OffshoreQA: A Framework for Helping Software Development Outsourcing Companies Comply with ISO 9001:2008

This paper proposes OffshoreQA, a framework for supporting the efforts of offshore software development outsourcing vendors to comply with ISO 9001:2008 and in particular clause 7, which relates to product realization. The solution consists of an integrated requirements management, configuration management and test management system that define the main roles during each software development phase for every site. Consequently, it provides the structure to determine the required reviews and approvals, review items and task assignments between employees of the client and the offshore company. OffshoreQA can also help with a more efficient communication process in terms of requirements, defects and managing assumptions for specific development items. It was designed in an expandable manner, and a prototype was implemented in the form of a web application to demonstrate how offshore vendors can comply with ISO 9001:2008 in an easily accessible way.