This is a glossary of Wiki Terms.
Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) - A string of characters that represents the address or location on the Internet of a particular resource or information object (piece of content). Also known as Universal Resource Identifier.
One critical component of the founding of the World Wide Web is addressability of objects. Tim Berners-Lee presented the URI as the standard for addressing objects. For completeness on this post, the other two components of the Web's success were the transfer protocol (HTTP) and the presentation language (HTML) that would allow linkages to be made among objects across the Internet.
Use Case - Use cases are used to capture and document useful interactions between two
parties. The "actor" initiates the action, the "system" responds to the action
and a definable goal is reached.
Use cases capture the specific steps involved and the ultimate outcome(s) of
the action. They are used to document functional requirements which can then be
used to design software systems, workflow solutions, or any other procedural
interaction.
Use cases can describe person to person, person to system, system to person
and system to system interactions. Optimal use cases are written in language
accessible to end users.
User Acceptance Testing - Hands-on testing done by representative users that will be the customers of a new system. This is normally done without any kind of script. The idea is to see how a business user can 'break' the new application through use cases or behaviors that were not contemplated by the development/project team.
As a rule, no new features are added to a system at this point. However, since users often have a very good idea of the kinds of features the system requires, a list of new features begins to be compiled at this stage for a future upgrade phase for the system.
One way to mitigate the change management anxieties that business users have with requesting new features that won't be introduced immediately is to have representatives of those user communities participate in the requirements process.
The new content management system has allowed us to do our work faster. Editors can now focus on writing and enriching stories, rather than spending time fighting with an inefficient system.
- Jim Scott, DNAinfo.com
