Which Test Artifacts Testing Service Providers Should Reuse and How? Experiences from a Case Study in the Chinese ICT Sourcing Market

Software testing service providers are facing new requirements to shorten service times, lower costs, and increase service customization and quality. Reuse of test artifacts is a possible solution that can help providers to meet the requirements because reuse can improve software quality and productivity. However, the extant literature does not explain in depth which test artifacts should be reused and how. This paper focuses on ICT-enabled sourcing of software testing services in the Chinese market to identify the most important reusable test artifacts. There are two reasons for this research. First, most Chinese service providers are small or medium-sized and have to overcome obstacles such as the lack of advanced core technologies before they can play important roles in the global sourcing market. Second, testing is one of the best ICT services small- and medium-sized providers can provide to develop domain and technological knowledge required to overcome most obstacles.