Thursday, May 31, 2007

[Methods & Tools] [Links]






Martinig & Associates has conducted software process evaluation based on the Capability Maturity Model (CMM ( CMMI) between 1993 and 2001 using a questionnaire based the first version of the assessment questionnaire produced by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in 1987. These assessments evaluated the quality of the software development process of organisations. There are more than 200 organisations assessed in our database from all over the world.

Software Process Assessments Results
ISO 9000 and CMM usage
CMM (1987 questionnaire) Maturity levels and key process area results
CMM (1987 questionnaire) Technology usage results
Articles
Does training influence the quality of the software development process?
Assessing Readiness for (Software) Process Improvement
Don't Write Another Process
Process Improvement – Is it a Lottery?
Software Development Articles - Software Process Improvement area
Resources
External links page

http://www.martinig.ch/ae/process.php

Journey from ISO 9001 to SW CMM Level 5

[PDF]
Two stage journey from ISO 9001 to CMM Level 5, an Experience
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTMLSyntel (India) Ltd. Journey from ISO 9001 to SW CMM Level 5. Page 1 of. 8. Journey from ISO 9001 to SW CMM Level 5. (A Two Stage Journey Experience) ...www.softwaredioxide.com/channels/Content/Syntel_Journey_ISO_to_CMM.pdf - Similar pages
AmitySoft receives ISO 9001 millennium version
With the certification, AmitySoft has achieved the distinction of being one of the first set of software companies in India to be ISO 9001:2000 compliant. ...amitysoft.com/press9.aspx - 13k - Cached - Similar pages

Sunday, May 20, 2007

FAQ;s

Table of Contents Software QA and Testing Frequently-Asked-Questions Part 1, covers the following:
What is 'Software Quality Assurance'?
What is 'Software Testing'?
What are some recent major computer system failures caused by software bugs?
Does every software project need testers?
Why does software have bugs?
How can new Software QA processes be introduced in an existing organization?
What is verification? validation?
What is a 'walkthrough'?
What's an 'inspection'?
What kinds of testing should be considered?
What are 5 common problems in the software development process?
What are 5 common solutions to software development problems?
What is software 'quality'?
What is 'good code'?
What is 'good design'?
What is SEI? CMM? CMMI? ISO? Will it help?
What is the 'software life cycle'?
Software QA and Testing Frequently-Asked-Questions Part 2, covers the following:
What makes a good Software Test engineer?
What makes a good Software QA engineer?
What makes a good QA or Test manager?
What's the role of documentation in QA?
What's the big deal about 'requirements'?
What steps are needed to develop and run software tests?
What's a 'test plan'?
What's a 'test case'?
What should be done after a bug is found?
What is 'configuration management'?
What if the software is so buggy it can't really be tested at all?
How can it be known when to stop testing?
What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?
What if the project isn't big enough to justify extensive testing?
How does a client/server environment affect testing?
How can World Wide Web sites be tested?
How is testing affected by object-oriented designs?
What is Extreme Programming and what's it got to do with testing? Software QA and Testing Less-Frequently-Asked-Questions, covers the following:
Why is it often hard for organizations to get serious about quality assurance?
Who is responsible for risk management?
Who should decide when software is ready to be released?
What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?
What if the application has functionality that wasn't in the requirements?
How can QA processes be implemented without reducing productivity?
What if an organization is growing so fast that fixed QA processes are impossible?
Will automated testing tools make testing easier?
What's the best way to choose a test automation tool?
How can it be determined if a test environment is appropriate?
What's the best approach to software test estimation?
Other Software QA and Testing Resources
Top 5 List
Software QA and Testing-related Organizations and Certifications
Links to QA and Testing-related Magazines/Publications
General Software QA and Testing Resources
Web QA and Testing Resources
Web Security Testing Resources
Web Usability Resources
Software QA and Test Tools
Test tools
CM tools and PM tools
Web site test and management tools
Web Site Test Tools and Site Management Tools
Load and performance test tools
Java test tools
HTML Validators
Link Checkers
Free On-the-Web HTML Validators and Link Checkers
PERL and C Programs for Validating and Checking
Web Functional/Regression Test Tools
Web Site Security Test Tools
External Site Monitoring Services
Web Site Management Tools
Log Analysis Tools
Other Web Test Tools
Jobs and News
Web Job Boards useful to QA and Test Engineers
Latest News Headlines -- Technology, Software Development, Computer Security, Tech Stocks, more...
Software QA and Testing Bookstore
Software Testing Books
Software Test Automation Books
Software Quality Assurance Books
Software Requirements Engineering Books
Software Metrics Books
Configuration Management Books
Software Risk Management Books
Software Engineering Books
Software Project Management Books
Technical Background Basics Books
Other Books

http://www.softwareqatest.com/

Vendor Selection


for software outsourcing
http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:7o8W9ifNxbsJ:www.oobp.org/Vendor/Downloads_GetFile.aspx%3Fid%3D540+copc+or+cobit&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=in

