Software Testing Resource

A software testing resource for IT Managers and Software Engineers.

Software testing has been my area of focus as an IT consultant. I have managed large software testing efforts and developed and implemented software testing strategies for large companies. Recently I have focused on outsourcing software test organizations leveraging resources globally. Having built a software testing center of excellence in India for a large software company, I have learned to adapt many software development and testing processes to meet the specific needs of my clients. This software testing related website will focus on helping IT managers understand how to improve their existing software testing processes and organization as well as what to consider when outsourcing software testing. I welcome comments on any of my entries and I will certainly adapt knowledge capital shared.

Posted by Darin Archer on May 08, 2006 | Comments (0)

Selecting an Offshore Country for IT Services

As an outsourcing consultant working for Accenture, I am regularly presenting on “Why Accenture?”. However, today I was challenged with a new question from a client. Why China? As the IT outsourcing services industry continues to expand in both it’s offerings and locations, many companies are confused as to what locations they should leverage. It is important to keep in mind that location choice should be based on the project requirements. Everyone wants to minimize costs associated with IT. However, there are many more intangible costs outside of the standard hourly labor rates that can dramatically impact your projects success. For example, if you have a small project (~ 5-15 resources) that requires more significant real-time interaction over the course of a year, you will likely want to leverage an onshore or nearshore location. If you attempt to use an offshore location with these project requirements, you will likely find that the increased attrition (due to requirements of people to work grave yard shift) and telecommunications costs could outweigh the labor arbitrage. As the demand continues to rise exponentially, new markets become attractive for mitigating rising costs in the primary locations such as India. Having done some external research on the location topic, I’ve included my findings below for reference. Feel free to contact me directly if you have additional questions.

References:

CIO Magazine | Offshore Map

Ziff Davis CIO Insight | Top Spots For Global Outsourcing

neoIT | Mapping Offshore markets update 2005

Global Equations | Global Outsourcing Report 2005

A.T. Kearney | 2004 Offshore Location Attractiveness Index

Computerworld magazine | Knowledge Center - Outsourcing Special Report

Sourcing Mag | Location Selection

European Information Technology eXchange | Service buyers: Selecting the offshore location

IAOP | Mapping Offshore Markets Update

Carnegie Mellon University & Accenture | eSourcing Capability Model (eSCM)

Accenture | Maximizing the Value of a Global Workforce

Posted by Darin Archer on May 01, 2006 | Comments (0)