HeLMET is a JISC funded project based run by the University of Manchester which is applying Web 2.0 to support on-line consultation and brainstorming in distributed communities of practice.
The requirements developed from across 8 different institutions in the original 2005-07 project are given here with tick boxes for departments, schools and institutions to select which aspects of item banking and associated functionality they feel are key to their own current or future processes. The tool will then give match information using the results of appraisal of 12 pieces of software, including some well known software companies e.g. Speedwell and QuestionMark, and some lesser known projects and companies such as TOIA and BTL. The original project was based heavily in medical undergraduate assessment. Note, a 2009 project is due to create and release information relevant to a V2 specification. The V2 will be more generic, building on the information brought forward for V1. UKCDR is a sister project to UMAP, a national collaborative project in the UK for core, applied assessment in undergraduate medicine.
I'm sharing the UKCDR project - full disclosure - I am Project Manager of this collaborative project. It aims to make it easier for groups and schools in medical education to have conversations about assessment software requirements with commercial and other developers. Additionally, the project is engaging with commercial developers and trying to win the battle to ensure that best practice pedagogic needs come top in their software development plans.