Testing and security software – Computerworld Portugal

What is the outlook in Portugal? Companies have an internal team tests or have outsourced this practice? – Asks José Pedro Gonçalves, Management Information Advisory and Audit Partner at Baker Tilly

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for many years the construction and implementation of computer applications follows, in general, a method with the following phases: analysis, functional design, technical design, development (programming) , testing, production and maintenance. Although today the RAD methodologies (Rapid Application Development), Agile, etc. seek to speed up the construction of the application process, end up following the previous phases.

In the past, most of the computer applications were developed for internal use by companies and their departments and confined to the virtual space of these same entities which is almost identical to the real space. The advent of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or package solutions (packages) began to change the landscape application of companies to offer standard management features according the designated best practice.

The actual construction of the software, now it contains many features that now allow companies to do the “customization” of the software to your needs. This software, which attempts to answer many types of operational requests of all kinds of companies, continued to be built on the previous methodology and the construction and implementation teams have started to be different, and the second from another company called integrator or implementer.

But despite the greater complexity of the software, its implementation remained confined to virtual barriers, still very similar to the real barriers, except in the case of software dedicated the chain operations supply. However, even here with little interconnection between software. EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is a technology widely used in this environment.

The web world completely changed this picture. Today, applications are designed to be used by as many people as possible. This implies its not confinement, creating enormous challenges to the software security level.

The situation, if not change the application construction methodology substantially change the way this methodology should be implemented. The substantial increase in crime rates needs to take much more restrictive and strong measures in the construction of software.

measures needed to eliminate or mitigate the risks associated with the fact that the same team of people running all phases of construction. It is a critical phase in order to demonstrate responsiveness, usability, security, etc. software, the testing takes today, an increasingly central role in building applications.

Good practice even say that all tests, especially the final and safety should be performed by its own staff and as independent of the rest of team building as possible. Ultimately, it should be an expert team of an external service provider to perform this activity.

At the global level we are seeing increasingly to outsourcing of software testing. And in Portugal, what is the outlook? Companies, especially large and medium, have an internal team tests or have outsourced this practice?

With the study now launched , we intend to evaluate the state of practical implementation software testing in Portugal. For this, we ask everyone to expend a few minutes of your time and answer our questionnaire.

This is not too long, and a summary of the results will be sent to respondents and a comprehensive final study will be available for all. Thank you.