Submission + - Why IT Product Roadmaps Go Bad, and Warning Signs (enterprisestorageforum.com)
storagedude writes: How to spot signs that an IT vendor might not execute on its product strategy, including financial health, past history, and technological complexity. One thing to watch for — a timely testing plan for the product.
From the article:
"One of the first questions I always ask to get a feel if the vendor is up to the task is to ask about all of the new regression tests that must be developed. Who cares about the technology if it is not well tested? What I find is that vendors that have a realistic plan have already developed or are developing the new testing framework with new testers that know some of the issues in testing new technologies. A good percentage of projects that are late are late because of poor testing, poor test methodologies or, worst of all, lack of developed tests. I always laugh my hardest when a vendor says to me, 'We did not develop the complete testing suite in time.' Not the kind of thing I'd want to hear if I were a stock holder in the company. So for me, one of the most important questions if I do not understand the technology is what is the test plan and where are the tests? Complex technology can come out on time if the plan takes into account important details, and testing is a good benchmark for telling if those important details have been considered.
From the article:
"One of the first questions I always ask to get a feel if the vendor is up to the task is to ask about all of the new regression tests that must be developed. Who cares about the technology if it is not well tested? What I find is that vendors that have a realistic plan have already developed or are developing the new testing framework with new testers that know some of the issues in testing new technologies. A good percentage of projects that are late are late because of poor testing, poor test methodologies or, worst of all, lack of developed tests. I always laugh my hardest when a vendor says to me, 'We did not develop the complete testing suite in time.' Not the kind of thing I'd want to hear if I were a stock holder in the company. So for me, one of the most important questions if I do not understand the technology is what is the test plan and where are the tests? Complex technology can come out on time if the plan takes into account important details, and testing is a good benchmark for telling if those important details have been considered.
