Agency Employ & Econ Development Dept

Contractor Intelligent Quality Solutions (IQS)

SWIFT Contract Number b48874

Project Name UI Greenfield Regression Testing

Project Number (if applicable) {Empty}

Summarize purpose of the contract, including why it was necessary: IQS will conduct Unemployment Insurance system application regression testing and application load testing on the new Greenfield environment due to lack of resources/skills in current staff. Tasks and deliverables are as follows:
• Work with BIT staff to understand testing architecture / software / file locations
• Work with project manager to determine a test schedule for both regression and load testing
• Determine current state of UI regression test scripts and create simple written status report
• Determine best course of action to make scripts usable
• Conduct regression testing working closely with BIT team to relay error messages and outcomes
• Review current load test plan & parameters and suggest modifications based on best practices
• Hold load test review meeting with infrastructure team to ensure all monitoring activities of infrastructure are identified and ready
• Set load test plan dates
• Conduct load tests, interfacing with BIT team as required
• Provide written report of load test results
• Conduct post load test review meetings with BIT team

Project Duration

Start Date Mon, 09/13/2010 - 00:00

Original end date Thu, 06/30/2011 - 00:00

Actual end date Thu, 06/30/2011 - 00:00

Did project finish on time? Yes

Total billable hours utilized (if applicable) 590

Contract Amounts

Original contract: $50000

Amendments $0

Contract total $50000

Did project finish within budget? Yes

What was the funding source? federal

Is this a sole source contract? Yes

If this was a single source contract, explain why the agency determined there was only a single source for the services (if applicable) DEED’s current QA strategy has not produced viable or reliable results. Alternative methods to regression test and load test the UI application in the new Greenfield environment has been demanded by the UI business team. Due to the current cutover to production schedule of October 3, 2010, it is necessary to bring in experts in the testing realm, as well as a vendor who is familiar with DEED and with a proven track record of superior delivery to our agency. We also need a vendor with depth of team members and skills who is immediately available to test 7 x 24 if needed. IQS meets these requirements and their “per hour” rates are significantly lower than the other vendor who has been assisting us over the past several months.

Evaluator Name Thomas Schaeffer

Evaluator Email Address thomas.schaeffer@state.mn.us

Evaluate the contractor's timeliness The contractor deliverables were completed on time and invoices were submitted on time also.

Evaluate the contractor's quality Overall we felt the work (output) we received was not as helpful as hoped due to our lack of understanding of the tools being used and its limitations. It is therefore difficult to judge whether the output was of high quality. We did expect the vendor to be more of an expert on TFS than we felt they were based on discussions we had during the testing.

Evaluate the contractor's cost Contractor's cost was acceptable.

Evaluate the contractor's overall performance The contractor's overall performance was satisfactory.

Would you engage the contractor's services again? No

Describe any negative action taken during the duration of this contract (i.e., termination, pursuit of suspension, etc.): none

Please rate the overall experience with the contractor 3 - neutral