Posted by Dan Minkin - 27/04/2011
Projects are melting pots of emotion, stress and pressure. Software testing and software testers, by virtue of finding themselves doing the bulk of their work at the end of the project lifecycle, face these challenges perhaps more severely than any other group.
The test team set itself up as the communicators of information, relaying the state of the software to all the interested parties. The rest of the project team often say that testers should be objective and calm, making choices for the good of the project, avoiding politics because it jeopardizes this neutrality. Or at least that’s what they say. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Richard Mossman - 31/03/2011
As we have identified in previous blog articles on the website, the continued focus on Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) looks to continue apace for some time. The move away from line business solutions to a more holistic GRC approach is an attractive one. It reduces duplication, ensures common data sources are integrated and ultimately enables more to be done for less overall investment.
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Posted by Andrew Garner - 14/03/2011
Whether it was Henry Ford in 1913 or Kiichiro Toyoda at Toyota in 1930, their lean practices today surround us in many guises from efficiency improvements in banking to the government embarking on stripping out bureaucracy. Organisations put great importance on building their capability to drive these initiatives, and it has an established identity underpinned by functional teams, methodologies, metrics etc.. Looking back to identify the term ‘delivery’ it is impossible to identify a defining moment when organisations started to recognise the importance of this and focus on it. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Adam Ripley - 15/02/2011
The vendor technology landscape in the area of Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) is seeing an increase in activity as government regulation increases and purse strings loosen to meet business needs. This activity is highlighting some interesting competition and an increasing diversity in solution offerings, as those companies that were previously competing to provide a solution to a specific change (such as Sarbanes Oxley), find themselves in a broader ‘enterprise wide’ market. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Adam Ripley - 10/01/2011
Recent discussions have highlighted the continuing focus on corporate governance, risk and compliance (GRC) in the financial services sector. It is evident that the first waves of regulation provided some serious focus, but the increasing level of regulation is giving a deeper and broader reach into the way these organisations conduct their business. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Adam Ripley - 07/12/2010
If there were any doubts about the positive future ahead for the offshore IT services market the period of recession certainly put paid to them. The cost focus has reasserted itself on the IT services landscape and it is certainly No1 on the list of reasons to take projects offshore.
However, the past two years have seen a gradual shift towards companies taking a more careful approach to using offshore testing services. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Laura Casci - 23/11/2010
Last year I was working in a programme that was exploring implementing static testing in order to increase the number of issues found in earlier phases of their projects, rather than in test. The reason for this exploration was the perceived Return on Investment (RoI) that would be received by implementing such an initiative. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Dan Minkin - 20/11/2010
Outsourcing of testing remains a key trend amongst companies intent on bringing outside experience and economies of scale to their development activities. The advantages of lower costs and immediate industry strength testing methodologies make a compelling case in the face of a tougher economic climate, particularly in the BFSI space.
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Posted by certeco - 18/10/2010
On Thursday 21st October we spread a little sweetness in the City by giving out Cup Cakes to busy commuters to celebrate our first birthday.
We dispatched a team dressed in bright blue City suits, complete with bowler hats and umbrellas, to give outspecially presented cakes.
Later that day we welcomed our clients and staff to the City House for champagne and cake and celebrations carried on into the early hours!
Chairman Adam Ripley said: “Sharing cake on our birthday is a symbol of friendship and fun. We wish to brighten up everyone’s day and bring back a little of the kindness and friendliness that is getting lost in the City.
Managing Director Gary Davies said: “We have much to celebrate. We have a profitable business turning over £10million per annum and know that based on the business model we have we can grow to have one of the UK’s leading IT services companies in five years.
“In recent times we have seen some catastrophic failures in large IT projects. Our focus is on providing Governance and Quality Assurance that overarch the technical development of the systems, controlling and mitigating the risks and ensuring the projects stay on target and budget.”
Posted by Adam Ripley - 04/10/2010
There was a time when applications were born in your data centre, grew up alongside other applications (almost like living alongside a few feisty relatives with their own similarities and idiosyncrasies!) and then died of natural causes to make way for the latest technology several years later. In those days allowances could be made for relatives your applications didn’t get along with. eg operating systems upgrades could be avoided, applications could be tweaked or even devices could be changed to ensure your applications lived a long and happy life. Living in a small town was so simple then!
Read the rest of this entry »
Projects are melting pots of emotion, stress and pressure. Software testing and software testers, by virtue of finding themselves doing the bulk of their work at the end of the project lifecycle, face these challenges perhaps more severely than any other group.
