Intelligent Outsourcing | May 2009 software testing newsletter from RBCS

It's been a busy couple of months at RBCS. As many of you already know, we launched our series of monthly, free Webinars, shown on the left side of this newsletter. Each Webinar includes an hour presentation followed by 30 minutes of questions-and-answers, so we hope you can join in the discussion. We hold each Webinar at two times to suit the needs of all our international clients, but, should you miss a Webinar due to a schedule conflict, we will post the recorded Webinars on our Web site starting in July. Feel free to pass along links and Webinar invites to interested colleagues.

We have an exciting new partnership to announce in this letter. We have joined with CEPREI, a high-tech industry leader, to offer ISTQB training, along with our consulting services, throughout China. More details below.

As the worldwide recession continues to pinch, the heady days of heedless outsourcing are coming to a close. The software industry is entering a more mature phase of globalization, as our colleagues in the hardware business did in the mid 1990s. People are ready for a more intelligent approach to outsourcing. To help you do so, I've included an article which is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Managing the Testing Process, third edition.

We've got a lot of other interesting information about RBCS below, including information about our expanded e-learning offerings and the growing reach of our ISTQB Advanced training audiences. Of course, you can also find the usual crop of Rexisms and a green tip.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter.

Regards,

Rex Black, President

Intelligent Outsourcing

by Rex Black

Should we outsource our testing? What testing tasks should we outsource, and what tasks should we keep in-house? What are the chief advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing testing? As a consultant, I've been asked questions like these and other outsourcing-related questions a number of times. For a few clients, I've provided the following analysis, which should prove useful to you if you are evaluating outsourcing of testing.

In this article, I analyze the use of outsourcing in testing, based on some twenty years of experience with outsourcing of testing in one form or another. First, I enumerate the key differences between in-house and outsourced test teams. Next, driven by these key differences, I'll analyze which tasks fit better with outsourced testing service providers, followed by a similar analysis for in-house test teams. Then, I'll list some of the technical, managerial, and political challenges that confront a company trying to make effective use of outsourced testing. Finally, I'll address some of the processes needed to use testing service providers effectively and with the least amount of trouble.

To view the article in its entirety and to download a free version of testing experience visit Testing Experience or visit our articles page on our website.

Featured Partner

After successfully collaborating to launch ISTQB Advanced courses in China, RBCS and CEPREI have now taken the next step by joining together as partners in the Chinese market. RBCS and CEPREI will work together to create Chinese-language versions of RBCS' ISTQB live and e-learning courses. In addition, RBCS will work with CEPREI to provide test assessment, quality assessment, and risk-based testing consulting in China. Rex Black, President of RBCS, described the partnership by saying, "We are very excited to work with such a prestigious and important partner in the Chinese market. We consider CEPREI the ideal company to collaborate with us in our training and consulting offerings in China."

Zhao Guoxiang, Vice President of CEPREI, said, "RBCS is both a pioneer and leader in quality hardware and software testing. They have very experienced consultants and trainers in this field. President Rex is a famous expert in software testing area all over the world. We believe that our cooperation would contribute to higher quality training and consultation services offered in China by us. We are happy about the cooperation with RBCS and look forward to a bright future for both parties."

Webinar Based Training

Do you have a team that needs training but you want to save on instructor expenses that are incurred in a live onsite class or you want to spread the training out over a period of time rather than deliver the training in a 3 to 5 day back-to-back time slot? RBCS is proud to announce the introduction of a Webinar based training program. In addition to the free Webinar series featured in this newsletter, the following classes can be purchased in a Webinar format:

ISTQB Test Engineering Foundation
ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst
ISTQB Advanced Test Manager
Managing the Testing Process
Assessing your Test Team
Software Test Estimation

All participants receive 3 months access to the e-learning version of the course, a supplemental textbook as well as virtual instructor facilitation. Contact us at info@rbcs-us.com or +1 (830) 438-4830 for pricing and additional information.

Changes in the ISTQB Advanced Level Exam Times

Like many of our clients, you might have an interest in getting ISTQB Advanced certified. At the recommendation of the ISTQB, some Boards, including the American Software Testing Qualifications Board (ASTQB) and the Canadian Software Testing Board (CSTB) have increased the time allotted to take the 90 question exam to 3 hours. This information is provided to you by RBCS as a courtesy. It can change! We strongly recommend that you visit the ASTQB website or the CSTB website at www.astqb.org or www.cstb.ca, respectively, for up to the minute information on the program and the exams.

May "Rexisms"

Some of you may have heard Rex's sayings over the years. We decided to coin them "Rexisms" for your reading pleasure. So here they are to ponder - some useful aphorisms to help you plan, prepare, perform, and perfect your testing activities, compiled from over a quarter-century of software and systems engineering experience.

"A key to successful testing is knowing who the quality and testing stakeholders are, what they need you to do, how you can measure whether you're doing that, and what constitutes success for each metric."

"To test or not to test: That is not the question. What to test, how much to test, in what order to test, and how to triage tests if you are time compressed: That is the question. And that's the question risk-based testing allows you to answer."

"Integrating testing best practices into Agile methodologies will be a key success factor for many test teams in the 2010 decade. The lesson of the 2000 decade is that doing so poses a number of challenges."

RBCS Achieves Dual-Accreditation in Requirements Engineering

Our Requirements Engineering Foundation course is now accredited by both the International Requirements Engineering Board and the International Institute of Business Analysis. This means that by taking this one course, you can accomplish four things: 1) learn how to apply best practices in requirements engineering to your work, making you a more effective and efficient tester, developer, or business analyst; 2) prepare for the IREB Foundation exam; 3) prepare for the IIBA Certified Business Analyst Professional exam; and, 4) position yourself, together with ISTQB Foundation and ISTQB Advanced Test Manager, to obtain QAMP certification.

Rex Black on Security Processes

Rex Black recently spoke to SD Times about Microsoft's SDL, a software development process for developing more secure code. See the article and Rex's quote at: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/33340.

ISTQB Advanced Test Manager and ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst are World-Wide and World Class

In March RBCS kicked off the ISTQB Advanced Test Manager program in New Zealand. As a result of numerous requests we introduced the program there and anticipate a high volume of new Certified Advanced Level Test Analysts in the coming months.

In April, with our newest Training Partner, CEPREI, we kicked off the ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst program in China. Since then there has been an increased interest in not only the ISTQB Advanced Level Test Analyst Certification in China, but the ISTQB Advanced Test Manager and the Foundation Level Certification as well.

Green Tip

By purchasing 100% new renewable energy products for a year, an American household using an average of 938 kWh per month could help avoid contributing over 15,600 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

Tip provided by our partner BeGreen www.BeGreennow.com.

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