[Mak213]

Alright pardon my ignorance but isnt this what Beta testing is all about? Is this what i spent a good part of my time on testing to make sure that current applications worked with the browser installed?

I have run a lot of system apps and a lot of business apps when testing IE7. I have run jsut about every business app that Microsoft makes. I know of others that have run business apps that were not made by Microsoft.

So basically this work was done for nothing? Well maybe not nothing as i know business have a lot to think of. But at the same time there was a ton of testing done on it before it even left. More testing was done with this than Vista before it was released. Sorry i should say that more bugs were found and fixed before this was relelased than Vista.

But i really do see your point. I am not trying to argue about this. I am just trying to grip why business cant see the risks. But then again i dont run a multi million dollar company so i cant grasp it.

[DoubleHelix]

The applications I'm referring to include internally developed apps, third-party custom-built apps, and other vendor apps. Say, for example, 5-7 years ago a large accounting firm hired a consulting company to build a web-based audit tracking application. That application is now deeply entrenched in the company and is used for everything from tracking engagements to acting as a document management system for financial documents. To further complicate matters, this application must be SOX-compliant.

Just to test this one application, every area of the business that uses it has to, at least, provide test cases for process paths and general functionality. Then some group (IT or consulting firm) has to go through the well-defined test plan to validate each process, step, and function. Then there's the added burden of official SOX validation. If even one of the processes or functions needs even a minor modification, even more time (which costs money) is required to spec, make, and test the change. Finally, all departments, managers, partners, etc. have to sign off on the testing and/or modifications.

The potential costs easily run into tens of thousands of dollars. That's just one app. Multiply that by 10, 15, 50+ and you can see how quickly the costs multiply.

If you have both the technical skills of a systems developer and the skills of a requirements-gathering business analyst, there is plenty of money to be made in consulting in the area of upgrading systems.

[Mak213]

Ahh yes the custom built apps. I forgot about those. Yes i would agree with you fully on that part. Thank you for bringing that up.

[DoubleHelix]

And the costs aren't isolated to the IT department or consultant firm. The employees of said company, who do not work in or for IT in any capacity, have to take time away from their primary responsibilities to work with IT to identify applications, test cases, and general sign-off which could include another round of application testing depending on how many changes were made.

It's very difficult to convince company management and leaders that they need to take time away from the money-making portion of their jobs so the IT guys can install a new web browser on their computers. Trust me. It's very often a losing argument where the advancement of technology is swiftly shuffled under the rug.