10. Outsourcing, COTS and Contracting Quality

Organizations can assign software development work responsibilities to outside organizations through purchasing software or contracting services; but they cannot assign the responsibility for quality. Quality of software remains an internal IT responsibility regardless of who builds the software. The quality professionals need to assure that those quality responsibilities are fulfilled through appropriate processes for acquiring purchased software and contracting for software services.

Quality and Outside Software

·        Purchased (COTS) Software — the documentation may not correspond to the software source code.

·        Outsourced Software — the contractual provisions will determine whether the acquiring organization can perform verification activities during development; and the ability to obtain source code.

Selecting COTS Software

·        Assure Completeness of Needs Requirements

·        Define Critical Success Factor

·        Determine Compatibility with Hardware, Operating System, and other COTS Software

·        Assure the Software can be Integrated into Your Business System Work Flow

·        Demonstrate the Software in Operation

·        Evaluate People Fit

·        Acceptance Test the Software Process

Selecting Software Developed by Outside Organizations

·        Contracting Life Cycle

·        Developing Selection Criteria

Contracting for Software Developed by Outside Organizations

·        Contract Negotiations

Operating for Software Developed by Outside Organizations

·        Acceptance Testing