Business System Advice

Here there are a number of papers explaining some important aspects of developing IT systems from the business side. The papers are split into three main areas:

• Project Management - what it is and how it affects you.
• Requirements - what you need to do to get what you want
• Testing - what you need to do to see if what you want has been delivered.

Project Management

Whoever is developing you IT system will no doubt be using project management principles. This section of papers explains some of the key issues involved in planning a project.

• Why Projects Fail - six key issues about why projects fail.
• How Projects Succeed - advice about how to have a successful project.
• Basics of Project Management - the core principles behind a balanced project plan.
• Risk Management - what you need to consider to do risk management.
• Integrating Systems - key issues when merging systems from different organisations.

Requirements

At some time you will need to draw up requirements for a new system, or an extension to an existing system. This section gives some advice on preparing requirements.

• What Is A Requirement - covers what makes a good set of requirements.
• Prioritisation - prioritising requirements using the MoSCoW technique.

Testing

Just before a system is delivered you will be asked to do some testing, usually called Users Acceptance Testing or UAT. This section gives advice on testing and particularly UAT.

• What Is UAT, And Why Do It? - This is an overview of why you should do User Acceptance Testing.
• Types of Testing - gives an overview of all types of testing that should be employed during a project.
• IEEE 829 Documentation - is an overview of the international documentation standard that can be used for all types of testing.
• Test Plan Overview - explains the key features of preparing an IEEE 829 test plan.