Joint application development (JAD) is a common technique in which work products are collaboratively developed by members from both the customer organization as well as the development organization during workshops called JAD sessions.
Chuck Morris and Tony Crawford, both of IBM, developed JAD during the late 1970s and began teaching the approach via workshops during the 1980s.
Formal contractual relationships between the customer and development organizations often make it difficult for members of both organizations to work collaboratively together, especially when requirements are not stable. JAD produces a more cooperative and flexible environment.
JAD uses a specialized cross functional team that works in a specialized manner (JAD sessions). Thus, JAD is organized around a structured workshop session, during which everyone works cooperatively towards common goals or objectives. Because everyone gets together in the same room to talk it out, everyone hears what the rest of the group has to say and there is no delay between asking a question and hearing its answer.
JAD eliminates many of the problems with traditional meetings because they are turned into less frequent, more structured, and more productive workshops. An agenda provides the structure, a facilitator directs the process, visual aids clarify concepts being discussed, and with constant feedback the group dynamics stimulate creativity. Thus, When compared with the more traditional approaches, JAD seems to result in faster development times and greater client satisfaction because the customer organization is involved throughout the development process.
Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a variant of JAD that produces applications more quickly through strategies such as using less formal approaches and reusing existing work products (e.g., software components).
The typical objectives of joint application development are to:
Joint application development can typically begin when the following preconditions hold:
Joint application development is typically complete if the following postconditions hold:
During joint application development, various rolls typically perform the following steps:
Joint application development typically results in the following work products:
Joint application development is typically subject to the following limitations: