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- Introduction
- Who Is Offshoring QA and Testing?
- Critical Issues to Consider
- Conclusion
- Checklist for Selecting an Offshore QA and Testing Vendor
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Checklist for Selecting an Offshore QA and Testing Vendor
- Focus of the vendor
- Does the vendor concentrate strictly on QA and testing services or does it offer a one-stop shop (application development as well as QA and testing services)?
- Do QA and testing comprise a significant portion of the vendor's business?
- Does the vendor have a clearly defined QA process in place, or are they experimenting on your project?
- Does the vendor have offices onshore or just a token presence?
- Experience and expertise
- How does the vendor recruit employees? Is the vendor recruiting people off the street or hiring people only after adequate testing and screening?
- Do the offshore employees have expertise in technology areas relevant to your project?
- What continual training classes does the vendor offer employees? How frequently?
- Automation
- Are the offshore employees experienced with the testing tools you use or plan to use?
- Specialization
- Has the vendor worked with companies in the same or similar industries?
- Security
- How can the vendor assure the security of your data and intellectual property?
- Has the vendor established effective backup and disaster-recovery plans?
- Does the vendor enter into legally binding nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with clients, or is an NDA just another piece of paper?
- Project management and communication
- How does the vendor address critical project-management issues on an everyday basis?
- Are project managers dedicated to a project or to certain customers?
- What project management tool does the offshore team use, and how accessible will it be to your company?
- What escalation process does the vendor follow to resolve issues quickly?
- Does the vendor have a clearly defined offshore transition process that covers all aspects such as knowledge transfer, project management, and status reporting?
- Are project managers available onshore to personally interact with your company on a dedicated or part-time basis?
- Documentation standards
- How much importance does the vendor assign to documentation?
- Are standard templates available for test plans, test cases, and change requests?
- Supporting infrastructure
- Does the vendor have a well-equipped test lab? Does the lab have the software and hardware you require, as well as the necessary software licenses?
- Does the lab have adequate infrastructure to facilitate communication between the U.S. and the offshore location (for example, VoIP, high-bandwidth Internet connections, and videoconferencing facilities)?
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