Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2014

Publication Title

Journal of Organizational and End User Computing

Volume

26

Issue Number

1

First Page

66

Last Page

85

DOI

10.4018/joeuc.2014010104

Keywords

Information Technology (IT), IT Governance, IT Managers, Software Development, Software Testing, Software Testing Governance

Disciplines

Management Information Systems

Abstract

Software testing is becoming a critical component of software development, especially because of the proliferation of complex, interconnected, and real-time business applications. As a result, information technology (IT) managers are struggling with pragmatic governance mechanisms for integrating testing with development.Governance issues pertaining to how software testing is organized at strategic, tactical, and operational levels,however, have not received adequate attention in the literature. This study explores the impact of three specificgovernance mechanisms, including the existence of a distinct corporate testing unit, developers and testersreporting to different executives, and the existence of one-to-one matching between developers and testers,on the organizational integration of testing with development. A national survey of 196 software developmentand testing professionals was undertaken to investigate the impact of these governance variables on a set ofdependent variables comprising organizational, group, and individual outcomes. The results indicate thatthese governance mechanisms have significant impacts and need to be considered for successful integrationof development and testing

Comments

This article was published in the Journal of Organizational and End User Computing, volume 26, issue 1, 2014, and can also be found online at this link. Copyright © 2014, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

Share

COinS