This simulates the use of the software in an environment that matches the day-to-day environment as closely as possible but is purely a test. We refer to this as a conference room pilot. During a conference pilot the proposed new processes are followed by the staff but in a safe test environment. This allows the benefits and problems with the new processes to be identified and acted on prior to the changes being made in the live system. Conference room pilots can last up to 4 weeks, but sometimes they are as short as a day.
To maximise the benefit of conference room pilots they are typically iterative, with the problems of the previous pilot being fed back into the design, the design altered and then re-piloted. This process is repeated until the team are confident that the new process is correct.
The conference room pilot approach has a number of benefits;
- Maximises benefits
- Minimises risk
- Gets more people involved
- Helps to train staff
All systems development and implementation projects are managed using our project management methodology that we have developed over a period of 15 years.
For systems development and integration projects we use seven key documents to control the project;
- Business case
- Project Plan
- Issues and Tasks Log
- Communications Log
- Risks and Contingencies Log
- Error Log
- Test Plans
