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RAD is a complete methodology covering
systems development from business
requirements through to ongoing
development ( often incorectly called
maintenance) (Bates & Stephens, 95)
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Origins, IBM (Morris) in the 1970’s
Martin (1990)
Goals of RAD
◦ High quality systems
◦ “ Meet the business requirements as effectively as
possible at the time the system comes into
operation” (Martin, 1991)
◦ Fast development and delivery
◦ Low costs
A RAD project must be delivered in anything
from 2-6 months
Project too large – incremental development
of working parts of the system
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Low cost
◦ An aim of all development to be cost effective
◦ An organisation may be willing to pay more if it
gets its required system in a shorter period of time
◦ Lower cost goals are acheivable
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Quality of systems must still be maintained
There must be effective project management,
up to date documentation, testing quality
assurance, requirements specification,
designs, appropriate maintainability, reuse.
RAD approach is more applicable to many
organisations for the following reasons:
(Bates & Stephens, 95)
 Business operates in an increasingly
competitive market place – the right
systems at the right time provide an
essential competitive edge
 Business organisations are dynamic and
evolving – requirements may change as the
system is being built, rendering a frozen
spec approach redundant
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IT is now viewed as a cost centre as opposed
to a resource – systems delivered early can
start saving or earning money sooner
Systems operate in the social and political
environment of the organisation – if the
system has been jointly developed by the
users then it is more likely to be accepted
The structure of projects change when RAD is
applied. The main changes may be
summarised as:
◦ Reduced time scales for deriving business
requirements including the use of JAD workshops
◦ Iterative development in conjunction with users
involving prototyping and frequent delivery of
working products
In comparison to the traditional model –
Different philisophical outlook
 After a feasibility study and appropriate
research into the application, A Joint
Application Design workshop is held.
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Key users, the client and developers produce
system scope and business requirements
under the direction of a facilitator
JAD workshop – must come up with the
business requirements, fully documented,
typically at the end of 3 to 5 working days
As much to do with obtaining a common
purpose from individuals as obtaining system
requirements and business objectives
Potential Strengths
 Enables better client-developer
communication and collaboration
 Encouraging change of mind by clients
allowing systems to evolve through changing
business environment or client perspective
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Encouraging an effective learning
environment for both developers and users
Increasing client confidence
Facilitating earlier and more testing
Providing the potential for cost reductions
Reducing the deadline effect
Facilitating better interfaces
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Reducing risk
Motivating users and developers
Potential Weaknesses
 Lack of control
 Raised user expectations
 Selecting and motivating the right users and
developers
 version control