Phased design

Abstract

The evolution of information technology from batch processing to on-line, database-oriented systems has spawned the use of new system development methodologies better suited to the needs of complex information systems. The increased demand for large, unstructured decision support systems (DSS) and complicated transaction processing systems has provided the impetus for the development of prototyping and "mixed" methodologies - techniques that combine prototyping with the standard systems development life cycle. The present "mixed" approaches place increased emphasis on one of these two basic methodolgies over the other. This paper contrasts the current techniques and presents a new mixed methodology that integrates prototyping and the system development life cycle into a more balanced approach that has been successfully used in the development of several application systems.