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A costing method that assigns resource costs to activities, then allocates those costs to products, services or customers according to their use of each activity. It helps…

AiP is the process audit component of Q-Journey. Its Express and Platinum variants help examine how a business works and identify areas for improvement. Platinum also includes…

Apache Airflow is an open-source platform for defining, scheduling and monitoring workflows as code. A workflow is represented as a directed acyclic graph, or DAG, whose tasks…

An application programming interface defines how software components request information or actions from one another. An API describes available operations, inputs and outputs…

Business process automation uses software to carry out repeatable steps in a business workflow. It can involve application features, system integrations, workflow tools or…

A business case sets out why an investment should be considered. It compares options, expected costs and benefits, risks and assumptions. Financial measures such as NPV, payback…

Customer relationship management software records contacts, interactions, sales opportunities and related tasks. It helps teams share a consistent view of customer relationships…

A data lake stores structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, often retaining source formats for later processing. It can contain files, event records, tables and…

A data pipeline is a sequence of steps that moves data between systems and may validate, clean or transform it along the way. Pipelines can run on a schedule or respond to…

A data warehouse combines data from multiple sources in a structure designed for analysis and reporting. Shared definitions and historical records help teams compare information…

dbt provides tools for defining data transformations as models, managing their dependencies and generating documentation. It is commonly used to transform data already loaded…

DevOps brings development and operations closer through shared responsibility, collaboration and automation. Practices can include continuous integration, deployment pipelines…

Dig.IT is a digitalisation support programme administered by Poland’s Industrial Development Agency within FENG. It targets eligible investment in digital transformation. The…

Digital debt describes the extra work and risk created by outdated systems, fragmented data and temporary workarounds. It can include technical debt in software as well as gaps…

Digital transformation changes how an organisation operates or creates value using digital technology. It can involve processes, skills, decision-making and business models as…

ELT is a data processing pattern in which data is extracted from source systems, loaded into a target platform and then transformed there. It uses the target platform’s…

Enterprise resource planning software connects areas such as finance, purchasing, inventory, production and sales through shared records and processes. The available modules vary…

ETL is a data processing pattern in which data is extracted from source systems, cleaned or transformed in a processing layer and then loaded into a target system. It can prepare…

In event-driven architecture, components publish information about events and other components react to it. An event describes something that happened, such as an order being…

FENG is Poland’s European Funds for a Modern Economy programme for the 2021–2027 funding period. It supports areas including research and development, innovation, digitalisation…

FERS is Poland’s European Funds for Social Development programme for 2021–2027. It supports areas such as education, skills, employment, social inclusion and accessibility…

Financing is the process of identifying and arranging the funds needed for a project. Sources can include internal funds, loans, equity and public support programmes. A financing…

GraphQL lets clients request selected fields from a typed API schema. The server resolves the requested data and returns a response matching the query. This can reduce…

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s research and innovation programme for the 2021–2027 period. It supports scientific research, collaborative projects and innovation through…

Integration platform as a service provides cloud tools for connecting applications, moving data and coordinating workflows. Prebuilt connectors can reduce the need for custom…

The internal rate of return is the discount rate that makes the net present value of a project’s cash flows equal to zero. It is used to assess investments alongside the cost of…

Kaizen is an approach to continuous improvement that involves people in identifying and testing changes to their everyday work. Improvements are reviewed and incorporated into…

Kanban helps teams visualise work, limit work in progress and improve flow. A board shows the stages of a workflow, while explicit policies define how work moves between them…

A key performance indicator is a measure selected to show progress towards an important objective. A useful KPI has a clear definition, data source, owner and review period. It…

Lean manufacturing focuses on delivering customer value while reducing waste, or muda, in production. Influenced by the Toyota Production System, it includes continuous…

LSO:ATOM is a name used for QA10’s internal working framework. LSO stands for the Polish phrase Logiczny System Operacyjny, or logical operating system; ATOM refers to a…

A manufacturing execution system tracks and manages production activities on the factory floor. It can record work orders, machine status, output and quality information. It…

Middleware provides communication or shared services between software components. It can route messages, translate data formats, manage transactions or expose interfaces. It…

MLOps covers the development, deployment, monitoring and maintenance of machine learning systems. It extends software delivery practices to include model and dataset versioning…

Net present value adds together the discounted cash inflows and outflows of an investment, including its initial cost. Discounting reflects the time value of money and the chosen…

Directive (EU) 2022/2555, known as NIS2, sets cybersecurity risk-management and incident-reporting requirements for entities within its scope. Applicability depends on factors…

Observability is the ability to investigate a system’s internal behaviour using signals such as logs, metrics and traces. It helps teams explore why a problem is happening…

An operational audit examines how work is carried out to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks and risks. It can combine interviews, document review, observation and analysis of…

Overall equipment effectiveness combines availability, performance and quality to describe productive use of equipment during planned production time. It helps separate losses…

The payback period is the time it takes for cumulative net cash inflows to recover an initial investment. Simple payback does not discount future cash flows or include benefits…

POIR, the Smart Growth Operational Programme, was a Polish programme in the EU’s 2014–2020 funding period. It supported research and development, innovation and…

Power Automate provides tools for cloud workflows and desktop automation. It can connect Microsoft services and external applications through connectors, or automate tasks…

Process mining uses event records from systems to reconstruct and analyse how processes actually run. It can reveal paths, waiting times and deviations from an expected process…

REST, or Representational State Transfer, is an architectural style for distributed systems. Web APIs commonly use HTTP methods to work with resources identified by URLs, with…

Return on investment expresses net benefit as a percentage of investment cost. A common formula is (benefits minus costs) divided by costs, multiplied by 100%. A meaningful…

Robotic process automation uses software bots to carry out repeatable actions such as entering data, moving information between applications and producing reports. It often works…

Scrum organises work into fixed-length Sprints, with defined accountabilities, events and artefacts. A Scrum Team includes a Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developers. Regular…

A service level agreement defines service commitments, how they are measured and what happens when they are not met. It may cover availability, response times or support…

A service level objective sets a target for a service indicator over a defined period, such as the proportion of successful requests. It is an operational objective and may…

Six Sigma uses data and statistical methods to improve process performance and reduce defects. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control. The commonly cited…

A state machine describes a system using states and rules for moving between them. In a finite-state model, the set of states is limited and explicitly defined. Events and…

Poland’s technology credit scheme combines a loan from a participating commercial bank with a technology premium administered by BGK. The premium can repay part of the eligible…

Technology Readiness Level 9 is the highest level on the nine-level TRL scale. It describes an actual system proven through successful operation in its intended environment. TRL…

Total cost of ownership includes the direct and indirect costs of acquiring, operating and eventually replacing or retiring an asset. For software, it can include implementation…

UiPath provides tools for developing and managing automation, including robotic process automation. Bots can assist a person in an attended session or run unattended under…

A warehouse management system tracks stock locations and movements and supports receiving, put-away, picking, packing and dispatch. It often exchanges orders and stock records…

Zero Trust is a security approach that does not grant access solely because a user or device is inside a trusted network. Access decisions use identity, permissions and relevant…