T&M and Fixed Bid - Testing Services

Even before companies raise RFP for a project/outsourced work (as also prior to starting any software project initiation), the estimates for work are worked on at a high level to understand the time it will take to complete various phases of the work. Typically, the effort distribution for various stages of the software development lifecycle is: Design 15%, Construction/Coding 50%, Testing 30%, and Documentation 5%.

In the above generic estimate, unit testing is considered part of the development work. The figures tell us if coding itself consumes 50% of the time, rest of the time is the cumulative effort spent on design, testing and documentation. Therefore, if we estimate for 200 man days of coding effort, this would mean it will take another 200 days for the complete project!

We came across a scenario where the client was trying to develop some generic principles on T&M and Fixed Bid for Testing Services such that he can use them directly say Unit Testing can be done by Fixed Bid, Stress/Volume testing can be done by T&M!

However, the problem here is the client is not confident of the project estimate. So, the sub allocation of tasks within testing services will also change along with the project estimates. The 30% of X would keep changing with the value of X. What the client does not realize is there are certain factors to be considered which are unique to each project. There cannot be a thumb rule as the client expects. Depending on the time, money, resources and the quality of work expected out of the project (we shall have to desist talking about "ALQ, accepted level of quality as there is nothing "acceptable" in real sense") we define what kind of tests are critical for the project depending on the shipping date. Usually, companies go for fixed bid when there is a limitation of the budget and when the schedule is of priority continuous support is needed, they go for T&M. To summarize, investor options are important for making a decision on the kind of bid a company would like to offshore especially for testing service.

On SCM

We had an interesting discussion on SCM today. A PM was arguing configuration management of artifacts involves only checking in the final versions while working on the intermediate versions and not caring to check them in on a daily basis. Many people confuse or rather are arrogant/careless on not checking in their work. The configuration manager must ensure that not only the code but all other client deliverables including technical design, tech specs, code, etc. are checked in the version control. This helps. In the absence of a person, another one can take up the work and continue working on the code/deliverables. Thus, we ensure the work is not person dependent! And also since the deliverables are checked in daily, all versions of them are available at any moment so that if required they a branch can be taken and worked upon.

Integration Testing...

Integration testing of a code

CM: Branching & Merging...

Consider the example given in the figure. Code was checked out from the production environment on 1st of August, and Module 1 worked on till 5th of August when it is checked in again.

To fix Module 4, another copy of the code was checked out from the production environment at the same time as Module 1, and worked on till the 10th of August. The changes were then put back on 10th. Now what happens to the previous changes made to Module 1?

Our requirement is to carry out changes to both module 1 and module 4 and be able to retain them although they have been checked out on the same day and checked in on different days. Branching and Merging is therefore essential when working on CRs on different parts of code. Your CM tool must be able to branch out a version and be able to assimilate the changes (merge) at a later point of time!

ITSM – Information Technology Infrastructure for Service Management

Definition

ITIL is a "framework of best practice approaches intended to facilitate the delivery of high quality IT services". It outlines an extensive set of management procedures that are intended to support businesses in achieving value for money and quality in IT operations. These procedures are supplier independent and have been developed to provide guidance across the breadth of the IT infrastructure"

ITIL (the IT Infrastructure Library) is essentially a series of documents that are used to aid the implementation of a framework for IT Service Management. This customizable framework defines how Service Management is applied within an organization.

Although ITIL was originally created by the CCTA, a UK Government agency, it is now being adopted and used across the world as the de facto standard for best practice in the provision of IT Service. Although the ITIL covers a number of areas, its main focus is on IT Service Management

History of ITIL

It was initially developed during the 1980's, by the CCTA, and was widely adopted in the 1990's. This in turn led to the development of a number of standards.

ISO and ITIL

ISO/IEC 20000 is the international standard for ITSM, and aligned generally with ITIL. It comprises a 'specification' (part 1) and a 'code of practice' (part 2)

ISO 20000-1: This is the Specification for Service Management, the 'cerifiable' element of the pair.

ISO 20000-2: This is the 'Code of Practice for Service Management', which designed to work with the Specification, and outlines requirements, etc.

These two parts specify service management processes and form a basis for the assessment of a managed IT service.

Part 1 may typically be used by:

Organizations seeking tenders for outsourced services
Organizations that require a consistent approach by all service providers in a supply chain
Existing providers to benchmark their IT service management
As the basis for formal certification; and so on.

Part 2 provides guidance to auditors, implementation staff and others.

The ISO 20000 Toolkit

Implementation of any major quality standard is a complex operation. In addition to the learning curve, which can be steep, the demands of international standards are often rigorous. For this reason, a specific kit has been designed to aid both implementation and understanding.

The contents of the toolkit are both diverse and comprehensive, covering all the major processes. Included are the standards themselves, templates, guides, presentations and checklists.

How is ITIL organized?

ITIL is organized into five core publications that revolve around the service lifecycle. These provide best practice guidance for an integrated approach to IT service management.

The five core titles are:

1. Service Strategy
2. Service Design
3. Service Transition
4. Service Operation
5. Continual Service Improvement

To reflect this practice based approach, ITIL actually is formally known as 'ITIL Service Management Practices'.

Version 2 Background

The previous version of ITIL was organized into a series of sets, which themselves were divided into two main areas:

1) Service support
2) Service delivery:

Service Support was the practice of those disciplines that enabled IT Services to be provided effectively.

Service Delivery covered the management of the IT services themselves. It involved a number of management practices to ensure that IT services were actually provided as agreed between the Service Provider and the Customer.

What is ITIL Toolkit?

The ITIL Toolkit is a collection of resources brought together to accompany ITIL.

The materials included are intended to assist in both understanding and implementation, and are therefore targeted at existing ITIL users and beginners.

The toolkit includes:

A detailed guide to ITIL and service management
The ITIL Fact sheets - 12 two page documents, serving as a concise summary of each of the ITIL disciplines
A management presentation, inclusive of speaker notes
An ITIL audit/review questionnaire and reporting set based on MS-Excel
Materials to assist in the reporting of the above results (eg: presentation template)

What is ITIL Triangle?

This is a diagram that describes the relationship between ITIL, the ISO20000 service management standard, and your own in-house procedures.

Essentially, this top down illustration starts at the highest level with ISO20000, the BSI standard specification for IT service management. The next level presents a code of practice for ITSM (e.g.: PD0005, which was produced by CCTA, ITSMF and DISC/BSI). ITIL itself is the third layer, with in-house procedures represented by the bottom layer.

Source: http://www.itiltraining.com/