CommunicationsOfTheAssociationForComputingMachinery, Aug 99, p 117+. by DuaneTruex, RichardBaskerville, HeinzKlein.
ACM Digital Library Subscribers can access it online
http://www.acm.org/pubs/citations/journals/cacm/1999-42-8/p117-truex/
Mostly a manifesto, but it announces:
- lengthy A & D are poor investments
- user satisfaction is impossible
- abstract requirements are largely imaginary
- complete and unambiguous specifications are ineffectual
Replace instead with (it says)
- always analysis (as an ongoing service)
- dynamic requirements negotiation
- incomplete and usefully ambiguous specifications
- continuous redevelopment
- adaptability orientation
A primary position is that the IS systems in an Emmergent Organization will always be changing. This causes those systems to always be in maintenance mode. As a result, the up-front analysis and design that is traditionally perform to reduce maintenance costs is ultimately wasted time.
These conclusions are remarkably close to many of the new RapidDevelopment methodologies such as ExtremeProgramming or AdaptiveSoftwareDevelopment. However, it differs dramatically in its view of the user and user-satisfaction.
Has anyone found this or related articles online?
Here is an online version: http://www.cis.gsu.edu/~dtruex/Presentations/CACM%20GrowingReprint.pdf
An article in Software Development magazine seems to suggest the same thing: http://www.sdmagazine.com/supplement/ppm/features/s999mf.shtml. JimHighsmith is publishing AdaptiveSoftwareDevelopment this year.