JAD-Joint Application Development

Joint Application Development (JAD) is a popular fact-finding technique that brings users into the development process as active participants.

Process:

The JAD process is based on four simple ideas:
People who actually do a job have the best understanding of that job.
People who are trained in information technology have the best understanding of the possibilities of that technology.
Information systems and business processes rarely exist in isolation -- they transcend the confines of any single system or office and affect work in related departments. People working in these related areas have valuable insight on the role of a system within a larger community.
The best information systems are designed when all of these groups work together on a project as equal partners.

The JAD process does for computer systems development what Henry Ford did for the manufacture of automobiles (a method of organizing machinery, materials, and labor so that a car could be put together much faster and cheaper than ever before – the assembly line). The goal in systems development is to identify what the users really need and then set up a system or process that will provide it.

Typical session agenda:

Project leader or Business Analyst:
Introduce all JAD team members
Discuss ground rules, goals, and objectives for the JAD sessions
Explain methods of documentation and use of CASE tools, if any

Top management (sometimes called the project owner or sponsor): Explain the reason for the project and express top management authorization and support.

Project Leader or Business Analyst:
Provide overview of the current system and proposed project scope and constraints
Present outline of specific topics and issues to be investigated.

Open discussion session, moderated by project leader:
Review the main business processes, tasks, user roles, input, and output
Identify specific areas of agreement or disagreement
Break team into smaller groups to study specific issues and assign group leaders.

JAD team members working in smaller group sessions, supported by IT staff:
Discuss and document all system requirements
Develop models and prototypes.

Group leaders:
Report on results and assigned tasks and topics
Present issues that should be addressed by the overall JAD team
Open discussion session, moderated project leader:
Review reports from small group sessions
Reach consensus on main issues
Document all topics

Project leader or Business Analyst:
Present overall recap of JAD session
Prepare report that will be sent to JAD team members