ask vendors to walk you through step-by-step processes for a typical transaction your staff might handle on any given day. Ask what customers find most challenging about the software. Ask what feedback the company receives the most on the software. Ask every question that you and your staff deem important in the software selection process. And ask these questions to each of the vendors.

Don’t:

1. Buy Software Based on Features Only. When focusing just on features of the software, such as online registration, membership management tools, Web content management, etc., you can unknowingly overlook other important factors, such as software scalability, technology requirements, customer service support, total cost of ownership, and finding a software solution that doesn’t change your business processes. It’s important to buy non-profits software that will grow with your organization, allow you to take advantage of existing investments in computers and other IT equipment, offer you 24/7 customer service support, save you money while driving new revenues and donations, and be user-friendly so anyone, from volunteers to full-time staff, can utilize the software to improve current business processes.
2. Evaluate Only the Initial Costs. There are a number of companies that require minimal to no upfront costs for their software solutions. However, after the initial installation, it’s important to understand other costs that may be associated with the software, such as annual license fees, upgrade charges, general maintenance costs, usage fees, customer service support fees, and additional IT investments that may be required as your organization grows and expands. Be sure to request, in writing, details of your organization’s total cost of ownership for each software package you’re considering. It’s important to be aware of this number at the forefront to not only evaluate total cost expenditures from one software company to the next, but to also understand when this money will need to be allocated from your budget.
3. Buy More Than You Need. If your non-profit organization doesn’t have leagues, you shouldn’t be paying for league management tools. If your non-profit doesn’t have dedicated IT personnel in-house, you should probably consider a hosted software deployment so your software provider can manage all IT needs for you. Bottom line, request exactly what you need and want and don’t pay for anything extra. It’s difficult to justify the added expense and can be confusing for staff to navigate around.