for esourcing


eSourcing Capability Models
Quality models and certification for IT and ITES organizations
With the continued growth of IT services and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services), organizations are striving to reach higher levels of performance and capability. In these relationships, service providers use information technology as a key component of, or as an enabler for, delivering their services. Technology alone does not provide complete solutions, as the eSourcing relationships between clients and their service providers must overcome many challenges to be successful.
The eSourcing relationship challenges include:
Clients often have little experience in outsourcing and have no standard criteria for selecting a provider.
Success criteria for the relationship are not well understood or agreed upon from inception by both parties.
Clients’ expectations often change as the nature of the services change, due to rapid shifts in technology and tools, and providers are not always able to keep up with those changes
The necessary trade-offs between the service’s quality, speed, and cost are not always articulated and understood.
The transfer of personnel, equipment, and knowledge between the client and service provider is often problematic.
Service providers often have trouble analyzing and reporting their progress in terms that are meaningful for clients.
Types of sourcing services
The IT Services Qualification Center (ITSqc) at Carnegie Mellon University has created “best practices” capability models for both sides of the eSourcing relationship. The eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP) v2 was released in April 2004. The eSourcing Capability Model for Client Organizations (eSCM-CL) is being released in 2006.
eSCM for Service Providers
The eSCM-SP v2 offers ITES providers a framework to improve their capability to deliver consistently high quality services. It also assists them in establishing, managing, and continually improving relationships with clients. The intent of the eSCM is to present service providers with a set of best practices that help them effectively manage sourcing relationships. Besides, it presents clients with a way to evaluate and compare service provider’s capabilities.
ITSqc developed the eSCM-SP for three purposes. First, it helps ITES providers appraise and improve their ability to provide high quality sourcing services. Second, it gives them a way to differentiate themselves from the competition. Third, prospective clients can evaluate service providers based on their eSCM-SP level of certification and Practice Satisfaction Profile.
Each of the Model’s 84 Practices is distributed along three dimensions: Sourcing Life-cycle, Capability Areas, and Capability Levels. While most quality models focus only on delivery capabilities, the eSCM-SP’s Sourcing Life-cycle includes delivery, as well as initiation and completion of contracts where many commonly encountered problems arise.
The eSCM-SP offers a five-level improvement path that service providers can travel to enhance value and sustain excellence over time. By grouping the practices into increasing levels of capability, the eSCM-SP describes an improvement path for a service provider. Providers may advance from a minimal level of delivering services, to the highest level, where they are proactively enhancing value for clients, regardless of the requirements or scope of sourcing efforts.
The eSCM-SP has been designed to complement existing quality models so that service providers can capitalize on their previous improvement efforts. The Model’s structure complements most existing quality models such as ISO 9001, ISO 20000-1, ISO 27001, the CMMs®, COBIT® and COPC-2000®. Therefore it can be implemented in parallel with these other frameworks. A series of documents comparing the eSCM-SP with other models and standards is in production and available from the ITSqc Web site.
eSCM for Client Organizations
In order to address both aspects of the eSourcing relationship, the ITSqc has developed the eSCM for Client Organizations (eSCM-CL), which addresses the challenges of sourcing relationships from client’s perspective. Existing frameworks do not comprehensively address the best practices needed by client organizations to successfully source and manage ITES. Actions of the client organization and of the service provider in these sourcing relationships are critical for the success.
Many other frameworks focus on delivery, although the roots of many sourcing difficulties often lie elsewhere. The 95 Practices of the eSCM-CL cover the full sourcing life cycle. This best practice model begins with the client’s strategy for eSourcing, moving through initiation into delivery and, eventually, into completion activities. It allows client organizations to continuously evolve, improve, and innovate their capabilities to develop stronger, longer term, and more trusting relationships with their service providers. It also ensures that their sourcing activities provide true business value to the organization. Key aspects of the eSCM-CL that are not covered by many other standards include organizational change management and value management practices to ensure that the organization successfully manages its sourcing transformation, and that its sourcing activities return appropriate value and align with the organization’s objectives.
In addition, eSCM-CL enables client organizations to appraise and improve their capability to foster the development of more effective relationships, better manage these relationships, and experience fewer failures in their client-service provider relationship.
The eSCM-SP v2
The 84 eSCM-SP v2 Practices are arranged within three dimensions: Sourcing Life-cycle, Capability Areas, and Capability Levels.
The eSCM-CL
The Sourcing Life-cycle addressed by the eSCM-CL extends earlier than the Phases of the Sourcing Life-cycle covered by the eSCM-SP. Its 95 Practices address the sourcing activities of the client organization dealing with its sourcing strategy and analysis of its operations and potential sourcing opportunities during the Analysis Phase.
ITSqc and UL
Carnegie Mellon University’s ITSqc is a multidisciplinary group of researchers, practitioners, and organizations that addresses the needs of ITES providers and their clients. To that end, the ITSqc develops quality models and qualification methods for organizations involved in eSourcing. eSCM, a set of complimentary best practices for the IT-Sourcing Market, is fast becoming the standard for sourcing relationships on both sides of the service relationship. For more information about the eSCM Models or eSCM-certified organizations, visit http://www.itsqc.cmu.edu/. These documents and all Model documents are available at itsqc.cmu.edu/downloads.
UL is an ITSqc-authorized provider of independent, third-party eSCM appraisals and evaluations, which can lead to certification by the ITSqc at Carnegie Mellon University.
For more information about eSourcing Capability Model, please contact Dr. Hefley at Hefley@cmu.edu or JC Sekar, General Manager, Management System Registration Services (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa) at Jc.sekar@sg.ul.com.

http://www.ul-asia.com/news_nl/2006-Issue20/page6.htm