An assessment of the prototyping approach to information systems development

ABSTRACT

A two-phased research project comparing the prototyping approach with the more traditional life cycle approach finds that prototyping facilitates communication between users and designers during the design process. However, the findings also indicate that designers who used prototyping experienced difficulties in managing and controlling the design process.

REFERENCES

• 1: Berrisford, T.R., and Wetherbe, J.C. Heuristic development: A redesign of systems design. Manage. In{. Syst. Q. 3, 1 (Mar. 1979), 11-19. Proposes a major change to the life cycle approach to information systems development. An alternative approach, the heuristic development, is presented. Several case studies of heuristic development are discussed.
• 2: Canning, R.G. Developing systems by prototyping. EDP Anal. 19, 9, (Sept. 1981), 1-14. Defines software prototypes and describes their uses. Discusses technical and organizational requirements of prototyping. The application of prototyping approach in three large corporations is described.
• 3: Dodd, W.P. Prototyping programs. Computer 13, 2 (Feb. 1980), 81. Discusses the need for software program prototypes and describes the potential benefits of the approach.
• 4: Earl, M.J. Prototype systems for accounting, information, and control. Account. Organ. Soc. 3, 2 (1978), 161-170. Argues that many "principles" of MIS design fail to accommodate the complexities of organizational environment and learning. Three case studies are described, and a prototype procedure is presented.
• 5: Groner, C., Hopwood, M.D., Palley, N.A., and Sibley, W. Requirements analysis in clinical research information processing--A case study. Computer 12, 9 (Sept. 1979), 100-108. Contains a case study describing the use of computer system prototypes during the requirements analysis phase of clinical research information systems development.
• 6: Henderson, J.C., and lngraham, R.S. Prototyping for DSS: A critical appraisal. In Decision Support Systems, M.J. Ginzberg, W.R. Reitman, and E.A. Stohr. Eds. Elsevier North-Holland, New York, 1982, pp. 79-96. Reviews the prototyping strategy and examines its use in the design and implementation of a model-based decision supiaort system (DSS). Information requirements generated by prototyping approach are compared with the information requirements generated by a structured group process.
• 7: Keen, P.G.W. Adaptive design for decision support systems. Database 12, 1 (Fall 1980), 15-25. Argues that decision support systems should be designed through an adaptiv e process of learning, experimentation, and evolution. A framework for adaptive design is presented. A number of case studies ore summarized in an appendix.
• 8: Keen, P.G.W. Value analysis: }ustifying decision support systems. Manage. hff. Syst. Q. 5, 1 (Mar. 1981), 1-16. Deals with justification of decision support systems, which by their very nature make traditional cost benefit analysis of little use. An alternative approach value analyms based on prototypmg and staged cost value assessment, is proposed.
• 9: R. E. A. Mason , T. T. Carey, Prototyping interactive information systems, Communications of the ACM, v.26 n.5, p.347-354, May 1983 [doi>10.1145/69586.358137]
• 10: McCracken, D.D. Software in the 80's: Perils and promises. Comput. World Extra (Sept. 17, 1980), 5-10. Describes the problems in applications software development. It is argued that the root cause is that wrong application development tools are being used. A solution consisting of use of very high-level nonprocedural languages and prototyping is suggested.
• 11: Naumann, I.D., Davis, G.B., and McKeen, I.D. Determining information system requirements: A contingency method for selection of a requirements assurance strategy. }. Syst. Softw. 1, 4 (Dec. 1980), 29- 44. Describes information requirements determination in terms of two stages: eliciting requirements and requirements assurance. The paper describes the selection of a strategy for information assurance that depends on environmental and project contingencies.
• 12: Naumann, I.D., and Jenkins, A.M. Prototyping: The new paradig m for systems development. Manage. Inf. Syst. Q. 6, 3 (Sept. 1982), 29- 44. Reviews some of the published references to prototyping and presents a discussion of the underlying design concepts. A process model for information systems prototypes is developed. A discussion of the econbmics of prototyping and several examples are presented.
• 13: Ralph H. Sprague, Jr. , Eric D. Carlson, Building Effective Decision Support Systems, Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, 1982
• 14: Zelkowitz, M.W. A case study in rapid prototyping. Soflw. Pract. Exper. 10, 12 (Dec. 1980), 1037-1042. Presents a case study in rapid prototyping using SNOBOL4. The goals of the experiment as well as some of the results are described.
• 15: Zelkowitz, M.V., Ed. Workshop notes. ACM SIGSOF T Workshop on Rapid Prototyping, Columbia, Md., Apr. 19-21, 1982. A collection of 31 papers on rapid prototyping.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management
          Subjects: Systems development

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

General Terms:
Design, Management, Performance, Theory

Keywords:
assessment of prototyping approach