RAPID APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT IN SMALL UNIT SETTINGS

Small units with specialised functions often have difficulty in develo ping information systems because of their unique and dynamic requireme nts, the smallness of their applications relative to the large inter-o rganisational networks, and the sheer numbers of such units, especiall y in government. Personal experience with the difficulty of establishi ng a suitable information system has led to the development of a metho dology for endusers to develop their own applications with only the gu idance of information technology professionals (ITPs) - here entitled 'Small Unit Enduser Rapid Application Development' or SERAD. A data ba se management system (DBMS) is used to manage data about 'focal object s' with status flags and queries/views at interface points through UDA (UserAction, DataEntry, ApplicationAction) cycles. The system which p ermits data entry almost immediately, not only eventually creates a fu ll application, but also trains endusers in the process. The methodolo gy leads ITPs and endusers through a sequence of exercises in systems analysis, tailored to minimise the time and effort input of ITPs despi te the relative lack of IT training and concepts in endusers, with a v iew to rapidly creating dynamic, robust and sound information systems.