Systems Development: Investigation and Analysis - Principles of Information Systems - page 501

RAD should not be used on every software development project. In general, it is best
suited for DSSs and MISs and less well suited for TPSs. During a RAD project, the level of
participation of stakeholders and users is much higher than in other approaches. Table 12.3
lists advantages and disadvantages of RAD.

Table 12.3

Advantages

Disadvantages

Advantages and Disadvantages
of RAD

For appropriate projects, this approach
puts an application into production sooner
than any other approach.

This intense SDLC can burn out systems
developers and other project participants.

Documentation is produced as a
by-product of completing project tasks.

This approach requires systems analysts and
users to be skilled in RAD systems
development tools and RAD techniques.

RAD forces teamwork and lots of
interaction between users and
stakeholders.

RAD requires a larger percentage of
stakeholders' and users' time than other
approaches.

In addition to the systems development approaches discussed previously, a number of
other systems development approaches are available, including adaptive software develop-
ment, lean software development, Rational Unified Process (RUP), Feature-Driven Devel-
opment (FDD), and dynamic systems development methods. Often created by computer
vendors and authors of systems development topics, these approaches all attempt to deliver
better systems. The Ohio Casualty Corporation, for example, uses RUP from IBM and
Rational Software. RUP uses an iterative approach to software development that concentrates
on software quality as it is changed and updated over time. 40 Many other companies have
also used RUP to their advantage. 41

The End-User Systems Development
The term end-user systems development describes any systems development project in which
business managers and users assume the primary effort. User-developed systems range from
the very small (such as a software routine to merge form letters) to those of significant orga-
nizational value (such as customer contact databases for the Web). With end-user systems
development, managers and other users can get the systems they want without having to wait
for IS professionals to develop and deliver them. 42 End-user systems development, however,
does have some disadvantages. Some end users don't have the training to effectively develop
and test a system. Multimillion-dollar mistakes, for example, can be made using faulty
spreadsheets that were never tested. Some end-user systems are also poorly documented.
When these systems are updated, problems can be introduced that make the systems error-
prone. In addition, some end users spend time and corporate resources developing systems
that were already available.

end-user systems
development
Any systems development project in
which business managers and users
assume the primary effort.

Many end users today are
demonstrating their systems
development capability by designing
and implementing their own PC-
based systems.
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