There are many ways to define the stages in a major implementation project, and various costs are associated with each stage. A high-level breakdown of these activities would include:

• Design
• Development
• Testing/QA
• Implementation
• Maintenance

This white paper focuses on how an application automation/job scheduling tool can reduce costs in each of these areas; design, Development, Testing/QA, Implementation, Maintenance.

One of the assumptions of this paper is that the application automation/job scheduling tool will function as part of the infrastructure for all stages of the project, thus the recommendation for adoption of this tool at the beginning of the project.