1. 1 Contracts, Acceptance Criteria and Outsourced Development TMF Summit – January 2007 Susan Windsor Insight Through Intelligence WMHL Consulting Limited, MD

2. 2 AGENDA Anyone taking notes? My take on key considerations Lets talk about it!

3. 3 Outsourced Development? Anyone out of your direct management control External software supplier – package or bespoke Different geography in your own organisation Full outsourcing agreement Offshore development Broadest possible definition – treat them all the same?

4. 4 THINK! How do we know we can start testing? How will we know theyve done what weve asked them to do? Have we told them what we expect them to do and what to deliver? What can we do if they are non-compliant? What agreement do we need in place?

5. 5 Acceptance Criteria What are they? Do they change by type of testing undertaken by outsourced developer? Are there specific deliverables included? Do we share them with the outsourced developer? What do we do when they are not met? Is there an agreed acceptance process in place? Can we influence the legal contract?

6. 6 Design & Build System Test Local Int Legacy PilotBetaRollout User Testing Local Int New Full Integration Baseline and Key Acceptance Milestones Acceptance Criteria TransitionTransformation Pro-Active and Progressive Acceptance

7. 7 Plan Who is Involved Throughout Design & Build System Test Local Int Legacy PilotBetaRollout User Testing Local Int New Full Integration Stages of Testing Business Outsourced Development Testing (Customer)

8. 8 Service Specification Service Level Agreement Acceptance Board Acceptance Plan Acceptance Specification Acceptance Stages Acceptance Review Acceptance Tests Acceptance Trial Rectification Plan Acceptance Criteria Test (Customer) led with OD involvement OD Test (Customer) involvement Fig 1 Formalise The Acceptance Process

9. 9 What about the Contract or SLA If you can write down what youd like to have for acceptance criteria and the acceptance process throughout the life-cycle, include it in the contract or SLA If you cant write it down, think again, its too vague Go for visibility and a co-ordinated test approach Tie the payment schedule to acceptance milestones Leave at least one payment until final acceptance – to ensure OD retains expertise to support you It all depends on level of risk and business criticality, if they dont deliver what you expect, having legal and moral high ground wont get your project delivered

10. 10 Discussion Time What experience have you had? What advice would you give? What challenges are you facing?

11. 11 Thank You Susan Windsor WMHL Consulting Limited, MD susan@wmhl.co.uk