Guidelines for Successful JAD

Researchers and practitioners not only recognize a similar list of JAD components, their lists of guidelines for successful JAD sessions have many commonality too. Not all JADs are successful, some are even disastrous.[23] These guidelines are based on research results and personal experiences and are given to avoid failures. They represent the critical success factors and they are to be followed carefully. These guidelines are summarized below:

• Use experienced and skilled facilitators
  
• Get Executive Sponsor’s commitment and support
  
• Get the right people to participate, predefine their roles and responsibilities
  
• Set clear defined, well understood and obtainable goals or objectives
  
• Plan detailed agenda and stick with it
  
• Define deliverables clearly in advance
  
• Keep Technical Jargon to a Minimum
  
• Produce Final Document Quickly
  

After all, the most important thing for a project is to use a skilled facilitator. The most important thing for a facilitator is to do a good preparation. That’s why in Jane Wood and Denise Silver’s second edition Joint Application Development, three out of five defined phases of JAD sessions are pre-session activities. These five phases are:

1. JAD project definition
   
2. Research on user requirement
   
3. Preparation for the JAD session
   
4. Conducting and facilitating the JAD session itself, and
5. Predicting and obtaining approval of the final document that incorporates all decisions made.

If these 5 phrases are all carried out well, the JAD will be successful. Not one of them should be omitted.

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