Systems Development Methodologies: Unanswered Questions

Abstract

Despite over a decade of study, little is really known about information systems development and the use of systems development methodologies. There has been little evaluation of methodologies in use or examination of the selection, development, adaptation or use of methodologies in practice. This paper discusses this lack of knowledge and its ramifications for research and practice.

Reinventing methodology

“…Different people had different opinions. Thus, we agree with Wynekoop and Russo [11] who suggested there is an "inadequate base of empirical evidence. "…”

Deployment of systems development methodologies: Perceptual congruence between IS managers and systems developers

“…A method is a systematic way of conducting at least one complete phase of systems development, consisting of a set of guidelines, activities, techniques, and tools, based on a particular philosophy and the target system [81]. Examples include OMT, IE, etc.…”

An approach for concurrent evaluation of technical and social aspects of software development methodologies

“…Moreover, even those that use formal SDMs, rarely follow them rigorously [4][5][6]. Different reasons for this situation have been identified [7,8] and different approaches to improve the level of formal SDMs adoption in organisations proposed [9,10]. The results of the formal SDMs adoption research nevertheless suggest that these efforts have been met with limited success.…”