I think this article is reporting the government as saying the following about ID cards:
- It won’t be possible to test everything in advance
- They’ll use off-the-shelf technology for some parts; this will have been adequately tested elsewhere
- Trials will have to be limited in order to stay within budget
- Instead of trials, they’ll use incremental roll-outs
So they will be testing, it’ll just be on live data (and hence real people). And just because a product is off-the-shelf it doesn’t mean it’ll work under all circumstances, especially if it’s part of a larger system. Interfaces between different components are always potentially dodgy.
Anyone want to bet that this huge IT project will be delivered and working on time and within budget? Or will it be like the NHS National programme for IT?