Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor a case study

Outsourcing of software development to subcontractors has been a popular business strategy for a long time. Subcontracting at its best enables acquisition of missing competencies, dampening of demand fluctuations, and cost savings due to the subcontractor's benefits from economies of scale. How...

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Main Author: Erme, Harri
Other Authors: Faculty of Information Technology, Informaatioteknologian tiedekunta, Information Technology, Informaatioteknologia, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylän yliopisto
Format: Master's thesis
Language:eng
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/93856
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author2 Faculty of Information Technology Informaatioteknologian tiedekunta Information Technology Informaatioteknologia University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto
author_facet Erme, Harri Faculty of Information Technology Informaatioteknologian tiedekunta Information Technology Informaatioteknologia University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto Erme, Harri Faculty of Information Technology Informaatioteknologian tiedekunta Information Technology Informaatioteknologia University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto
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description Outsourcing of software development to subcontractors has been a popular business strategy for a long time. Subcontracting at its best enables acquisition of missing competencies, dampening of demand fluctuations, and cost savings due to the subcontractor's benefits from economies of scale. However, it's important to carefully assess a subcontractor's capabilities, as a poorly managed subcontracting relationship can cause significant issues in quality and delays delivery timelines. Quality problems in particular can widely affect the cooperation between the client and subcontractor. The risks have materialized in the case company of this thesis, where unexpectedly significant quality issues have led to slow and difficult quality assurance processes. This thesis conducts a case study in an international IT company in order to map out the challenges the case company has experienced in the subcontracting relationship from the perspective of software quality assurance. Additionally, solutions to these problems are explored by interviewing employees of the case company. The empirical part of the thesis results in a comprehensive and categorized collection of challenges and solutions. Based on these findings, the target company, as well as other organizations in a similar situation, can create a strategy and take actions to start improving the subcontracting relationship. The study was conducted using qualitative research methods. Data was collected by interviewing employees of the case company in focus groups. Semi-structured interviews covered different phases of quality assurance, after which the transcribed data was analyzed. Content analysis revealed a total of 28 challenges and 20 solutions. Many of the identified problems can be traced back to the subcontractor. On the other hand, the target company itself has its own problems but also the capabilities to correct them. For example, by focusing particularly on requirements engineering, the target company can create better conditions for the subcontractor to produce higher quality software.
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spellingShingle Erme, Harri Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study software testing software quality assurance software outsourcing Information Systems Science Tietojärjestelmätiede 601 tietokoneohjelmat laadunvalvonta ulkoistaminen ohjelmistotuotanto alihankinta computer programmes quality control outsourcing software engineering subcontracting (acquisition)
title Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study
title_full Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study
title_fullStr Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study
title_full_unstemmed Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study
title_short Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor
title_sort challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor a case study
title_sub a case study
title_txtP Challenges of quality assurance of software developed by a subcontractor : a case study
topic software testing software quality assurance software outsourcing Information Systems Science Tietojärjestelmätiede 601 tietokoneohjelmat laadunvalvonta ulkoistaminen ohjelmistotuotanto alihankinta computer programmes quality control outsourcing software engineering subcontracting (acquisition)
topic_facet 601 Information Systems Science Tietojärjestelmätiede alihankinta computer programmes laadunvalvonta ohjelmistotuotanto outsourcing quality control software engineering software outsourcing software quality assurance software testing subcontracting (acquisition) tietokoneohjelmat ulkoistaminen
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/93856 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202403112318
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