Groups and Committees

Business Assurance Group: Product, service and process quality

Last meeting:
Information Security – The Future Begins Today, 29 April 2008 (members only) more»

About the group

The Business Assurance Group is a forum for members with an interest in product, service and process quality, to share ideas and experiences for the benefit of the industry as a whole.

Testing is an important part of our industry and was formerly the focus of an important Intellect special interest group. However, the market and industry of testing has evolved.

Likewise, quality now encompasses many facets of business operations, including the more traditional perspective of testing. In June 2006, Intellect's Quality and Testing Groups agreed to merge into one group whereby all opinions and disciplines are represented.

The group is committed to:

• raise awareness amongst members of emerging instruments and changes, which impact on the sphere of operation of the membership
• represent the informed view of the membership to regulatory and other influential bodies
• provide a platform for increased understanding between suppliers and customers
• consolidate and disseminate good practice

The group offers members who work in the quality arena, the support and market intelligence to help them do their jobs more effectively. With reports given by the group's representatives at various standards committees, the meetings provide up to date information on developments in the market.

Current activities:

The group is working on a number of projects to improve quality in the software arena:

• A research board has been established to manage a specific programme looking at the economic impact of the testing of IT systems in the UK, in the broader context of software development. This programme was initiated in response to loss of confidence in the UK IT industry due to recent studies which have shown that IT implementation failure, 'down-time' and security breaches due to inadequate testing are common across many industry sectors. more» 
• The group has produced the online Quality Practice Guides to give members guidance and advice about the best way to approach quality assurance. more»
• A working group is producing a code of best practice to help customers and suppliers address the testing and quality assurance issues that surround the acquisition and delivery of IT-enabled projects and programmes.
• Representatives of the Business Assurance Group attend external committees in their capacity as Intellect members, to contribute and influence on Intellect's behalf. They report back, and where appropriate, educate members on current developments. more»

Contact details:
Kate Whitehead
T 020 7331 2007
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