Preparing Test Scripts
Having decided which are your key functional areas you can then start to devise test scripts for the evaluation. The script should follow the process through from start to finish and can be constructed using your Statement of Requirements as a starting point. Again it is important to consider what you are trying to do rather than how you want to do it. It is likely that the supplier will need to do a considerable amount of preparation and set up work in advance and you need to think carefully about what information they need to have in order to do this. For example they may require detailed information about a range of course structures in order to demonstrate course set up or you may wish to provide them with some example student data in order to see how this is mapped into their system. Follow this link to see an example of the sort of information on course structures.
The following example scripts cover general issues which may be of relevance to a variety of main student administrative processes:
Admissions (PDF version)
Initial Enrolment (PDF version)
Assessment and Progression (PDF version)
Continuing Students (PDF version)
Delivery of Teaching and Learning (PDF version)
Postgraduate Research (PDF version)
The following example scripts cover general issues which may be of relevance to a variety of systems:
The following example scripts cover technical issues which may be of relevance to a variety of systems:
Infrastructure (PDF version)
Application (PDF version)
Operations (PDF version)
Client (PDF version)
Your scripts should have an allotted time. It is often difficult to gauge the time required for each area when you are dealing with unknown systems. You will be aware that some tasks are bound to take longer than others e.g. setting up a new course is likely to take longer than changing a student's address. As a general rule of thumb your script needs to allow at least a couple of minutes for straightforward tasks and should allow some time for questions.
