Test Governance Framework for Contracted IS Development: Software Management Processes in Social Context

[Context] Outsourced information systems development (ISD) represents an important and widely used software delivery strategy for mid-size and large non-IT companies. In such companies, testing activities are conducted by a contracted party, and are hidden from continuous checks on the part of the client, who is typically only provided with insight during the system hand-over. Such an approach is risky; the testing activities might be executed in a loose and sloppy manner by the contractor. Consequently, the risk of unsatisfactory quality may be shifted de-facto to the client, who will bear any negative consequences (e.g., project delays, increased effort) during user acceptance testing (UAT). [Objective] The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to design and evaluate a management artefact - Test Governance Framework (TeGoF) - that can be used by the client company; the framework thus focuses on client's perspective on exercising control. To this end, the artefact is evaluated in the context of three outsourced ISD projects. [Method] The research is grounded in control theory, which originates in organizational studies. The principles of design science were applied in the development of the TeGoF, and the principles of ethnographically informed action research were used to evaluate the management artefact. This form of evaluation underscores the social dimension of the problem. In particular, the concepts of trust, control, and power are examined using an interpretive epistemological position. [Results] Of a total of three projects, the TeGoF was applied successfully in only one case. A detailed analysis describes the factors contributing to the difficulties implementing the TeGoF principles in the two remaining projects. The resulting interpretation stresses the fact that such difficulties were caused by differences among the contexts in which the evaluation took place. Specifically, there were varying dynamics of the abovementioned factors of trust, control, and power. [Conclusion] The contribution of this doctoral dissertation consists in (1) the development of the TeGoF as a tool that pinpoints significant limitations in the current research related to control issues in the domain of outsourced ISD; (2) the evaluation of the TeGoF and analysis of the key success factors; and (3) a proposal of a novel methodological approach combining design science research with ethnographically informed action research.