Organizations need to have a firm understanding of their quality assurance (QA) and testing processes so that they make any necessary cost-effective improvements. These improvements include such things as proper requirements processes and software development life cycle (SDLC) gate reviews, whose effects on defect production have been found to significantly reduce costs in an IT organization.

Description

Our affordable, fixed-price QA and Testing Process Rapid Review Assessment offering provides a fast and efficient assessment and evaluation of an organization’s testing maturity level, which covers the following:

• An assessment and evaluation of the current QA and testing process maturity level (both in-house developed and purchased applications)
• An assessment and evaluation of the current QA and testing team skill capabilities
• An assessment and evaluation of the current test reporting, with emphasis on completeness and utility
• A gap analysis comparing your QA and testing processes with best practices, and providing recommendations for improvement

Our Experts have experience in working with both large and small enterprises to achieve the maximum benefits to their IT organizations. We have assisted our clients in building business cases for implementation changes/improvements, as well as for outsourcing or in-sourcing their application development and/or support and maintenance. Our team also has experience in performing application development assessments (CMMI), developing actionable IT strategies and architecture plans, and improving overall IT performance.

We partner with our clients to develop the assessment based on their goals and business requirements, and to educate their team in the process. We believe that this is important so our clients can take ownership for the recommendations, and be capable of making continual adjustments to the recommended roadmap as changing business needs demand. We stress that the roadmap is not just a report, but a process that positively impacts and positions how IT delivers value to the business, and most importantly how this is affected by the applications.

Deliverables

Standard

Our offering delivers the following results:

• An assessment and evaluation of the current QA and testing processes and their related supporting infrastructure. We review people, processes, software applications and development tools to provide a comprehensive view of the IT application portfolio and its capabilities.
• A gap analysis comparing the QA and testing processes with best practices, and providing recommendations for improvement

Our Experts will deliver a detailed report that includes the above deliverables, and present the findings to our client’s management.

Work effort may be conducted on-site or off-site as follows:

• TAC will work with client’s IT staff to gather the information for review.
• Work effort is limited to two days for data gathering, and one day for an interactive presentation of findings and recommendations.
• TAC assumes client has a readily available application inventory, and prices and costs of all staff both internal and external,and will send them to TAC within two business days upon request.
• TAC will present findings and recommendations within seven business days after receipt of all information/data from the client, and present to the client’s senior management team.

Optional

In addition to the deliverables listed above, we can assist clients in a more detailed full QA and testing process assessment and help to implement the approved initiatives.

QA and Testing Process Baseline: Based on the QA and Testing Process Assessment, we will develop a comprehensive metrics baseline for ongoing comparison.

Broader interview and survey participation: The extent of selected survey participation can be extended at the client’s discretion.

Defect Study: Developed from client data delivered from test tool defect tracking or other sources, the study compares the client data to our industry benchmark database. We use industry formulae to discover the Cost of Quality, the suspected defect origins, and implications for savings. These defect studies are often startling in the percentage of IT budget that they represent and the savings opportunities that surface.

Full Integrated Analysis: The results from the QA and Testing Process Assessment and the Defect Study are integrated and analyzed. The assessment results are compared to CMMI, the Testing Maturity Model, and industry benchmark database to identify and document the organization’s current level and improvement path, as well as any financial and process opportunities.

Ongoing support: TAC offers analytical and research support for the QA and Testing Process Assessment results.

Target Audience

CIO, COO, CFO

The executive and management teams responsible for application testing will gain key information critical to cost-effective actions. This service will enable the management team to ensure that their quality and testing practices, processes and results are consistent with high performing organizations.

About TAC (The Advisory Council)

Founded in 2002, The Advisory Council (TAC) brings its unique Expertise-as-a-Service^® (EaaS™), the next logical step in the XaaS revolution, to the enterprise. The EaaS solution-delivery model gives clients access to TAC’s wide array of services, tools and workshops designed to help CIOs and IT managers reduce costs, improve productivity, and increase the status of IT in the boardroom. The EaaS mission is to provide first-hand, actionable information, advice, and expertise in the context of your specific IT organization. The TAC Expert Network provides clients on-demand access to one of the world’s largest vetted networks of practicing IT experts. With hundreds of CIOs, authors, patent holders, thought leaders, and independent consultants, TAC delivers the right answer to your question in the right context, “right now.”