Validated Learning Quarter

Business Inquiry Quarter (hereinafter, the Quarter) is the first of four lectures of Operations Quadrivium (hereinafter, the Quadrivium):

• The Quarter is designed to introduce its learners to enterprise discovery, or, in other words, to concepts related to obtaining data needed to administer the enterprise effort; and
• The Quadrivium examines concepts of administering various types of enterprises known as enterprise administration as a whole.

The Quadrivium is the first of seven modules of Septem Artes Administrativi, which is a course designed to introduce its learners to general concepts in business administration, management, and organizational behavior.

Outline

The predecessor lecture is Project Management Quarter.

Concepts

1. Enterprise discovery. All activities resulted in obtaining of any data relevant to further effort development undertaken in order to achieve the effort goal or goals.
   • Activity. The smallest portion of an enterprise effort that has its own name, input, description, timeframe, and measurable result.

• Workspace.
• Workplace.
• "Boiled frog" phenomenon. A perspective on recognizing performance declines that suggests watching out for subtly declining situations.
• ISO 9000. A series of international quality management standards that set uniform guidelines for processes to entire products conform to customer requirements.
• Experiment

1. Prototype. A partial or preliminary conceptual model of a deliverable to be developed; this model is used as a reference, publicity artifact, or data-gathering tool.
   • Throw-away prototype. A prototype used to quickly uncover and clarify interface requirements using simple tools, sometimes just paper and pencil. Usually discarded when the final system has been developed.
   • Exploratory prototype. A prototype developed to explore or verify requirements.
   • Horizontal prototype. A prototype that shows a shallow, and possibly wide, view of the system's functionality, but which does not generally support any actual use or interaction.
   • Vertical prototype. A prototype that dives into the details of the interface, functionality, or both.

Methods

1. Solicitation.
   • Request for information (RFI). A requirements document issued to solicit vendor input on a proposed process or product. An RFI is used when the issuing organization seeks to compare different alternatives or is uncertain regarding the available options
   • Request for proposal (RFP). A requirements document issued when an organization is seeking a formal proposal from vendors. An RFP typically requires that the proposals be submitted following a specific process and using sealed bids which will be evaluated against a formal evaluation methodology.
   • Request for quote (RFQ). An informal solicitation of proposals from vendors.
2. Testing. The data-gathering technique that is based on taking measures to check the performance and/or reliability of somebody, especially before making agreements, or something, especially before putting it into widespread use or practice.
   • Black box test. A test written without regard to how the software is implemented. These tests show only what the expected input and outputs will be.
   • User acceptance test. Test cases that users employ to judge whether the delivered system is acceptable. Each acceptance test describes a set of system inputs and expected results.

Practices

The successor lecture is Controlling Quarter.