Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Reusing of software components
Setting a rigidly paced schedule that defers design improvements to next product
version
In RAD, the quality of a system is defined as the degree to which the system meets
business requirements (or user requirements) at the time it begins operation. This
is fundamentally different from the more usual definition of quality as the degree
to which a system conforms to written specifications (Rapid Application Develop-
ment, 1997). Rapid development, high quality, and lower costs go hand in hand if
an appropriate development methodology is used. Some companies offer products
that provide some or all of the tools for RAD software development. These products
include requirements gathering tools, prototyping tools, computer-aided software en-
gineering tools, language development environments such as those for the Java (Sun
Microsystems, Santa Clara, CA) platform, groupware for communication among de-
velopment members, and testing tools (Top down bottom up, 2008). RAD usually
embraces object-oriented programming methodology, which inherently fosters soft-
ware reuse. The most popular object-oriented programming languages, C
and
Java, are offered in visual programming packages often described as providing Rapid
Application Development (Top down bottom up, 2008).
++
2.3.1.10.1
Advantages
Inherently fosters software reuse.
Creates an application more quickly through such strategies as using fewer
formal methodologies and reusing software components.
Can be applied to hardware development as well.
Rapid development, high quality, and lower costs go hand in hand if an appro-
priate development methodology is used.
Less formality in reviews and other team communication. Quality is a primary
concept in the RAD environment.
Systems developed using the RAD development path meet the needs of their
users effectively and have low maintenance costs.
2.3.1.10.2
Disadvantages
There is a danger inherent in rapid development. Enterprises often are tempted
to use RAD techniques to build stand-alone systems to solve a particular busi-
ness problem in isolation. Such systems, if they meet user needs, then become
institutionalized. If an enterprise builds many such isolated systems to solve
particular problems, the result is a large, undisciplined mass of applications that
do not work together.
2.3.1.10.3 Suitability.
RAD is used widely in the IT domain, where a carefully
planned set of architectures is used to lesson IT productivity problems. RAD is one
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